Stories by Heather Cherone

Construction quietly began on the $95 million facility in West Garfield Park in January and is set to be completed in the fall of 2022, officials said.

Firms have until July 30 to submit their pitch to operate and manage the electric distribution system that serves residents and businesses in Chicago, officials said. 

Former President Barack Obama warned Chicago’s business leaders Friday afternoon that American democracy is imperiled by persistent economic inequality and structural racism, and said corporate America has a responsibility to call out voter suppression efforts.

City officials are targeting the 13 Chicago neighborhoods that have the lowest rate of vaccination as part of a push to bring the life-saving shots directly to those most at risk of falling ill and dying from COVID-19.

A push to make electric scooters a permanent part of the city’s transportation system stalled Thursday, with several aldermen telling transportation officials that the two-wheelers would create a nuisance on Chicago’s streets and sidewalks.

The landmark designation would preserve the legacy of African Americans in Chicago and ensure that future generations recognize Muddy Waters as the father of the blues, supporters said.

Amid a steep decline in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, Chicago officials will lift all restrictions on businesses and gatherings next Friday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. 

Illinois bars and taverns can now offer their thirsty patrons an incentive for getting vaccinated against COVID-19. The new law starts June 10 and runs through July 10. 

A package of new regulations designed to tighten ethics rules for state lawmakers and Springfield lobbyists will not override Chicago’s ethics rules, much to the relief of city officials.

For 184 years, members of the Chicago City Council have been known as aldermen — even though its first female members were elected a half-century ago. That is set to change.

New rules for Chicago’s home-sharing industry are set to take effect Tuesday, including a ban on short-term rentals that last only one night, in an effort to block huge parties that have become a regular nuisance in some neighborhoods.

For the first time in nearly a year, visitors to Chicago from anywhere within the United States do not have to quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19, city officials announced Tuesday.

After two months and 42,000 jabs, the city-run mass vaccination site near Wrigley Field will close Saturday, as efforts to bring a COVID-19 vaccine directly to residents ramp up, officials said.

A Chicago Police Department representative did not respond to questions about why Brown has yet to act on the recommendation made by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA, April 28.

Changing the addresses of the four museums could cost the institutions a significant amount of money and complicate their efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

The city has yet to replace a single lead service line in the eight months that have elapsed since Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled out her plan, officials acknowledged.

Opponents of a plan to rename 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, blocked a vote on the measure Wednesday, enraging supporters of the plan, who called the move racist. 

The proposal brought an immediate backlash not just from those who enjoy an impromptu late-night tipple, but business owners who said the rules would push sales outside the city — and give bars and restaurants an unfair advantage over stores. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot included the cap on fees as part of larger package designed to help Chicago businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic “quickly and holistically.” 

Police reform advocates and progressive aldermen blasted Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to create a seven-member civilian board to oversee the Chicago Police Department, saying Tuesday that it would not help restore trust in the beleaguered department.

Both lawsuits claim police officers improperly arrested men for crimes they did not commit. The settlements are set for a final vote Wednesday by the full City Council.

The project is backed by Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) and Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward), putting the massive development on track to win final approval at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

The measure unanimously advanced by aldermen Tuesday would pave the way for the sale of the much beloved and equally loathed James R. Thompson Center in the heart of the Loop.

A boil order was not necessary on Tuesday “because of the temporary nature of the issue,” according to Chicago water officials. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal would keep the power to run the embattled police department concentrated in the mayor’s office even after decades of scandals, misconduct and brutality. 

A joint session of the City Council’s Public Safety and Finance committees declined to advance the measure backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and blasted by Inspector General Joseph Ferguson and other transparency advocates as nothing more than “smoke and mirrors.”