Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor Lori Lightfoot dismissed the announcement Thursday by the Chicago Bears that the team was seriously considering leaving Soldier Field, where they are locked into a lease through 2033. 

Every Illinois resident who has gotten at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will be eligible to win one of 43 cash prizes — including three million-dollar jackpots — and 20 scholarship awards starting July 8, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday. 

The measure, which would ban the sale of alcohol at stores after midnight, is part of a part of a massive package of initiatives Mayor Lori Lightfoot said was designed to help Chicago businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Black Chicagoans die more than nine years sooner than other Chicagoans, a gap caused by systemic racism that is only growing, according to a report released this week by the Chicago Department of Public Health.

“We don’t want to provide a road map” for others who seek to obtain the city’s data, Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward) said.

Celia Meza has served as the city’s top attorney since December, replacing former Corporation Counsel Mark Flessner, who resigned amid a furor over the mayor’s handling of the revelation that Chicago police officers handcuffed a naked woman during a mistaken raid in February 2019.

Wage theft costs Chicago workers $400 million a year, according to the mayor’s office.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will introduce a measure Thursday that would ban the sale of alcohol at stores after midnight, dropping her effort to set an earlier cutoff. The mayor called the revised proposal “a reasonable compromise.”

The city’s travel order has been suspended since June 1, when seven states moved from the orange tier to the less-restrictive yellow tier.

As state lawmakers prepare to return to Springfield for a pivotal vote on whether Chicago Public Schools should be run by an elected school board, Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked members of the Illinois House to delay a vote approved by the Illinois Senate.

While celebrating the full reopening of Chicago on Friday morning as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she does not support the push to rename Lake Shore Drive, again calling it an “iconic” name with national recognition.

All businesses will be allowed to operate at full capacity and gatherings of all sizes will be permitted, according to the new rules.

ComEd officials said they were not responsible for the outages on May 6 and May 25 at the Roseland Pumping Station.

Several aldermen are unconvinced that the city should ink a new franchise agreement with ComEd — and Chicago may have other options, officials said.

The state’s top Republicans asked a federal judge Wednesday to appoint an eight-member commission made up of four Democrats and four Republicans to craft the maps with census data.

At least 15 cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant were identified in Chicago through Tuesday, city officials said. 

The 13-member Chicago Ward Advisory Redistricting Commission is charged with drawing a ward map “that is truly reflective of the diversity of Chicago,” organizers said.

Construction quietly began on the $95 million facility in West Garfield Park in January and is set to be completed in the fall of 2022, officials said.

Firms have until July 30 to submit their pitch to operate and manage the electric distribution system that serves residents and businesses in Chicago, officials said. 

Former President Barack Obama warned Chicago’s business leaders Friday afternoon that American democracy is imperiled by persistent economic inequality and structural racism, and said corporate America has a responsibility to call out voter suppression efforts.

City officials are targeting the 13 Chicago neighborhoods that have the lowest rate of vaccination as part of a push to bring the life-saving shots directly to those most at risk of falling ill and dying from COVID-19.

A push to make electric scooters a permanent part of the city’s transportation system stalled Thursday, with several aldermen telling transportation officials that the two-wheelers would create a nuisance on Chicago’s streets and sidewalks.

The landmark designation would preserve the legacy of African Americans in Chicago and ensure that future generations recognize Muddy Waters as the father of the blues, supporters said.

Amid a steep decline in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Chicago officials will lift all restrictions on businesses and gatherings next Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. 

Illinois bars and taverns can now offer their thirsty patrons an incentive for getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The new law starts June 10 and runs through July 10. 

A package of new regulations designed to tighten ethics rules for state lawmakers and Springfield lobbyists will not override Chicago’s ethics rules, much to the relief of city officials.