Stories by Alexandra Silets

A contentious vote on police in schools. The next phase of reopening for the city and state. A plan for in-person instruction at schools in the fall. Those stories and more in this week’s roundtable.

The Chicago Police Department missed 70% of reform deadlines set out in a consent decree. A landmark week at the U.S. Supreme Court and the Chicago City Council recognizes Juneteenth.

Protesters across the city and nation continue to push for police reforms that some elected officials say should include defunding the police. That’s just one of the topics on the City Council’s packed agenda Wednesday.

Activists call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to defund the police – an idea she rejects. She’s pushing to license police after video caught a dozen officers lounging as looters destroyed businesses.

Amid a pandemic that has been linked to the deaths of more than 2,000 people in Chicago, the city is cautiously reopening. But some communities are facing another hurdle: rebuilding.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for the firing of the Chicago police officer who flipped off protesters. A citywide curfew will remain in place even though most recent protests have been peaceful.

Illinois partially reopens Friday as the state surpasses more than 115,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 5,000 deaths. Chicago is planning its reopening for June 3.

With 49 shot and 10 killed over Memorial Day weekend, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is ripping her new police superintendent’s strategies. “This was a fail and whatever the strategy is, it didn’t work,” Lightfoot said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker greenlights a partial reopening of the state next week. Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago won’t reopen until early June. State lawmakers battle over masks, reopening and the budget.

More than 4,000 have died from COVID-19 in Illinois as Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushes the state’s estimated peak to mid-June. Chicago is on pace to move to the next phase at the end of the month, but the lakefront will remain closed. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot details how she plans to reopen Chicago days after Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker details the state’s blueprint. And the state’s unemployment system is overhauled to handle the deluge of people filing for benefits.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been stressful on everyone, but health care workers on the front lines are dealing with incredible mental health challenges.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit African American and Hispanic and Latino communities especially hard in terms of infection and death. We speak with U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly about health disparities, funding and more.

Illinois records more than 3,000 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, which officials attribute to an increase in testing. McCormick Place is winding down operations as an alternate care site. And as a new modified stay-at-home order begins, hundreds protest.

Illinois sets a new record of confirmed COVID-19 cases as testing capacity expands. Gov. J.B. Pritzker extends the stay-at-home order until May 30 with some modifications. And Chicago aldermen narrowly approve emergency powers for Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 

About 70% of Illinois’ COVID-19 deaths are in Cook County. As a result of the pandemic, the medical examiner’s office opened an off-site morgue to deal with a surge in deaths.

The statistics are sobering. Data shows that nearly a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths in Illinois are tied to nursing homes and long-term care facilities. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker closes schools for in-person learning for the rest of the year to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus as cases and deaths continue to climb. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot fines the company behind the Crawford Power Plant implosion. 

President Donald Trump has halted funding to the World Health Organization until a review can be conducted of its pandemic response. U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Jan Schakowsky weigh in on that and other recent moves by Trump.

Dealing with loved ones dying in normal times can be difficult enough. But during this global health crisis, a host of new challenges arise as physical distancing forces families apart during final bedside moments.

While the COVID-19 death toll is nearing 600 in Illinois, officials are hopeful that the state is starting to flatten the curve, but leaders are urging residents to celebrate the Easter holiday from home.

Will the holidays be vastly different during the stay-at-home order? A local rabbi and pastor talk about how they are ministering during this strange time.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump fired Glenn Fine, chairman of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, whose job was to oversee the administration of trillions of dollars in federal funding. We get reaction from three Illinois congressmen.

Illinois saw its largest single-day spike in COVID-19 cases on Friday, with an additional 1,209 people testing positive for the virus. A growing number of Chicago cases prompts the creation of a field hospital at McCormick Place.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust a host of ethical dilemmas out of the classroom and into emergency rooms and hospitals. Is it ethical to ask providers to reuse masks? Or to prioritize testing? Or to ration ventilators? We speak with two doctors on the front lines.

The Chicago Medical Society says that intensive care units in Chicago are full as of Monday. But experts say a peak in cases is still two to three weeks away.