Stories by Heather Cherone

An effort to ease Chicago’s affordable housing crisis by permitting coach house dwellings stalled Friday amid opposition from aldermen concerned they would not be able to stop unwanted units from being built in their wards.

Aldermen unanimously agreed Tuesday to ban demolitions near the 606 Bloomingdale Trail for another six months as aldermen craft a measure to blunt rapid gentrification along the popular trail.

A significantly revised measure that would give long-term renters more notice before they are evicted without cause cleared a key city panel Tuesday after progressive aldermen stalled its passage for a month.

The 14-day quarantine order currently covers travelers to Chicago from 15 states, including California and Florida. Starting Friday, it will also apply to those coming from Iowa and Oklahoma, according to the mayor’s office.

Chicago residents who don’t have a city sticker will get another two weeks before they risk seeing that dreaded bright orange envelope on their windshields.

Approximately 55% of Chicagoans have so far responded to the 2020 census, but that is “not even close to where we need to be,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. Now, she’s enlisting a familiar face to help with outreach.

In a message addressed to “residents and neighbors,” the alderman, who represents the Far South Side’s 34th Ward, said she is “currently progressing toward a full recovery.”

More than 121,000 voters requested mail-in ballots from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners since the application period opened less than a month ago, officials said.

City officials fined six businesses and shut down a West Loop brewery for violating rules designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Monday.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said she “broadly” feels confident that schools will be able to offer “some” in-person classes starting in September.

The new restrictions, which aim to reduce a slight increase in the number of coronavirus cases among young Chicagoans, took effect immediately, the Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office announced Friday morning. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a new 104-page report Thursday, which calls for the city to accelerate investments in neighborhoods on the South and West sides in order to create jobs and reduce crime.

Five weeks after two explosions rattled General Iron, city officials allowed the North Side metal recycler to partially reopen June 24 — but its shredding facility remains shut down as investigations continue into the May 18 blasts.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday ordered those traveling to Chicago from states where confirmed cases of the coronavirus are surging to quarantine for two weeks starting Monday.

Chicagoans hoping to beat this week’s oppressive heat and humidity won’t be able to head to Chicago’s beaches to cool off “any time soon,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot warned businesses before the 4th of July holiday weekend that city inspectors would be out in force, and officials on Monday announced they had made good on those threats.

Calling access to water a “basic human right,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday expanded a program designed to help those struggling to pay their water bills or pay off debt from past-due bills.

Determined to close a loophole in a six-year-old city law, aldermen advanced a measure Monday that would ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits at a profit.

Chicago officials failed to act after the city’s watchdog found significant problems with the program that allows Chicago police officers to patrol schools, and used a federal judge’s order requiring reforms to delay any changes, the city’s watchdog told aldermen.

Chicago’s pension debt soared by approximately $1.7 billion in 2019, according to the city’s audited annual financial report released Thursday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the new rules in May after the delivery apps came under fierce criticism for hurting already-struggling restaurants by charging steep fees and service charges.

An effort to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Chicago will take center stage Monday, as aldermen redouble their effort to reduce a surge in vaping by teens. The move will be hotly opposed by business groups.

A “perfect storm” is to blame for the surge in homicides during June, which has put the city on pace to record more murders than any year since 2016, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.

During the 2019 mayoral campaign, Lori Lightfoot’s platform called for a fully elected board to replace the group appointed by the mayor, but she has yet to make good on that promise.

Most Chicago workers who earn the minimum wage will see their paychecks rise — and get more notice before they are expected to clock in for a shift, as two of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s top priorities take effect this week.

Using state and federal funds, the local nonprofit will hire 600 people to conduct community-level contact tracing efforts to stamp out the coronavirus.