Stories by Kristen Thometz

A new report outlines barriers faced by the elderly and people with disabilities when using public transportation and makes recommendations for improvements. “Access benefits everyone,” said one disability advocate.

This year’s list highlights 30 items that have been recalled over the past year because they pose safety hazards to children, including two infant sleepers linked to more than 30 deaths. 

In 2003, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency had 1,265 employees. By 2018, that number had fallen to 639, according to a new report that a former IEPA director describes as “both a wake-up call and call to action.”

If you recently purchased lettuce at the store, check the label before serving it. Romaine lettuce harvested in Salinas, California, has been linked with an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 40 people in 16 states, including Illinois.

Across the country, nearly 50 have people died after experiencing serious vaping-related illnesses. In Illinois, there have been five deaths – the most in any state, according to the latest data released by health officials. 

Jenny Doan is planning to hula-hoop for 100 hours straight in order to break the Guinness World Record. We check in with her 31 hours into the challenge. “It’s been tiring,” said the 29-year-old Wicker Park resident.

A new initiative called Family Connects Chicago will provide free home nursing services to families with newborns, offering “support that is so vital in those first few weeks of a baby’s life,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday.

Jenny Doan wants to break the Guinness World Record for marathon hula-hooping. In addition to “sheer resilience and grit,” it takes a little planning – and a lot of motivation. Here’s how she’s planning to tackle the challenge.

An open-air holiday market, musical performances, art books and screen printing usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Preterm birth rates have been increasing in Illinois since 2013, according to a new report from the nonprofit March of Dimes.

After helping to reduce racial disparities in breast cancer deaths in Chicago, the local nonprofit Equal Hope is aiming to eliminate cervical cancer in the city. “No woman should ever die of cervical cancer,” said the group’s executive director.