Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor Lori Lightfoot acknowledged on Thursday that she had linked the upcoming vote on her plan to balance the city’s 2021 budget with tax hikes, layoffs and millions of dollars of borrowing with protections for immigrants.

As President Donald Trump contests this year’s election results, he has not authorized President-elect Joe Biden to lay eyes on the President’s Daily Brief.

Barring a dramatic turnaround in the spiking numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Illinois, the state may soon be looking at another version of a stay-at-home order, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday.

“This was a tough race under some very difficult circumstances, and I want to say thank you to my supporters, the voters, and our elections officials for their diligent work,” U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood said Thursday.

Federal health officials have reached an agreement with pharmacies across the U.S. to distribute free coronavirus vaccines after they are approved and become available to the public.

New guidelines imposed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, set to take effect at 6 a.m. Monday, are advisory and do not include orders for businesses to shut down or require people to stay home, officials said.

Watch the Nov. 12, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

From a sociological perspective, we rake because no one wants to be the neighbor with the messy lawn, but ecologically speaking, the benefits of a little mess outweigh the merits of a pristine yard.

Twelve, a Hachette Book Group imprint, announced the deal with Sen. Tammy Duckworth on Thursday, the 16th anniversary of the day she was shot down in a helicopter while serving in Iraq and lost both of her legs.

The Illinois legislature is not coming back this year. What does that mean for the Black Lives Matter movement and the state budget?

The coronavirus has hit every class of citizen hard, and on this Veterans Day, we look at how it has affected military service members and veterans.

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make combating climate change a central pillar of his administration. And he campaigned on rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement.

Chicago is home to an armory of art created by members of our armed forces. With Veterans Day in mind, we bring you another look at a visit to the National Veterans Art Museum for a virtual tour.

One of the many devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic over the past several months has been a dramatic increase in food insecurity. 

The U.S. has recorded over 240,000 deaths and about 10.3 million confirmed infections, with new cases soaring to all-time highs of well over 120,000 per day over the past week.

Celebrations marking Veterans Day gave way to somber virtual gatherings Wednesday, with many of the nation’s veterans homes barring visitors to protect their residents from the surging coronavirus.

On Wednesday, Illinois set a new single-day record of COVID-19 cases as state health officials reported 145 virus-related deaths. Officials are urging residents to work from home and limit non-essential activity in the coming weeks.

President-elect Joe Biden continues to shrug off President Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the election outcome, even as officials in both parties warn that the Republican president’s actions could be dangerous. 

The first home for Illinois veterans in Chicago will welcome its first residents in February 2021 — more than four years after it was scheduled to open, officials announced Wednesday.

Watch the Nov. 11, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Board of Education has agreed to engage in mediation with teachers, but said it won't discuss the most pressing issue for the union: when students will return to school.

The makeup of the Illinois Supreme Court is changing, and it comes at a pivotal time. What the evolving bench means for residents.

The announcement came less than a week after an election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump’s handling of the scourge, which has killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide.

A proposal from the Chicago Federation of Labor that union officials contend could save the city of Chicago between $195 million and $272 million will not avert a property tax hike and layoffs in 2021, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office said Tuesday.

A first-of-its-kind assessment of coral reefs in U.S. waters is again sounding the alarm over the continued decline of these sensitive underwater ecosystems, which scientists deem essential to the health of the world’s oceans.

Political polarization runs deep in America. Though the election is over, tensions still run high—and not just in states with tight races, like Pennsylvania, but right here in Illinois.