Stories by Heather Cherone

Among the measures approved by the City Council is one that makes it illegal for workers to lose their jobs if they become ill with COVID-19. “Employees should not have to choose between keeping their jobs or saving their lives,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed a new law Wednesday that would give renters 90 days’ notice before they were evicted without cause, but progressive aldermen blocked the measure from advancing immediately.

Aldermen on Tuesday advanced a proposal to build what could become the second-tallest building in Chicago — and the third tallest in the U.S. — on what is now a parking lot next to the Tribune Tower on Michigan Avenue.

A proposal to build a 100-unit affordable apartment complex in Logan Square is one step away from final approval after years on the drawing board.

Amid warnings that 20% of Chicago restaurants will not reopen after the coronavirus pandemic, aldermen Monday turned up the heat on delivery apps that critics say are hurting already-struggling restaurants.

The economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic has added “in excess of $500 million” to the city of Chicago’s projected budget deficit for 2021, Chief Financial Officer Jennie Bennett told aldermen Monday.

Chicago’s effort to beat back the coronavirus pandemic got a boost from two celebrities Monday, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city was making “good steady progress” toward the next phase of reopening.

Employees of the Chicago Public Library will head back to work on Wednesday, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot tossed cold water on Library Commissioner Andrea Telli’s suggestion that libraries could reopen as soon as June 1.

With O’Hare and Midway airports deserted amid the coronavirus pandemic, stores, restaurants and rental car companies are set to get a two-month break on most of the rent they owe to the city under a proposal that cleared a key city panel Friday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicago religious leaders on Friday not to hold in-person worship services this weekend, warning those who fail to follow the governor’s stay-at-home order are “playing with a fully loaded and cocked gun.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot late Thursday called off a planned demolition of a building at the former Crawford Power Plant after protests erupted and the alderman objected.

Approximately 4,500 small businesses on the South and West sides applied for $5,000 emergency grants to help them stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic, city officials announced Thursday.

The office designed to help aldermen keep tabs on how the city spends tax dollars is set to get a new leader after nearly a year without anyone at the helm.

The lakefront will not reopen during the third phase of the plan to reopen Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday during a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago. 

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle backed an effort Wednesday to give property owners a bit of financial “breathing room” by waiving late fees on second-half property tax bills due Aug. 3.

An effort to protect 3,200 affordable homes in Chicago from the worst of the economic crisis created by the coronavirus pandemic advanced Tuesday, with aldermen endorsing a plan to create a $3 million fund.

In the latest sign that the coronavirus pandemic will reshape summer in Chicago, city officials informed aldermen Tuesday that no permits will be issued for block parties through May 31 — banning the popular parties on Memorial Day weekend.

Delivery companies would have to disclose the commission or service fee paid by a restaurant under new rules announced Tuesday by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, as the apps have come under fire for hurting already-struggling restaurants.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city would partner with a charity founded by Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn, fueled by a grant from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, in an effort to conduct 10,000 tests per day in Chicago.

Amid the pandemic, Chicago employers will still be forced to give their workers two weeks’ notice of their schedules starting July 1, but will be spared lawsuits for an additional six months under a measure that advanced Monday.

Chicago will reopen gradually once the number of confirmed coronavirus cases begins to decline and hospitalizations drop, according to a plan released by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Friday.

The Howard Elliott Collection has provided 1 million protective masks, 300,000 face shields, 119,000 gloves and 37,500 cloth masks to the city, officials say. But at least one alderman wants to know why a Chicago-based firm wasn’t selected for the work.

Chicago businesses would not have to renew their licenses — or pay late fees if those licenses expire — under a measure that cleared a key city panel on Thursday. 

The number of COVID-19 cases in Chicago’s Latino community has more than doubled in the past four weeks, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday, calling the data “no less breathtaking” than the rate of infection in Chicago’s African American community.

The plume of dust that coated homes in Little Village after the demolition of a smokestack included mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants, according to a lawsuit filed by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

State tax revenue dropped $2.74 billion in April due to the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.