Stories by Nick Blumberg

Chicago’s streets can have an impact on much more than the way we get from one place to another. That was the message from Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi in a speech to the City Club on Wednesday.

Harris, the daughter of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother, often focuses on her identity as a Black woman. At times during her political career, as she ran for California attorney general and senator, some didn’t realize she was of Indian descent.

An asteroid the size of an SUV buzzed past Earth over the weekend, coming closer to the planet than any other on record, according to NASA. 

School resource officers with sustained allegations of excessive force, or complaints of inappropriate interactions with youth in the past five years will no longer be eligible to serve in schools, city officials announced Wednesday.

Watch the Aug. 19, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Four aldermen have called for a special Chicago City Council meeting in an effort to pressure Mayor Lori Lightfoot to ask Gov. J.B. Pritzker to call out the Illinois National Guard to reduce escalating violence and sustained protests amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It was a huge step forward for American women when, exactly 100 years ago, they finally gained the guaranteed right to vote with ratification of the 19th Amendment. But to Alice Paul, the step wasn’t nearly large enough.

U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Jesus “Chuy" Garcia weigh in on the U.S. Postal Service, the stimulus plan and the Democratic National Convention as part of our special coverage of the virtual gathering.

Three weeks before students return to a fully remote instruction plan for the fall, Chicago Public Schools released its final reopening plan and updated remote learning guidelines for students and families.

The yet-to-be-named foal was born Friday. Grevy’s zebras are endangered in the wild due to habitat loss and hunting. 

Facing mounting public pressure and a crush of state lawsuits, President Donald Trump’s new postmaster general announced Tuesday he is halting some operational changes to mail delivery.

A day after Michelle Obama’s passion wowed Democrats, Joe Biden is drawing on a collection of his party’s most experienced leaders at the Democratic National Convention to underscore what he calls a global leadership deficit.

What’s it like to be a first-time delegate celebrating this year’s virtual convention? We ask Melissa Conyears-Ervin, the Chicago city treasurer, and Krystal Garcia Centeno, a member of the Progressive Turnout Project.

Watch the Aug. 18, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

With more than 170,000 coronavirus-related deaths so far reported in the U.S. in 2020, the virus is on pace to becoming the third leading cause of death this year, according to the National Safety Council.

City officials are putting the final touches on a plan to replace the lead service lines responsible for contaminating the tap water in thousands of Chicago homes, according to Department of Water Management Commissioner Randy Conner.

With Chicago’s beaches closed, Evanston has been a lakefront refuge for many city dwellers, but now even that option is becoming limited as summer nears its end.

Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Department of Public Health, said the spread of the virus remains high among city residents between the ages of 18 and 29 as well as among Latino Chicagoans.

Unlike the pier’s shutdown for several months in the spring due to government orders driven by the coronavirus pandemic, directors of Navy Pier are this time choosing to close the cultural attraction for economic reasons.

After last week’s powerful storms knocked out power for more than 750,000 residents, Illinoisans struggling pay their rent due to COVID-19 will now have until Aug. 28 to apply for state assistance. 

“Forcing these witnesses to risk their health, or the health of their families, is not something the government wishes to do,” federal prosecutors wrote last week in a request to delay the October trial.

Visitors to Chicago from Wisconsin will no longer be required to quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, city officials announced Tuesday.

The National Weather Service is warning people to steer clear of Lake Michigan due to high waves and strong currents. That doesn't just apply to beachgoers and swimmers. Shoreline structures can be dangerous too.

Many governors say the costs to states to receive the bigger boost offered by Trump is more than their battered budgets can bear. They also say the federal government’s guidelines on how it will work are too murky.

A weekend protest that turned violent has spurred calls for answers from top cop David Brown — and even a call for his resignation. What’s next after the latest skirmish between law enforcement and those who want to defund the police?

Special prosecutor Dan Webb did not find evidence to warrant criminal charges against State’s Attorney Kim Foxx or anyone in her office. But he did report the way actor Jussie Smollett’s charges were dismissed represented a “major failure.”