Stories by Heather Cherone

A proposal backed by Mayor Lightfoot to give the Cubs a four-year break on a $250,000 city bill advanced Wednesday, along with a package designed to help businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

Officials with the Chicago Department of Public Health are expecting the first vaccine shipment to Chicago to include 23,000 doses. Weekly shipments of vaccine are expected to follow, said Dr. Allison Arwady.

Efforts to boost the number of affordable housing units in three red-hot Chicago neighborhoods will continue through June, even as city leaders weigh a broader overhaul of the city’s rules to help low- and moderate-income residents find a place to live.

City officials hit Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney with two citations on Tuesday for allowing diners to eat inside his restaurant in defiance of a ban imposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Officials have now shut down two massive parties in Wicker Park in as many weeks, despite an increase in the number of confirmed and probable coronavirus cases in Chicago after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Chicago’s 55th mayor is hoping his passion for transportation and his legacy in the city is enough to secure him a spot in President-elect Joe Biden’s Cabinet as transportation secretary. An analysis of that legacy reveals a mixed record.

Lakeview Ald. Tom Tunney acknowledged Monday that he allowed diners to eat inside his restaurant in defiance of a ban imposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in an effort to stop a sustained and grave surge of the coronavirus.

Illinois expects to get 109,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer if federal officials grant an emergency use authorization to the pharmaceutical company as expected, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Friday.

Eleven firms are interested in building or operating a casino in Chicago — and eight told Mayor Lori Lightfoot that it should be downtown, according to a limited summary of the proposals submitted by firms released by the mayor’s office.

The city is not doing enough to ensure that residents of large apartment complexes and businesses keep recyclable glass, paper and aluminum out of landfills, according to an audit released Wednesday by the city’s watchdog.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The pandemic in Illinois reached another sobering mark on Friday, after health officials reported 12,029 total deaths linked to the pandemic and 705,063 infections. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged all Chicagoans on Wednesday to rethink their Thanksgiving plans if they include travel or a gathering with those outside their immediate household amid a continuing surge of the coronavirus.

The budget passed despite opposition from two main groups of aldermen: those who represent wards where a property tax hike of $93.9 million will hit hardest and aldermen who favored deep cuts to the police budget.

Restaurants and cafes could continue to serve customers outdoors through next spring under a proposal set to be introduced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is urging aldermen to support the plan she crafted to close a $1.2 billion budget deficit in 2021. Four aldermen sound off the plan.

Delivery services such as Postmates, Grubhub, DoorDash and UberEats can charge fees totaling no more than 15% under a measure approved unanimously Monday by the Chicago City Council.

Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, is poised to become the first official “day of observance” in Chicago as part of the agreement that will approve a $12.8 billion spending plan for 2021.

A defiant Michael Madigan vowed late Friday to run again for speaker of the Illinois House despite a swirling corruption investigation around him that has prompted 18 Democratic state representatives to say they will not vote to reelect him.

State officials have nearly completed an effort to send $300 million in housing assistance grants to Illinois residents struggling to make ends meet. The program is the largest in the nation, officials said.

The Chicago City Council is poised to approve Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s $12.8 billion spending plan for 2021 after the plan advanced on Thursday with a 26-8 vote of the Budget and Government Operations Committee.

Three firms involved in the botched smokestack demolition in Little Village will pay $370,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, his office announced Thursday.