Stories by Heather Cherone

The teen, who was not identified, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery in connection with the death of retired Chicago Fire Department Lt. Dwain Williams.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday apologized to Anjanette Young, the Chicago woman who was handcuffed while naked by police officers who mistakenly raided her home in February 2019.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a measure Wednesday to expand protections for immigrants by blocking Chicago Police from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

Aldermen on Tuesday advanced a scaled-back effort to test whether Chicago’s affordable housing crisis could be eased by permitting basement, attic and coach house dwellings in five areas of the city.

Travelers coming to Chicago from nearly every U.S. state, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, must quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office announced Tuesday.

The unanimous opinion issued Monday is the first public enforcement of rules governing the use of social media by elected officials in Chicago. In keeping with the ethics board’s rules, the official was not named.

A COVID-19 vaccination was administered for the first time Tuesday morning in Austin, a Chicago neighborhood ravaged by the virus. Mayor Lori Lightfoot called it “history in the making.”

Renaming 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, would be a massive undertaking without precedent in the city’s history, city officials told aldermen Friday.

The board voted unanimously on Monday to fine the 21st Ward alderman $5,000 for violating the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance by defending clients in criminal cases involving the Chicago Police Department.

An effort to require Chicago police officers to allow those arrested access to a phone within an hour of being detained remains stymied, nearly 19 months after Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) called on police brass to follow state law.

A Black high school student who was dragged down the stairs and tased by a police officer stationed at Marshall High School should get $300,000 to settle her lawsuit against the city, aldermen agreed Monday.

Alds. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) and Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said the effort to create the new taxing district to fund security, attract businesses and spruce up the streets and sidewalks was pushed through too quickly and should not move forward.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that Illinois’ ban on evictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be extended until Jan. 11 amid a sustained second surge of COVID-19 cases.

New data shows Chicagoans took approximately 640,000 rides on electric scooters during a four-month second trial run. That represents a significant decline from the initial test of the scooters in Chicago between June and July 2019.

“Many employees have told us they do not feel safe, nor do they feel the branches are safe for patrons, given the city's current positivity rate,” said Anders Lindall, a spokesman for AFSCME Council 31, which represents about 900 library employees.

An average of 1,729 Chicagoans have been diagnosed each day with the coronavirus during the past week, a 30% increase from the previous week, according to Chicago Department of Public Health data. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday she was “deeply disappointed” that Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney allowed diners to eat inside his restaurant in defiance of a ban imposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to curb the spread of COVID-19.

A proposal backed by Mayor Lightfoot to give the Cubs a four-year break on a $250,000 city bill advanced Wednesday, along with a package designed to help businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health are expecting the first vaccine shipment to Chicago to include 23,000 doses. Weekly shipments of vaccine are expected to follow, said Dr. Allison Arwady.

Efforts to boost the number of affordable housing units in three red-hot Chicago neighborhoods will continue through June, even as city leaders weigh a broader overhaul of the city’s rules to help low- and moderate-income residents find a place to live.

City officials hit Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney with two citations on Tuesday for allowing diners to eat inside his restaurant in defiance of a ban imposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Officials have now shut down two massive parties in Wicker Park in as many weeks, despite an increase in the number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in Chicago after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Chicago’s 55th mayor is hoping his passion for transportation and his legacy in the city is enough to secure him a spot in President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet as transportation secretary. An analysis of that legacy reveals a mixed record.

Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney acknowledged Monday that he allowed diners to eat inside his restaurant in defiance of a ban imposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in an effort to stop a sustained and grave surge of the coronavirus.

Illinois expects to get 109,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer if federal officials grant an emergency use authorization to the pharmaceutical company as expected, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday.

Eleven firms are interested in building or operating a casino in Chicago — and eight told Mayor Lori Lightfoot that it should be downtown, according to a limited summary of the proposals submitted by firms released by the mayor’s office.