As the latest federal pandemic relief package makes its way to President Joe Biden’s desk, Americans may be wondering when the benefits will reach them. The $1.9 trillion known as the “American Rescue Plan” is massive. Here’s you need to know.

Frustrated that the mayor and City Council have yet to back a plan to create an independent commission to redraw the boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards, a coalition of groups determined to change the way Illinois’ legislative boundaries are drawn announced they would take matters into their own hands.

As he settles into his role as one of the fiercest Republican critics of former President Donald Trump, U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger is embracing the political risks he’s facing by openly confronting Trump and his loyal base of supporters. It’s the latest front in the simmering GOP civil war that threatens to divide the party.

The legal wrangling over the Obama Presidential Center’s construction in Jackson Park is far from over, opponents say. Meanwhile, the Obama Foundation has just revealed a new architectural detail about the center’s tower.

Visitors to Chicago from 26 states and Puerto Rico no longer have to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19, according to the city’s travel order, updated on Tuesday.

The average commuter in the Chicago metro area spent 86 hours in traffic last year — that’s nearly four days — according to a new report from INRIX, a global mobility analytics company.

House Democrats passed sweeping voting and ethics legislation over unanimous Republican opposition, advancing to the Senate what would be the largest overhaul of the U.S. election law in at least a generation.

Illinois housing officials are preparing to launch another round of COVID-19 emergency rental assistance grants, funded with $500 million from the federal government as part of the relief package approved in December. The funds will go directly to landlords in most cases, officials said.

With the mass vaccination site at the United Center set to open Tuesday morning, Chicago’s top doctor acknowledged that getting an appointment has been “tricky” because of changing rules and a website that crashed under high demand.

Proponents of a new bill signed into law Monday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker say it will “change the face of education” in Illinois by improving access and equity across the state’s education system through an expanded early intervention program, annual readiness assessments and more.

The flow of misinformation has only intensified since Election Day, researchers and political analysts say, stoking Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the election was stolen and false narratives. More recently, it has morphed into efforts to undermine vaccination efforts against the coronavirus. 

A new executive order from President Joe Biden directs federal agencies to take a series of steps to promote voting access, a move that comes as congressional Democrats press for a sweeping voting and elections bill to counter efforts to restrict voting access.

An exhausted Senate narrowly approved a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill Saturday as President Joe Biden and his Democratic allies notched a victory they called crucial for hoisting the country out of the pandemic and economic doldrums.

The Senate approved a sweeping pandemic relief package over Republican opposition on Saturday, moving President Joe Biden closer to a milestone political victory that would provide $1,400 checks for most American and direct billions of dollars to schools, state and local governments, and businesses.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed by three Democratic state attorneys general that had sought to force the federal government to recognize Virginia’s vote last year to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment and add it to the Constitution.

Officials are opening mass vaccination sites hoping they’ll correct disparities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Lower COVID-19 infections prompt Mayor Lori Lightfoot to relax restrictions on restaurants. And a return to in-person learning for Chicago high schoolers is floated.