Stories by Heather Cherone

Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a grave warning on Thursday as Illinois officials reported 6,363 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, telling residents that the pandemic has entered the most dangerous phase since the spring.

Nine of the state’s 11 regions have triggered the state’s fail-safe metrics designed to stop the spread of the coronavirus, with the addition of much of West-Central Illinois, including Springfield and Quincy, on Thursday.

Restrictions ordered by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to stop the spread of COVID-19 take effect at midnight Friday. Mayor Lightfoot altered her plan to align with the restrictions laid out by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s decision to eliminate library fines in order to coax patrons back to the Chicago Public Library has paid off in spades, aldermen heard Wednesday.

A second Wall Street ratings agency sounded the alarm over Chicago’s budget on Wednesday as aldermen continued weighing Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $12.76 billion spending plan for 2021.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she spoke with Gov. J.B. Pritzker for about an hour on Wednesday, a day after the serious split between the officials leading the effort to stem the pandemic spilled into public view.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed back late Tuesday on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s order to suspend indoor dining and drinking in Chicago, the latest sign of a serious split between the officials leading the effort to stem the pandemic.

City officials added Florida to Chicago’s COVID-19 quarantine order as confirmed cases of the coronavirus continue to surge in Chicago, Illinois and throughout the nation.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $1.2 billion budget gap by hiking property taxes and laying off employees got a cool reception Monday from aldermen, who pleaded for other options amid a raging pandemic.

The latest television ad from the Republican challenger running for Cook County State’s Attorney uses a statement from Chicago police Superintendent David Brown to blast incumbent Kim Foxx.

A year after the fanfare-filled launch, city officials said the program had begun to show results — with $70 million in public funds attracting $300 million in private investments.

As Chicago grapples with a second wave of the pandemic, a Wall Street ratings agency fired a shot across the bow as aldermen prepared to start a month of hearings on Mayor Lightfoot’s spending plan.

Mayor Paul Braun said he and the Flossmoor Village Board were “extremely disappointed” that Gyata Kimmons resigned his seat.

“There are points in time when scoop and toss is appropriate” and that is now the case since Chicago is facing a $1.2 billion budget gap, Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett said.

“We are taking these measures to avoid potential catastrophic impacts later,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday announcing new restrictions in the wake of an increase coronavirus cases.

As officials scramble to cope with a significant increase in the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot are at odds over the role that bars and restaurants are playing in fueling the spread.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $1.2 billion budget gap in 2021 would hike sales and property taxes by $76.4 million, eliminate 1,921 city jobs and dip into the city’s rainy-day fund.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will face the biggest test of her time in office on Wednesday when she details her plan to fill the massive budget shortfall caused in part by the coronavirus pandemic.

A member of the Wilmette Library Board of Trustees who also works as a state lobbyist sued the city of Chicago, seeking to overturn a ban on elected officials from outside Chicago from lobbying city officials.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and two of her closest allies on the Chicago City Council remain at odds over long-stalled efforts to put an elected board of Chicago residents in charge of the Chicago Police Department.

In all, the city’s order warns residents against travel to 30 states and Puerto Rico.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned Chicagoans that the city is experiencing another wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with confirmed cases rising sharply across the city to levels last seen in late May.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Illinois residents Friday that the entire state is seeing a surge in confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as the state set a single-day record for new infections and reported 38 deaths linked to the virus.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on Friday that Illinois’ ban on evictions would be extended until Nov. 16, as state officials continue to send grants to Illinois residents struggling to make ends meet.

Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s report details several instances when Eddie Johnson got special treatment after being discovered unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle near 34th Place and Aberdeen Street last year.

“This has not been a good week in Chicago,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, urging people to avoid gatherings, wear masks and keep 6 feet of distance from others.