Stories by Paul Caine

Dr. Marina Del Rios was the first person in Chicago to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 after receiving her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine Tuesday. “I felt reassured that this was safe and efficacious,” she said.

A Cook County judge has ordered former Chicago Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno to be held without bail and report to jail, calling him “a danger to the community” after he allegedly drove drunk last month and damaged more than a half dozen vehicles.

Kierra Wooden founded Southside Cleanup in the aftermath of 2020’s protests, and now the young activist finds herself at the head of a movement that’s about so much more than picking up trash.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on Twitter that the benchmark was a “tragic milestone” that was “heart-wrenching.”

Watch the Jan. 7, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

In announcing the unprecedented move, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said the risk of allowing President Donald Trump to use the platform is too great following the president's incitement of a mob that touched off a deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol.

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican representing Illinois’ 16th Congressional District, called Thursday morning for President Donald Trump to be removed immediately from office and replaced by Vice President Mike Pence.

President Donald Trump's acknowledgment came after a day of chaos and destruction on Capitol Hill as a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol building and unleashed unprecedented scenes of mayhem as it tried to halt the peaceful transition of power. 

Lawmakers were resolved to complete the Electoral College tally in a display to the country, and the world, of the nation’s enduring commitment to uphold the will of the voters and the peaceful transfer of power. They pushed through the night with tensions high and the nation’s capital on alert.

Thousands of workers around Chicago have been labeled “essential” to maintaining our health, educational and economic infrastructures. We want to hear from those essential workers about what they need to keep going.

On Wednesday, hallowed spaces of American democracy, one after another, yielded to the occupation of Congress. The pro-Trump mob took over the presiding officer’s chair in the Senate, the offices of the House speaker and the Senate dais, where one yelled, “Trump won that election.” 

For members of Illinois’ congressional delegation, Wednesday was an unprecedented —  and for some, scary — experience.

“It’s a sick, disgusting day in American democracy and we’ll get through it and hopefully be stronger somehow for it,” U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger said of Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol by pro-Trump rioters.

“I was not surprised by the violence,” said Tom Mockaitis, a security and terrorism specialist. “I was surprised and appalled by how poorly prepared to defend the United States Capitol the security apparatus was.” 

Riots break out in Washington, D.C. by pro-Trump supporters as Congress prepared to count electoral votes. Our politics team takes on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

A violent mob loyal to President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday and forced lawmakers into hiding, in a stunning attempt to overturn America’s presidential election.

President Donald Trump told his supporters on Wednesday to “go home” after they stormed the Capitol in protest of his reelection defeat and he urged them to stay peaceful, but he also praised their mission even after it erupted in violence.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday the toughest restrictions in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus could lift in regions across the state as soon as Jan. 15.

Democrats won both Georgia Senate seats — and with them, the U.S. Senate majority — as final votes were counted Wednesday, serving President Donald Trump a stunning defeat in his last days in office while dramatically improving the fate of President-elect Joe Biden’s progressive agenda.

President-elect Joe Biden called Wednesday for the restoration of “just simple decency” as a mob incited by his predecessor stormed the U.S. Capitol and delayed Congress from certifying the results of November’s election in which Biden won the White House. 

Once efforts to inoculate health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities from COVID-19 are complete, Illinois residents 65 and older as well as essential workers will be eligible for the vaccine, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Wednesday.

Officer Joseph Cabrera faces charges of aggravated assault and making a false statement in connection with the Oct. 13 shooting which occurred near 5200 S. Monitor Ave., according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Watch the Jan. 6, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

In picking Garland, President-elect Joe Biden is turning to an experienced judge who held senior positions at the Justice Department decades ago, including as a supervisor of the prosecution of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

Walgreens says it will now have the flexibility to invest in and focus on its retail business which, like others, has been rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cardinal Blase Cupich asked the Rev. Michael Pfleger to step down as senior pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church while the Archdiocese of Chicago investigates an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor more than 40 years ago.