Three times in the past year, officials have trumpeted the news that COVID-19 case rates had dropped, prompting them to allow businesses to reopen or expand capacity. And three times, officials have returned to the microphones approximately one month later to warn that COVID-19 was spreading fast.

Opening Monday, the two sites will have the capacity to administer 5,000 vaccine doses per day, officials said. Only Chicago residents will be eligible for appointments.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated a racially diverse and overwhelmingly female group to federal and other judgeships, including three Black women for the U.S. courts of appeals, one pathway to the Supreme Court.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday ordered a review of how the Justice Department can best deploy its resources to combat hate crimes during a surge in incidents targeting Asian Americans.

For Women’s History Month, WTTW News shined a light on Latinas, exploring their history in Chicago and the U.S., the adversity they face and the role they play in their communities. Watch the full discussion.

Illinois is on the edge of a bridge to fully reopening the economy, with 69% of adult residents ages 65 and older now vaccinated against the virus. But rather than inching closer to its goal, the state is instead stepping back due to an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.

President Joe Biden will lay out the first part of his multitrillion-dollar economic recovery package this week, focusing on rebuilding roads, bridges and other infrastructure, followed by a separate plan later in April addressing child and health care.

City officials announced Monday they will open a vaccination site for union workers—the first of its type in the nation, they say—designed to administer 1,200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine per day.

Evanston has become the first city in the country to offer reparations for Black residents. Last week, aldermen voted to distribute $10 million over the next 10 years, using tax money from the sale of recreational marijuana. We discuss the local and national outlook.

The Puerto Rico Self-Determination Act calls for the creation of a “status convention” of delegates elected by Puerto Rican voters to determine the island’s long-term territorial status, whether that be statehood, independence, or perhaps a variation on the current arrangement.

Staff and volunteers directly caring for children at new emergency sites don’t have to undergo FBI fingerprint checks, which use criminal databases not accessible to the public and can overcome someone changing their name or using a false identity.

A Loretto Hospital executive resigns amid growing controversy. Mayor Lightfoot sidelines a vaccine contractor over more improper vaccinations. Evanston passes the nation’s first reparations law. Chicago homicides are on the rise.

The final decision on vaccine eligibility remains with local health departments, officials said. That means the change will not expand eligibility in areas of the state, like Chicago and Cook County, where demand for the COVID-19 vaccine continues to far outpace supply.

Plans for a 50-unit affordable housing development are underway in Albany Park, a diverse community on Chicago’s Northwest Side that is not alone in facing gentrification. We discuss housing with Diane Limas of Communities United and Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez as part of our community reporting series.

For the latest in our reporting series, we visit the diverse Northwest Side community to see how it’s supporting Asian American residents amid a rise in anti-Asian rhetoric and violence. 

President Joe Biden at his first news conference Thursday left the door open to pushing for fundamental changes in Senate procedures to muscle key elements of his agenda such as immigration and voting rights past firm Republican opposition “if there’s complete lockdown and chaos.”