Stories by Heather Cherone

Efforts to put an elected board of Chicago residents in charge of the Chicago Police Department — stalled by the coronavirus pandemic — could get new life amid a renewed nationwide push to hold police officers accountable for misconduct.

An increasing number of complaints that Chicago officials decided to protect downtown at the expense of neighborhoods on the South and West sides are “not true and illogical,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.

Looting and unrest has largely subsided in Chicago as large peaceful protests against police misconduct continue, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Wednesday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said plans to lift some restrictions in Chicago on Wednesday designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 may be delayed after violent protests sparked by the death of George Floyd swept the city.

Following an increasingly chaotic scene in the Loop on Saturday evening sparked by outrage over the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police, Mayor Lori Lightfoot imposed a curfew on Chicago residents from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

A planned demolition of a building at the former Crawford Power Plant will take place June 5, after being delayed nearly three weeks after protests erupted and the local alderman objected, company officials announced Friday.

The stay-at-home order put in place on March 21 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker officially expired Friday. Here’s what is now open — and what will be different in Chicago as compared with the rest of the state.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called the president’s statements about those protesting the death of George Floyd “profoundly dangerous” and were part of an effort to stoke racial tensions for his own political benefit.

Ride-hailing giant Uber will allow customers to book its cars and drivers by the hour in Chicago starting Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic continues to reduce demand for one-way trips.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered new Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown her “unflagging support” on Thursday — even as she once again called his strategy for Memorial Day “a fail.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced that Chicago will start to cautiously reopen next Wednesday as the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in Chicago appears to have passed.

Lawmakers will not get a pay raise as part of the newly approved state budget — even though state law requires that members of the Illinois House and Senate get an annual boost, Comptroller Susana Mendoza said Wednesday.

With city officials preparing to cautiously reopen Chicago’s economy as the peak of the coronavirus pandemic appears to have passed in Illinois, one-third of the city’s workforce could head back to their jobs early next month.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the coronavirus death toll in Illinois stood at 5,038 people. “These are real people whose lives came to an end because of this pandemic,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, speaking from East St. Louis.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday he would extend the ban on evictions in Illinois past Friday, when the latest version of his stay-at-home order is scheduled to expire.

Illinois appears to have passed the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, with the rate of confirmed cases of the coronavirus dropping significantly, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday.

Contact tracing is “one of the most important weapons that we have in this fight” against the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday.

Before this week’s whirlwind four-day emergency session of the General Assembly, Mayor Lori Lightfoot rolled snake eyes twice in her bid to shape the rules for a Chicago casino. What her victory means for the city.

With restrictions set to be lifted in all four regions of the state on Friday, another 2,508 people tested positive for the respiratory virus, officials announced Sunday, and nearly 70 died.

Bars, restaurants and other businesses that welcome customers in defiance of Illinois’ stay-at-home order will not immediately face punishment after the General Assembly declined to heed Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s call to take action.

A measure designed to considerably expand the number of Illinois voters who cast their ballot in the 2020 presidential election by mail cleared the state Senate Friday and is headed to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday the number of new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Chicago had begun to drop, putting the city “on track” to cautiously reopen in early June. 

The city fined General Iron $6,000 after two explosions on Monday rattled the North Side metal shredder, officials announced. The fines are a result of two citations issued by the city late Thursday.

The city will expand mental health treatment for people struggling to cope during the coronavirus pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Thursday.

A day after Gov. J.B. Pritzker loosened the rules for the third phase of his reopening plan, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Chicago will not be ready for restaurants to reopen with outdoor seating next week.

Record high unemployment spotlights the economic devastation caused by the pandemic. Gov. J.B. Pritzker says his administration is focused on safely restarting the economy and shoring up the unemployment insurance system.