Stories by Heather Cherone

With tens of thousands of Chicagoans working from home for the first time and thousands more becoming entrepreneurs because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the City Council is poised to ease the rules governing the operation of home businesses.

U.S. health officials on Tuesday recommended pausing vaccinations with J&J’s shot as they look into reports of six clots out of nearly 7 million doses given in the country.

Chicago employers would be required to give workers time off to get vaccinated against COVID-19 under a proposal advanced Tuesday by aldermen. Firms that violate the measure could face fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.

A pause on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Local groups protest a police-involved killing in Minnesota. Canceling student debt. And a lawsuit to install pedestrian signals for the visually impaired.

The Chicago Public Library has filled a gap in the legacy of former Mayor Harold Washington by digitizing scores of his written speeches, available to the public in a searchable online collection, library officials announced this week.

Cash Johnson, 26, is facing a first-degree murder charge after he allegedly stabbed a 75-year-old man to death “for no apparent reason” last month in a gangway in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

The Chicago Cubs are concerned about a possible COVID-19 outbreak after two coaches tested positive for the virus and three relievers were placed on the COVID-19-related injured list.

Illinois’ General Assembly is charged with drawing new political maps every 10 years following the census. But exactly what the latest census shows about Illinois’ residents is still unknown. 

Islamic leaders are using social media, virtual town halls and face-to-face discussions to spread the word that it’s acceptable to be vaccinated for the coronavirus during daily fasting that happens during Ramadan, the most sacred month of the year for Muslims.

One year ago, crews imploded the smokestack at the defunct Crawford coal plant, sending a plume of dust over Little Village but illuminating the impact that toxic air pollution caused by industrial operations has had on South and West side neighborhoods for decades.

The police officer who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in a Minneapolis suburb apparently intended to fire a Taser, not a handgun, as the man struggled with police, the city’s police chief said Monday.

Prosecutors’ case against former Officer Derek Chauvin drew toward a close Monday with tender memories from George Floyd’s younger brother, along with another look at the harrowing video and testimony from a use-of-force expert who said no “reasonable” officer would have done what Chauvin did.

As students wrap up their spring semesters, colleges and universities have started announcing plans for the fall. We discuss the outlook for three area universities.

The board reduced the fine it levied against Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) by more than 96% after considering “after considering the equities of the situation," officials said.

President Joe Biden wants Congress to know he’s sincere about cutting a deal on infrastructure, but the White House is also highlighting needed repairs and upgrades state-by-state that cost far more than what Republicans are willing to spend.

The Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates on Sunday evening voted to keep high school staffers out of schools beginning Wednesday as the union continues negotiating with CPS over how to safely reopen those schools.

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

A Black football player at a northwest Illinois high school is seen on video sitting down in a locker littered with banana peels after a teammate threatens to break his knees if he doesn’t comply.

The push to get high school students back into classrooms. How colleges are handling student vaccinations. What you need to know about redistricting. The holy month of Ramadan begins.

The Illinois Department of Corrections will resume in-person visits at its facilities statewide over the next month, giving prisoners a chance to see their loved ones for the first time in more than a year.

The Chicago Tribune newspaper could become a nonprofit. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

The vaccines currently being rolled out across the U.S. offer strong protection against variants. But new studies of experimental updates to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines mark a critical first step toward an alternative if the virus eventually outsmarts today’s shots.

The expansion of vaccine eligibility to any Illinois adult regardless of their age, health or employment does not include the city of Chicago. However, Chicagoans can travel outside of the city to be vaccinated, officials said, though supplies are still limited.

About 40% of all abortions in the U.S. are now done through medication — rather than surgery — and that option has become all the more pivotal during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When city leaders and developers discuss new plans for major real estate projects, some groups are often left out of the discussion. What’s being done to bring more Black and Latino developers into the industry. 

Urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas gives us the last word on how knowing the city’s past can change the energy of its future.