Stories by Kristen Thometz

Anticipating a surge in coronavirus cases as result of Thanksgiving travel and gatherings, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said people should assume they’ve been exposed to the virus “and act like it.”

A rancorous debate that stretched for more than 18 months ended Tuesday with a unanimous vote of the City Council’s Zoning Committee to reject an effort to landmark more than 900 buildings and murals in Pilsen.

It’s been four weeks since the polls closed, but the impact of the election is still unfolding. Check out our virtual discussion about the 2020 general election with Hugo Balta, host of “Latino Voices,” and a panel of guests.

The first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine could be administered to health care workers in Chicago in three weeks, Chicago health officials said Tuesday.

Watch the Dec. 1, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Last month, Chicago recorded 267 shootings and 58 homicides — increases of more than 70% compared to November 2019. “This has been a difficult year for law enforcement throughout the country,” top cop David Brown said.

Upwards of 267,000 people have so far died in the U.S. from the novel coronavirus, and experts have fatalistic predictions about more infections throughout the winter. But it’s not just the coronavirus that’s killing people.

The city’s 2021 budget includes $36 million for violence prevention programs. That’s nearly $25 million more than in the 2020 budget, but some advocates say the additional funding is still not enough. 

Medical professionals in Chicago and across the country are braced for a fresh surge of coronavirus cases after millions of Americans ignored advice not to travel or gather over the Thanksgiving holiday. Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist at UChicago Medicine, weighs in.

The coronavirus pandemic is driving holiday shoppers in the U.S. online — and they’re expected to spend a record $12.7 billion on Cyber Monday. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker has details.

While the number of new COVID-19 cases have been declining in recent days, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state is seeing a spike in hospitalizations and is “still very much in a precarious place.”

After city investigators responded to a call about a large party in the basement of 1612 W. Division Ave. early Sunday morning, they found a party with approximately 300 attendees, no social distancing and no face coverings.

Opponents of a permit application for a metal shredding facility on the Southeast Side question whether public comments will fall on deaf ears.

Chicago radio legend and National Radio Hall of Fame member Orion Samuelson is retiring at the end of 2020. In this 2003 interview with Bob Sirott, Samuelson talks about his career.

An altercation over leftovers following Thanksgiving dinner escalated into the fatal stabbing of a 52-year-old man early Friday morning in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.

Every year, the start of the snow route ban catches hundreds of drivers unaware, forcing them to travel to the city’s auto pound — and pay at least $235 — to retrieve their cars, officials said.

If you were to choose a word that rose above most in 2020, which word would it be? Ding, ding, ding: Merriam-Webster on Monday announced “pandemic” as its 2020 word of the year. 

Watch the Nov. 30, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The sheriff began feeling symptomatic on Nov. 20, his office said, and he immediately self-quarantined at that point. He has not worked in his office since Nov. 19.

The Chicago Police Department on Monday released a photo of a vehicle they describe as a 2008-2012 GMC Acadia that’s believed to be involved in the death of 86-year-old Eliseo Mendoza.

Strong winds are creating dangerous conditions along the lakeshore, prompting the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications to issue a lakeshore flood advisory until 6 a.m. Tuesday.

If the FDA allows emergency use, Moderna expects to have 20 million doses ready for the U.S. by year’s end. Recipients will need two doses, so that’s enough for 10 million people. 

As officials imposed sweeping restrictions designed to stop a sustained and grave surge of the coronavirus, Chicago health officials stopped showcasing the number of people who test positive for COVID-19.

“Communities that have been most negatively affected by COVID-19 are less likely to say they would to vaccinate their children and themselves against COVID-19,” said Dr. Matt Davis of Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Growing up in a family of 19 children, Jermaine Jordan learned both how to cook and to share. Today, he’s using those skills on a much larger scale at Healthy Hot Free Meals, a restaurant he opened in October.

The nation’s top infectious disease expert said Sunday that the U.S. may see “surge upon a surge” of the coronavirus in the weeks after Thanksgiving.