Stories by Amanda Vinicky

A new set of 75 dispensary licenses, judged in part on social equity factors, was to have been awarded by May 1, but has been indefinitely delayed due to the coronavirus.

As theme parks across the country begin reopening, how are Chicago attractions faring?

They’re rare now, but rooftop water tanks once stood sentinel atop every large building in the city, keeping them safe from threat of fire.

The government reported Thursday that retail sales rose a sharp 7.5% in June, but the positive trend was undercut by more recent data showing that credit card spending has stalled. 

The Chicago Cubs got the green light Thursday to play home games on weekend nights, the “extraordinary circumstances” imposed by the coronavirus pandemic breaking a decadeslong ban on games under lights on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey said Thursday the school district must begin the 2020-21 academic year with remote learning until there are firm guidelines and protocols in place to ensure kids and staff alike are protected from COVID-19.

The CTA’s ambitious Red and Purple Line modernization program will impact service for riders on the North Side for a four-week period starting Friday. And the agency’s plan to relocate a historic building takes a step forward.

After finding arsenic and lead in the soil at the Hegewisch Little League Field, the EPA tested a second a ball diamond in the neighborhood and found manganese. “We fight for every breath we take here,” said one resident.

Watch the July 16, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The hearing is expected to end on Friday with McHenry County Judge Robert Wilbrandt sentencing 37-year-old JoAnn Cunningham. She has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the beating death of her son, Andrew “AJ” Freund.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson released a report Thursday that concluded Former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson lied repeatedly about the incident and what happened afterward.

Museums and aquariums can now reopen their doors — with restrictions — but few of them have, and at least one Chicago institution says it will remain closed until phase five of Illinois’ reopening plan.

Will an uptick in COVID-19 cases lead to more restrictions across the city and state? Our politics team takes on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Even if you practice safe habits, there’s always a chance you’ll come into contact with someone who has COVID-19. There’s no guarantee you’ll get it too, but there’s also no guarantee you won’t. So what then?

A one-on-one discussion with Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on the possibility of being Joe Biden’s running mate, the federal response to COVID-19, whether schools should reopen in the fall and more.

Pastor T. L. Barrett wrote and recorded soul-infused gospel music in the 1970s with his youth choir. Forty years later, his music is reaching new generations — via some star-studded names.

Chicago bars have been open since the middle of June, and since that time, new coronavirus cases in young people are spiking. How are bar owners and managers handling their business — and the safety of customers and employees?

A record 121,000 Chicagoans have sent in applications to vote by mail in the November election. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump claims without evidence the 2020 election will be “the most rigged.”

Aldermen advanced an agreement that will allow anonymous complaints against police sergeants, lieutenants and captains to be investigated, despite concerns that it does not go far enough to hold police brass accountable for misconduct.

With the number of coronavirus cases rising in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced a new COVID-19 mitigation plan to combat a possible resurgence of the virus.

Chicago Public Schools is recommending school leaders schedule community town hall meetings as more and more local school councils consider votes to eliminate their resource officer programs.

Some 10,000 scooters will be scattered throughout Chicago when the city’s second pilot program starts next month. It’s designed to settle once and for all the question of whether scooters should be allowed on Chicago’s streets.

With temperatures set to soar in Chicago in the coming days, Dr. Allison Arwady reassured residents that it’s “safe and appropriate” to use air conditioning in their apartments and homes without risking the spread of COVID-19.

Watch the July 15, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Chicago’s top cop says his department is heading into the “next generation” of policing as two of its most senior leaders head into retirement and more than a dozen others have been promoted into command staff positions.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday delivered a blunt warning to young adults in Chicago: you are spreading the coronavirus, and threatening the tentative progress Chicago has made in fighting the pandemic.