Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended her push for emergency powers to respond to the coronavirus pandemic in an interview with WTTW News to tout her newest effort to get Chicagoans to stay home and stop the spread of the virus.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has just a “fragile” hold on a City Council majority that allows her to govern the city — but warning signs are flashing, according to an analysis of City Council votes during her first 11 months in office.

Small businesses on the South and West sides that are struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic can apply for $5,000 grants from the city, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Tuesday.

More members of the Chicago Police Department have become ill than any other city department during the pandemic, with 414 officers testing positive for COVID-19 as of Monday, according to city data.

City officials on Monday launched a new web-based application they say was designed to help those suffering from the coronavirus while laying the groundwork for a massive vaccination campaign.

Chicago is “a ways away” from even considering plans to reopen Wrigley Field and Guaranteed Rate Field because the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus are still rising, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

The plume of dust that coated homes in Little Village after the botched demolition of a coal plant smokestack did not threaten residents’ health, according to final test results released Monday by the city of Chicago.

The distinctive sound of hooves clip-clopping along downtown streets will soon become a relic of a bygone era.

The 29-21 vote is the closest in recent City Council history, as tensions between aldermen and the mayor continue to rise during the pandemic that forced the meeting to take place virtually.

Even though state parks are set to reopen May 1 with restrictions, Chicago’s lakefront will remain closed, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced the creation of a task force to lead the city’s eventual recovery from the coronavirus pandemic — even as she reminded residents the virus is still running rampant.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the grim milestone reached Wednesday in Illinois should not be a surprise, since the number of tests for COVID-19 conducted in the past 24 hours soared to an all-time high of 9,349.

Aldermen blocked a measure Wednesday that would have granted Mayor Lori Lightfoot expanded spending and contracting authority to respond to the coronavirus pandemic without the approval of the City Council.

The City Council on Wednesday voted 50-0 to appoint former Dallas Police Chief David Brown to lead the Chicago Police Department.

Aldermen advanced a measure Tuesday that grants Mayor Lori Lightfoot expanded spending and contracting authority to respond to the coronavirus pandemic without the approval of the City Council.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she expects Gov. J.B. Pritzker to extend the statewide stay-at-home order beyond April 30, which is “no longer a viable date” for that order to be lifted.

Aldermen unanimously advanced Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick to lead the Chicago Police Department on Monday, after quizzing him on his promises to rebuild trust in the police.

The Illinois State Board of Elections told federal officials they planned to use the funds to help local elections officials prepare for an expected “considerable increase” in the number of ballots cast by mail.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed on Friday to hold Hilco Redevelopment Partners accountable for botching the demolition of the smokestack at the former Crawford Power Plant, sending a plume of dust over six blocks of homes in Little Village.

Chicago officials said Thursday they will not ticket, boot or impound cars that do not pose a public safety threat for an additional month as part of an effort to help Chicagoans facing a cash crunch.

Wrigley Field should be stirring to life this week. But with the baseball season postponed indefinitely by the coronavirus pandemic, the Friendly Confines will instead welcome a temporary outpost of the Lakeview Pantry. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on the city’s watchdog to complete his probe into what happened before — and after — former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was discovered asleep in his running car after a night of drinking.

When the governor issued a stay-at-home order last month, cases of COVID-19 were more than doubling every three days in Chicago. Had that rate held steady, approximately 64,500 Chicagoans would have been sickened by now, according to new data.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot presided over the city’s first virtual meeting Wednesday morning from her office on the 5th floor of City Hall, with 48 aldermen connected via Zoom.

The City Council will write a new chapter in the history books Wednesday by meeting virtually to keep from spreading the coronavirus. The meeting will follow an “abbreviated agenda” and is designed “primarily to adopt rules addressing meetings by videoconference.”

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden for president in a video message Tuesday that delivered a full-throated condemnation of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.