Stories by Heather Cherone

Aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have agreed to create a database of police misconduct files dating back to 2000, an effort championed by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson as a way to start restoring Chicagoans’ trust in officers, Ald. Scott Waguespack has told WTTW News.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday the city’s travel order could lift for all states and territories “soon” as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes. Michigan and Minnesota are the only Midwestern states now covered by the order.

Chicago officials lifted the city’s mask mandate for fully vaccinated residents on Tuesday, but the city’s top doctor said she “strongly advises” businesses to require their employees and patrons to wear face coverings until the city fully reopens.

The massive four-day music festival that Mayor Lori Lightfoot says is “synonymous with summer” will return this year after being canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic. The lineup will be announced at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Typically, a substantive piece of legislation like the creation of an elected board to oversee the police department would be unlikely to pass without the support of the mayor — but the City Council may be poised to buck Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Following new CDC guidance, Gov. J.B. Pritzker lifted the state’s mask mandate for fully vaccinated residents on Monday. But Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she will continue to wear a mask, both indoors and outdoors, even though she is fully vaccinated. 

Illinois residents who lost their jobs or found their paychecks scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for up to $25,000 to cover missed rent payments starting Monday, officials said.

Chicago officials announced Friday they will consider making electric scooters a permanent part of the city’s transportation system after the results of a second trial run found a demand for the two-wheelers.

Annette Nance-Holt's pending confirmation will be “yet another crack in that glass ceiling,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.

Chicago and Illinois officials said Thursday they will follow new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and jettison rules that require fully vaccinated people to wear masks indoors. However, masks are not “going away,” according to city health officials.

Illinois’ once bleak financial picture has brightened considerably during the past three months, state finance officials announced Thursday. Gov. J.B. Pritzker will use the additional revenue to boost spending on education by an additional $350 million. 

Illinois will enter the next phase of its reopening plan Friday, and is on track to fully reopen June 11, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Thursday. Here’s what you should know about the “bridge” phase.

The attorney for the 11th Ward alderman who is the grandson of former Mayor Richard J. Daley said he was eager “to get to trial and clear Mr. Thompson’s name as soon as that is possible.” 

U.S. Attorney John Lausch was hospitalized Saturday after suffering from stroke-like symptoms, according to the spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois. Lausch, 51, returned to work on Monday, his spokesperson said.

Ald. David Moore (17th Ward) is one of three Chicago elected officials running for secretary of state in 2022.

The Enjoy Illinois campaign targets residents of Illinois’ border states and seeks to capitalize on what officials say is an increasing desire from those weary of the pandemic to travel by car.

Although five Democrats are already jockeying to replace Secretary of State Jesse White, Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) told WTTW News he will not run to replace his political godfather. 

Chicago’s top doctor says cases of COVID-19 are now concentrated among young, Black Chicagoans who live on the city’s South Side.

The second-longest serving alderman on the City Council missed the deadline to pay a $5,000 fine to resolve charges that she accepted $48,500 in excessive campaign contributions. The Chicago Board of Ethics voted unanimously Monday to refer the matter to the city’s Law Department.

Vaccination clinics will open in office buildings in downtown Chicago and across the state as officials continue to get as many people vaccinated against COVID-19 as quickly as possible. The vaccines will allow the city to put “the pandemic in the rearview mirror,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

City officials agreed Friday to conduct an environmental justice assessment of the proposed shredding operation before issuing the final permit the facility needs to start operating. 

In all, 3,168 cases involving the variant, known as B.1.1.7, have been found in samples of COVID-19 positive tests from Illinois since Jan. 15, officials said.

The boil order was in place for approximately 20 hours in parts of Beverly, Morgan Park and Mount Greenwood, officials said.

With the state’s economy recovering faster than expected, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state could afford to fully fund the state’s education system.

Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown has not acted on the recommendation of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability that the officer who shot and killed Anthony Alvarez in Portage Park be stripped of his police powers during the ongoing probe.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has vowed to “force a reckoning” on the issue of pensions, which she called “the biggest problem” facing Chicago’s finances.