Stories by Heather Cherone

The head of COPA said the agency had “never intentionally withheld” information from the public after an audit by the city’s watchdog found it had failed to release video and audio recordings of use-of-force incidents within 60 days.

Join a hike Sunday in Will County, where a flock of American white pelicans, one of North America’s largest birds, is hanging out during its annual fall migration.

Community gardens and urban farms were left scrambling to comply with a new city policy related to hydrant access that left some without water throughout the entire 2020 growing season. 

How one of Chicago’s Far Southwest Side neighborhoods is coping with the coronavirus.

Mexican Americans didn't let the pandemic stop their celebrations. Was there a better way?

For more than 50 years, a family business in West Garfield Park has persevered in good times and bad. They run a record shop that sells music in many formats – and pretty much anything else that will sell.

After a come-from-way-behind victory against Detroit, the Bears now face the New York Giants in the home opener on Sunday. Former Bears player James “Big Cat” Williams has this preview.

A U.S. judge on Thursday blocked controversial Postal Service changes that have slowed mail nationwide, calling them “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” before the November election.

Geoffrey Baer on a mysterious lakefront structure in this week's Ask Geoffrey. 

The annual migration of monarch butterflies is currently at its peak in the Chicago area. Several roosting sites have been spotted around town as the creatures use the city as a pit stop on their 2,000-mile journey to Mexico.

Mayor Lightfoot called the life expectancy gap between Black and White residents “unacceptable,” as the Chicago Department of Public Health issued a new report that found systemic racism pervades nearly every aspect of civic life.

The office designed to help aldermen keep tabs on how the city spends tax dollars detailed a proposal on Thursday that finds savings by cutting “perks” and things that are “nice to have, but need not have.”

Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris, known for his role on Netflix’s cheerleading reality show “Cheer,” has been charged in federal court with producing child pornography after he allegedly enticed underage children to send him sexually explicit photos and videos.

The CPD launched a series of public surveys, with the goal of hearing what Chicagoans have to say about several policing policies and making adjustments based on those responses. 

“This is an opportunity to get this right,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez (25th Ward), who vowed not to allow developers to dominate the discussion.

Watch the Sept. 17, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Among the 50 large U.S. counties with the highest percentages of student residents, 20 have consistently reported higher rates of new coronavirus cases than their states have since Sept. 1, according to an Associated Press analysis.

Before the pandemic hit the economy, the number signing up for jobless aid had never exceeded 700,000 in a week, even during the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Now they've topped 700,000 for 26 straight weeks.

Another Illinois politician pleads guilty. The Cook County Democratic Party turns its back on a long-serving judge. Our politics team weighs in on those stories and more.

How some Gage Park residents are giving back to their community during the pandemic.

Previous plans have largely targeted Chicago’s North and Northwest sides. However, officials say this plan will focus on bringing equitable transit-oriented developments to the South and West sides.

According to census numbers, Chicago is currently performing at a 59% response rate. But the city risks an undercount, especially in predominantly African American and Latino neighborhoods.

“State and municipal budgets across the nation and here in Illinois are being decimated,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday. “It’s not a blue state problem or a red state problem.”

Pritzker has extended the ban on evictions three times since he lifted the stay-at-home order at the end of May, when the state began to make significant progress in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

In a report to Congress and an accompanying “playbook” for states and localities, federal health agencies sketched out complex plans for a vaccination campaign to begin gradually in January or even late this year.

Chicagoans are raising chickens, growing food and experimenting with all sorts of sustainable-living practices — all in their urban backyards. See how it’s done during this weekend’s annual Windy City Coop and Eco-Yards Tour.