Vice President Kamala Harris has spent her career breaking barriers. We discuss the significance of Harris holding the second-highest office in the nation, and what challenges may lie ahead.
Politics

U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held their first phone conversation as counterparts Tuesday in a phone call that underscored troubled relations and the delicate balance between the former Cold War foes.

Two measures that would make it harder to convert some small apartment buildings into single-family homes in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods advanced Tuesday as part of a renewed effort from city officials to boost Chicago’s supply of affordable housing.

President Joe Biden signaled his increasing bullishness on the pace of vaccinations after signing an executive order to boost government purchases from U.S. manufacturers.

Democrats marched the impeachment case against Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday night for the start of his historic trial, but Republican senators were easing off their criticism of the former president and shunning calls to convict him over the deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol.

An effort by city officials to finish a project to expand cargo operations at O’Hare Airport by borrowing $55.6 million advanced Monday after a monthslong delay prompted by concerns that the effort failed to meet the city’s self-imposed diversity goals.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed to redouble efforts to get the vaccine to those in neighborhoods hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic by earmarking doses for those Black and Latino communities as the state begins the second phase of its vaccination effort.

Illinois is poised to become one of the first states to eliminate cash bail after the state legislature passed a sweeping criminal justice reform bill earlier this month. Now proponents who pushed for that change hope the measure can be used to reform pretrial services elsewhere.

President Joe Biden on Monday reinstated COVID-19 travel restrictions on most non-U.S. travelers from Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and 26 other European countries that allow travel across open borders. He also added South Africa to the list.

Aldermen agreed Monday to settle a lawsuit brought by a Chicago man who was shot by police during a traffic stop in February 2015 that officials ruled was unjustified by paying him $525,000 and forgiving approximately $45,000 in debt he owes to the city.

Journalists Brandon Pope (WCIU), Glenn Reedus (Chicago Reporter) and Rachel Hinton (Chicago Sun-Times) look at what’s ahead for the country under the new Biden administration.

Jesus del Toro, director and general manager of La Raza newspaper, and Jackie Serrato, editor-in-chief of the South Side Weekly newspaper, discuss Inauguration Day and the big changes already underway.

Right-wing extremism has previously played out for the most part in isolated pockets of America and in its smaller cities. The deadly assault by rioters on the U.S. Capitol, in contrast, targeted the very heart of government.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in at a heavily fortified inauguration. Biden starts his term with executive orders on COVID-19 and immigration. Partial indoor dining is set to resume in Chicago.

Opening arguments in the Senate impeachment trial for Donald Trump over the Capitol riot will begin the week of Feb. 8, the first time a former president will face such charges after leaving office.

Members of the Chicago City Council are deeply split on how to stop a barrage of carjackings that has Chicagoans throughout the city terrified to leave their houses for fear of becoming the latest victim.