With tens of thousands of Chicagoans working from home for the first time and thousands more becoming entrepreneurs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council is poised to ease the rules governing the operation of home businesses.

Chicago employers would be required to give workers time off to get vaccinated against COVID-19 under a proposal advanced Tuesday by aldermen. Firms that violate the measure could face fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

The Chicago Public Library has filled a gap in the legacy of former Mayor Harold Washington by digitizing scores of his written speeches, available to the public in a searchable online collection, library officials announced this week.

Illinois’ General Assembly is charged with drawing new political maps every 10 years following the census. But exactly what the latest census shows about Illinois’ residents is still unknown. 

One year ago, crews imploded the smokestack at the defunct Crawford coal plant, sending a plume of dust over Little Village but illuminating the impact that toxic air pollution caused by industrial operations has had on South and West side neighborhoods for decades.

The board reduced the fine it levied against Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) by more than 96% after considering “after considering the equities of the situation," officials said.

President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he’s sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but the White House is also highlighting needed repairs and upgrades state-by-state that cost far more than what Republicans are willing to spend.

Determined to close a loophole in a seven-year-old city law, aldermen advanced a measure Monday that would ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits at a profit.

The Supreme Court is telling California that it can’t enforce coronavirus-related restrictions that have limited home-based religious worship including Bible studies and prayer meetings.

Migrant families will be held at hotels in the Phoenix area in response to a growing number of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, authorities said Friday, another step in the Biden administration's rush to set up temporary space for them.

President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget Friday, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities including education, health care, housing and environmental protection.

COVID-19 surges and vaccine eligibility expands. The vice president hits town. Strained relations between Mayor Lightfoot and Gov. Pritzker. And CTU may delay a return to class for high schoolers.

The State Department said Tuesday the Biden administration is consulting with allies about a joint approach to China and its human rights record, including how to handle the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. 

In early March, Chicago officials announced a COVID-19 vaccine program for homebound residents and their caregivers. But many people who signed up for the program had already been vaccinated by the time officials contacted them to schedule an appointment.

President Joe Biden, in his first gun control measures since taking office, announced a half-dozen executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing a proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment.” 

Suburban Cook County residents ages 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine beginning Monday, and while eligibility in Chicago doesn’t expand until April 19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said adults in Chicago are also “absolutely welcome” to sign up at any state-run mass vaccination site starting Monday.