Stories by Heather Cherone

In spite of Lightfoot’s solemn pledge to immediately go after the “blood money” earned by gangs who terrorize Chicagoans, the mayor has not publicly mentioned her so-called “Victims’ Justice Ordinance” since that City Hall news conference on Sept. 14.

Hedy Weiss reviews the Lyric Opera production of “The Magic Flute,” a Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert, and “Homecoming,” the latest entry in the CSO’s MusicNOW series.

Phil Turner, a former federal prosecutor and attorney in Chicago who isn’t involved in the case, said Binger is trying to show jurors that Rittenhouse didn’t know what he was doing and that they shouldn’t believe his self-defense claims.

City officials said Saturday they were in the early stages of investigating the pandemonium that unfolded Friday evening at Astroworld, a sold-out, two-day event in NRG Park with an estimated 50,000 people in attendance.

Some district leaders say offering vaccine clinics on campus is key to improving access and helping overcome hesitancy. Still, many school systems are choosing not to offer elementary schools as hosts for vaccination sites after some middle and high schools that offered shots received pushback.

The 27th annual Black Harvest Film Festival kicked off Friday. After going fully virtual last year, the festival is back in-person at the Gene Siskel Film Center. Audiences can watch more than 30 films and documentaries and six short film series.

Community organizations working to prevent gun violence will soon get a boost in funding from the state. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order declaring gun violence a public health crisis and announced a plan to address it.

As the weather starts to turn chillier and the days grayer, many Chicagoans rely on coffee to bring them some daily sunshine. But the people who grow the beans around the world don’t always benefit from the wealth their product creates.

A new Netflix series on Colin Kaepernick’s life is causing a stir; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is not vaccinated after all; and on the field, the Chicago Bears prepare to tackle the Pittsburgh Steelers. We get into it with former Bears’ offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams.

The state invests $250 million in its latest public health crisis: gun violence. James “Big Cat” Williams on the latest in football and what’s next for the Bears. And the Black Harvest Film Festival opens.

Chicago’s racial makeup is often described as roughly one-third white, one-third Black and one-third Latino.  Now, alderpeople are battling over how to fairly reflect the city’s evolving racial makeup in how the borders of its 50 wards are drawn. 

The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights recently announced the launch of its Immigrant Health Academy. It will train community leaders in suburban areas with high immigrant populations to inform immigrants about their health care rights and correct misconceptions about access to care.

The battle over redrawing ward boundaries. Disruptions in global supply chains. Knowing your health care rights. And cutting out the middleman when getting your morning cup of Joe.

As the holiday season nears and families across the country prepare to observe the traditions that make their celebrations special, the state of the global supply chain has been thrust into the spotlight.

Colliton’s dismissal is the latest chapter in a rough stretch for what was once regarded as one of the NHL’s marquee franchises. He stepped into a tough situation when he replaced Quenneville in November 2018, becoming the 38th coach in franchise history. Quenneville led Chicago to three Stanley Cup titles in his 10-plus years in charge.

Fans attending a Houston music festival surged toward the stage during a performance by rapper Travis Scott, triggering panic in the crowd of tens of thousands. At least eight people were killed and many more hurt, authorities said.

Clocks turn back an hour this weekend as time reverts to standard at 2 a.m. Sunday. The switch means the sun will rise before 7 a.m. in Chicago — for a brief period, at least — but will set well before 5 p.m. 

Under the agreement, brokered by Biden and top Democrats, progressives would end their roadblock against the package of road, water and other projects.

The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse gets underway in Kenosha. CPS cancels classes for Nov. 12 as CDC OKs vaccine for kids. More fallout from the Chicago Park District sex abuse scandal. And Rahm Emanuel is one step closer to becoming Ambassador to Japan.

The first man shot and killed by Kyle Rittenhouse on the streets of Kenosha was acting “belligerently” that night but did not appear to pose a serious threat to anyone, a witness testified Friday at Rittenhouse’s murder trial.

Chicago’s official 2021 Christmas tree was hoisted from its longtime home on a Logan Square block and loaded onto a trailer Friday morning. Destination: Millennium Park.

Jacqueline Villasenor was charged with a single count of involuntary manslaughter stemming from the death Tuesday of her husband and fellow Chicago Police Department officer, 44-year-old German Villasenor.

The North Side food pantry is teaming up with nonprofit Fresh Food Connect to launch a mobile app that will allow home and community gardeners to donate some of their fresh grown produce.

Friday’s report from the Labor Department also showed that the unemployment rate fell to 4.6% last month from 4.8% in September. That is a comparatively low level though still well above the pre-pandemic jobless rate of 3.5%. 

The Consulate General of Mexico has partnered with two local chefs to host a collaborative dinner to continue to build unity between Black and brown communities and work to heal divisions between cultures. 

President Joe Biden argued Tuesday that historic progress on addressing global warming was achieved at the U.N. climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, and expressed optimism for a similar outcome in Washington, where his legislative agenda has been stalled by intra-party disagreements.