Stories by Hedy Weiss

For several decades, Hershey Felder has created a series of richly theatrical biographies of great composers. His latest work, “A Paris Love Story,” follows that essential pattern but adds a heartbreaking layer of autobiography.

The National Audubon Society’s annual bird count is underway. Now in its 121st year, the tally gives researchers and conservationists a good picture of how North America’s bird populations are changing.

The Electoral College decisively confirmed Joe Biden on Monday as the nation’s next president, ratifying his November victory in an authoritative state-by-state repudiation of President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede he had lost.

Renaming 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, would be a massive undertaking without precedent in the city’s history, city officials told aldermen Friday.

Illinois’ 20 members of the Electoral College played their part Monday in getting former Vice President Joe Biden to the White House, despite President Donald Trump’s continued attempts to overturn last month’s election results.

We catch up with local songwriter Paul Cherry, who recently performed his first show in nearly a year at Lincoln Hall — for a virtual audience. 

The board voted unanimously on Monday to fine the 21st Ward alderman $5,000 for violating the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance by defending clients in criminal cases involving the Chicago Police Department.

An effort to require Chicago police officers to allow those arrested access to a phone within an hour of being detained remains stymied, nearly 19 months after Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward) called on police brass to follow state law.

Suburban Cook County health officials outlined their vaccination plans Monday as they await the shipment of 20,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech. 

Winter is on its way, and with it comes holiday stress, seasonal depression and — this year — concerns about COVID-19. We get advice on staying mentally healthy during the pandemic.

“Today is a very special day that should instill us all with optimism and hope,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday as the state received an initial shipment of about 43,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer. 

Over the last nine months, the ways in which people are getting around Chicago — and their need to do so — have shifted dramatically. But the demand for public transit from essential workers has remained steady.

Trailblazing sports reporter Jeannie Morris, the first woman to cover the Super Bowl who is perhaps best known for her book “Brian Piccolo: A Short Season” that was later turned into the film “Brian’s Song,” died Monday.

Mag Mile landlords dodge a new tax aimed at revitalizing the shopping strip following this summer’s unrest. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker has details on this story and more.

A Black high school student who was dragged down the stairs and tased by a police officer stationed at Marshall High School should get $300,000 to settle her lawsuit against the city, aldermen agreed Monday.

Be on the lookout for phony treatments and phishing messages, according to the Better Business Bureau, as scammers look to take advantage of pandemic angst and the public’s desire to get vaccinated.

Watch the Dec. 14, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The biggest vaccination campaign in U.S. history kicked off Monday as health workers rolled up their sleeves for shots to protect them from COVID-19 and start beating back the pandemic — a day of optimism even as the nation’s death toll closed in on 300,000.

Alds. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) and Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said the effort to create the new taxing district to fund security, attract businesses and spruce up the streets and sidewalks was pushed through too quickly and should not move forward.

The possible nomination would vault the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate into the federal government, getting the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor what many Democrats see as needed experience should he want to run for president again.

Trump administration officials are expected to say this week whether the monarch butterfly, a colorful and familiar backyard visitor now caught in a global extinction crisis, should receive federal designation as a threatened species.

Lovie Smith became Illinois’ first Black head football coach when he was hired by athletic director Josh Whitman in March 2016. The longtime NFL coach went 17-39 in five seasons at the school.

The first of many freezer-packed COVID-19 vaccine vials made their way to distribution sites across the United States on Sunday, as the nation’s pandemic deaths approached the horrifying new milestone of 300,000.

Our conversation on unity between Black and Latino communities continues. We check in with the new president of Governors State University. Meet an extraordinary athlete who just wouldn’t give up.

A new generation of activists and organizers are working to build on past coalitions and bring Chicago’s Black and Brown communities together to end the systemic inequities that have persisted in our city for decades.

The owner of Gerri’s Palm Tavern appeared in a few WTTW features over the years, including a 1987 special about 47th Street called “Precious Memories.” We revisit that conversation.