Stories by Blair Paddock

A landslide from Joe Biden was predicted, but that has not been the case. How are pollsters justifying the continued use of polls?

After a decadeslong career, Carol Marin is retiring from TV news. “I love what I do,” Marin said Thursday. “I wanna leave when I think the work is still a proud example of decent journalism.” 

West suburban Geneva has been under tightened coronavirus mitigations for nearly two weeks, with some business complying with the rules and others defying them, including serving diners indoors.

President Donald Trump spent a second day in the White House on Thursday stewing over election results that suggested a path to victory was slipping from his grasp, even as his campaign projected confidence.

Joe Biden’s victories in Michigan and Wisconsin put him in a commanding position, but President Trump showed no sign of giving up. It could take several more days for the vote count to conclude and a clear winner emerge.

“The Republicans, and the billionaires who sided with them, were effectively able to use the speaker as their foil and that hurt our ability, our state’s ability to get things done,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Thursday.

“If we don't slow this down, and soon, we will have hundreds of thousands of new COVID cases by the end of the year in Chicago,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Struggling restaurants and bars would be able to apply for $10,000 grants from the city under the plan Mayor Lightfoot unveiled at a Thursday afternoon news conference.

The Illinois Department of Public Health on Thursday reported 9,935 new cases of COVID-19, a single-day record, and 97 deaths. In Illinois, 10,030 have now died as a result of the virus.

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated Chicago’s cultural landscape, and that pain is likely to continue into 2021, Mark Kelly, commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, said during Thursday’s budget hearings.

The Fed announced no new actions after its latest policy meeting but left the door open to provide further assistance in the coming months. 

Watch the Nov. 5, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

With just a handful of states still up for grabs, President Donald Trump tried to press his case in court in some key swing states. But it was unclear if any legal maneuvering over balloting would succeed in shifting the race in his favor.

Chicago tied a record Wednesday for high temperature when the mercury hit 74 degrees at O’Hare Airport, and more records could fall in the coming days.

Watch the Nov. 4, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Joe Biden has won Michigan and Wisconsin, pushing him closer to 270 Electoral College votes and narrowing President Donald Trump’s possible path to reelection.

U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Rodney Davis, and Rep.-elect Marie Newman talk about their respective wins and agendas, and the 2020 presidential election.

“Moving forward, we want to double down on our efforts of focusing our attention on violent crime, on gun crimes that have devastated our communities this year and has been a stubborn issue for years past,” Kim Foxx said Wednesday.

The current Democratic state senator ran on a promise to reform an office plagued by a reputation of inefficiency and corruption.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin says embattled House Speaker Michael Madigan’s leadership of the Illinois Democratic Party hurt Democratic candidates and causes statewide in Tuesday’s election.

President Donald Trump’s campaign filed lawsuits Wednesday in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Georgia, laying the groundwork for contesting battleground states as he slipped behind Democrat Joe Biden.

“This amount of disease in our community, it’s hard to think you could go anywhere and not be exposed,” said Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s top doctor.

Regardless of the presidential election outcome, a vexing issue remains to be decided: Will the U.S. be able to tame a perilous pandemic that is surging as holidays, winter and other challenges approach? 

The defeat of a constitutional amendment to overhaul how Illinois taxes income will mean painful cuts and will not avert tax increases, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday.

An upcoming virtual tour will offer insights into the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s inner workings and will revisit the reversal of the Chicago River. 

With more than 98% of precincts reporting by Wednesday afternoon, each of the 61 Cook County judges seeking retention in Tuesday’s election appear to have surpassed the 60% voting threshold necessary to remain on the bench.