Stories by Heather Cherone

Determined to close a loophole in a six-year-old city law, aldermen advanced a measure Monday that would ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits at a profit.

Chicago officials failed to act after the city’s watchdog found significant problems with the program that allows Chicago police officers to patrol schools, and used a federal judge’s order requiring reforms to delay any changes, the city’s watchdog told aldermen.

Chicago’s pension debt soared by approximately $1.7 billion in 2019, according to the city’s audited annual financial report released Thursday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced the new rules in May after the delivery apps came under fierce criticism for hurting already-struggling restaurants by charging steep fees and service charges.

An effort to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products in Chicago will take center stage Monday, as aldermen redouble their effort to reduce a surge in vaping by teens. The move will be hotly opposed by business groups.

A “perfect storm” is to blame for the surge in homicides during June, which has put the city on pace to record more murders than any year since 2016, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.

During the 2019 mayoral campaign, Lori Lightfoot’s platform called for a fully elected board to replace the group appointed by the mayor, but she has yet to make good on that promise.

Most Chicago workers who earn the minimum wage will see their paychecks rise — and get more notice before they are expected to clock in for a shift, as two of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s top priorities take effect this week.

Using state and federal funds, the local nonprofit will hire 600 people to conduct community-level contact tracing efforts to stamp out the coronavirus.

The Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability are investigating hundreds of complaints filed against officers for their response to recent protests, records show.

In another sign that Chicago has passed the peak of the pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will not move to extend the emergency powers she used to respond to the coronavirus without the approval of the City Council. 

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has blown a $280 million hole in Cook County’s budget for 2020, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Friday.

"We believe in the future of Chicago," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said.

Chicago’s annual summer jobs program will include a new youth service corps charged with helping the city respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday.

Those who believe they have witnessed misconduct by Chicago Police Department sergeants, lieutenants and captains can submit a complaint anonymously under the city’s new contract with their union, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

The pilot program, approved earlier this month by the Chicago City Council, will expand to Andersonville, Chinatown, Little Italy, Edison Park and Grand Crossing, the mayor’s office announced.

Nearly two years after an audit by the city’s watchdog found significant problems with allowing Chicago police officers to patrol schools, aldermen will hold a hearing on the program at the center of the debate over defunding the police department.

Chicago voters are on track to break the record for vote-by-mail applications set in March, elections officials said Tuesday.

An effort designed to keep teens who commit minor crimes out of jail is so broken that the city’s social service agency will no longer work with Chicago police to administer the program, officials told aldermen Tuesday.

Nearly half of the more than 8,700 verbal orders issued by Chicago police to enforce stay-at-home orders designed to slow the spread of COVID-19 took place on the West Side, according to data from the Chicago Police Department.

Small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic and recover from unrest touched off by police brutality protests can apply for grants starting Saturday, city officials announced.

Aldermen who want Chicago to cut ties with Commonwealth Edison and form its own electric utility acknowledged this week that the pandemic and the economic crisis it triggered has dimmed the effort’s chances of success.

City officials confirmed Friday afternoon that Hilco Global is now allowed to move forward with construction.

Chicago bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve a limited number of indoor diners for the first time in three months starting June 26, city officials announced Friday.

New rules requiring nonprofit organizations to register as lobbyists will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2021 amid an outcry about the impact of the new regulations and delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As she celebrated the planned reopening next week of the lakefront trail and the 606, Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to allow restaurants to reopen to indoor diners “sooner rather later.”