Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Sunday extended the advisory that urges Chicagoans to stay home in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 — meaning it will be in effect for 12 days after the first Chicago Public Schools students go back to in-person class.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that Illinois’ ban on evictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic would be extended once again as the COVID-19 pandemic rages, despite the start of efforts to distribute vaccines.

The complaint filed against the elected official, whose name and office was not identified in accordance with the board’s rules, is expected to be dismissed at the board’s meeting scheduled for Monday.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on Twitter that the benchmark was a “tragic milestone” that was “heart-wrenching.”

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representing Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, called Thursday morning for President Donald Trump to be removed immediately from office and replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday the toughest restrictions in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus could lift in regions across the state as soon as Jan. 15.

Once efforts to inoculate health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities from COVID-19 are complete, Illinois residents 65 and older as well as essential workers will be eligible for the vaccine, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday.

Officer Joseph Cabrera faces charges of aggravated assault and making a false statement in connection with the Oct. 13 shooting which occurred near 5200 S. Monitor Ave., according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Cardinal Blase Cupich asked the Rev. Michael Pfleger to step down as senior pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church while the Archdiocese of Chicago investigates an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor more than 40 years ago. 

Long-stalled efforts to put an elected board of Chicago residents in charge of the Chicago Police Department remain mired in debate, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot declined Tuesday to commit to a timeline to create the required police oversight body.

Chicago health officials have distributed 95% of the vaccine sent to the city by federal officials, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said, but has the capacity to handle more doses. The current pace is “frankly, unacceptable,” she said. “The federal government must step up.”

The Dugout Bar in Wrigleyville will remain closed indefinitely after police officers responding to a call for help about a person being attacked in the 900 block of Addison Street found a large New Year’s Eve party, officials said.

A cross section of aldermen — including some of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest allies  — urged her on Sunday to rethink her plan to reopen the Chicago Public Schools for in-person learning, 24 hours before the first teachers must report to school buildings for work.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson told aldermen on Thursday that his office “has initiated and is proceeding with a formal inquiry into aspects of the search warrant” that authorized a botched raid in February 2019 that left Anjanette Young handcuffed while naked and pleading for help.

Chicago employers who are required to give their workers two weeks’ notice of their schedules in an effort to reduce the stress caused by unpredictable shift work can be sued when the law takes full effect Friday after a six-month delay caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The sound of hoofs pounding the pavement along the Magnificent Mile will be a thing of the past starting Friday, as a ban on horse-drawn carriages takes effect after a yearslong effort by animal welfare advocates.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was told in November 2019 that a raid that left Anjanette Young handcuffed and pleading for help during a mistaken raid of her home in February 2019 was “pretty bad,” according to emails released Wednesday by the mayor’s office.

More than a half dozen large parties have been shut down by city officials in the past month, even as Chicago remains under a stay-at-home advisory designed to prevent people from contracting COVID-19.

The resignation was announced 3 1/2 years after Randy Conner took the top job amid a furor caused by the city watchdog’s determination that the Department of Water Management was rife with “overtly racist and sexist behavior and attitudes.” 

Travelers from the Badger State can avoid the 10-day quarantine if they record a negative test for COVID-19 within 72 hours, according to the city’s COVID-19 travel order.

As part of the city’s campaign to convince those skeptical about the coronavirus vaccine to get inoculated, Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the new clinic.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday declined to commit to a Wednesday meeting with Anjanette Young, who was handcuffed while naked during a botched raid by the Chicago Police Department in February 2019.

Five staff members at a health clinic that serves Chicago’s Latino community became the first Chicagoans to get the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.

Former 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno was charged with drunken driving in connection with a string of crashes that damaged at least eight cars parked along a Gold Coast street late Sunday, Chicago police announced Monday.

A 20-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the shooting death of a retired Chicago firefighter during an attempted carjacking, the Chicago Police Department announced Monday.

The Chicago Department of Public Health has asked Reserve Management Group to resubmit its application to operate Southside Recycling at 11600 S. Burley Ave. with a significant amount of additional information.