Stories by Heather Cherone

Gov. J.B. Pritzker will extend Illinois’ ban on evictions for another month, as warnings of a tsunami of looming evictions grow louder. The ban is now set to expire Sept. 22, according to Pritzker spokesperson.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday defended the Chicago Police Department’s ban on protests on her Logan Square block, citing a significant number of threats against her, her wife and 12-year-old daughter.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday it was too soon to evaluate whether President Donald Trump’s decision to send more than 100 federal agents to Chicago had begun to pay dividends in the ongoing effort to crack down on surging violent crime and gun violence.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker hailed on Wednesday the decision by the Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency approval to a coronavirus test developed by University of Illinois researchers that uses saliva rather than a deep nasal swab.

Four aldermen have called for a special Chicago City Council meeting in an effort to pressure Mayor Lori Lightfoot to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker to call out the Illinois National Guard to reduce escalating violence and sustained protests amid the coronavirus pandemic.

City officials are putting the final touches on a plan to replace the lead service lines responsible for contaminating the tap water in thousands of Chicago homes, according to Department of Water Management Commissioner Randy Conner.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said the spread of the virus remains high among city residents between the ages of 18 and 29 as well as among Latino Chicagoans.

Visitors to Chicago from Wisconsin will no longer be required to quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, city officials announced Tuesday.

Among the businesses shut down by officials for violating rules designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus was Barba Yianni Greek Tavern in Lincoln Square and Juanita’s Restaurant #2 in Clearing.

Facing criticism from aldermen and progressive groups, Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown on Monday defended the department’s handling of a protest downtown Saturday evening after officers and demonstrators clashed.

Led by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a new plan for police reform from the U.S. Conference of Mayors calls for sweeping changes to agreements with police unions in order to allow officers to be held accountable for misconduct.

More 230,000 Chicago voters have applied to vote by mail in November, shattering the record set during this year’s primary election with more than 80 days left until Election Day, officials said Thursday.

City officials will restrict access to downtown Chicago through the weekend, even though the city has not seen widespread looting in two days.

The Chicago Police Department is struggling to reform the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers. What’s being done to address the slow pace of reforms.

After protests forced Mayor Lori Lightfoot to remove the city’s statues of Christopher Columbus, the city will launch an effort to “provide a vehicle to address the hard truths of Chicago’s racial history,” the mayor’s office announced Wednesday. 

Lawmakers on Tuesday approved new rules crafted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reduce the spread of the coronavirus despite opposition from Illinois Republicans and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

The growing share of city property taxes sent to tax increment finance districts is sure to fuel the argument over whether the districts actually spur redevelopment and eradicate blight or exacerbate growing inequality in Chicago.

Access to downtown Chicago will be restricted “for the foreseeable future,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know.

“We can't have people out on the street interfacing with the public without body cameras,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday, just days after officers responded to a call about a man with a gun that led to a shooting and touched off unrest across the city.

Visitors to Chicago from Iowa, Kansas and Utah will no longer have to quarantine for two weeks, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Tuesday. The three states are the first to be removed from Chicago’s quarantine order.

City officials will “temporarily restrict” access to downtown Chicago beginning at 8 p.m. Monday and ending at 6 a.m. Tuesday, officials said. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has not issued an official city curfew order.

Decrying “blame games” in the wake of widespread destruction, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx says her office would prosecute people accused of looting — but not those arrested for exercising their First Amendment rights. 

Amid a continuing outcry over the decision to allow Chicago police officers to patrol schools, Chicago Public Schools officials announced Monday they would slash spending on the program at the center of the debate over defunding the police department by more than half.

Caravans of cars headed to the Loop and North Side to loot stores after a police officer shot and wounded a 20-year-old man in Englewood, causing widespread destruction and mayhem, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

Superstar Kanye West fell short of qualifying for the Illinois ballot as an independent presidential candidate by 1,300 signatures, according to the official review on Friday of the nominating petitions submitted by the Illinois native.

With the state’s ban on evictions set to expire in two weeks, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced a $20 million rental assistance fund to help residents of suburban Cook County impacted by the pandemic.