Stories by Associated Press

Since it was first identified in November, BA.2 has been spreading around the globe, driving new surges in parts of Asia and Europe. It’s now the dominant coronavirus version in the U.S. and more than five dozen other countries.

Many schools saw large numbers of students fall under the radar when learning went online for the pandemic. Many skipped class, tests and homework. Record numbers of families opted out of annual standardized tests, leaving some districts with little evidence of how students were doing in reading and math.

In their final days of the annual spring session, members of Illinois’ General Assembly approved a series of bills targeting public safety.

According to a new annual report from the University of Michigan-based National Registry of Exonerations, Illinois recorded 38 exonerations in 2021 — 20 more than any other state — marking the fourth consecutive year it has led the nation.

A breakdown of laws recently passed in Springfield. Plus, the outlook for the pandemic with the CEO of Rush Hospital. Chicago has a new top tourism ambassador, and the latest business headlines from Crain’s.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported just over 1,463 new COVID-19 cases Monday, up from 756 cases a week ago. That’s in comparison to a high of more than 42,903 cases reported on Jan. 7 at the height of omicron.

On May 9, Lynn Osmond will begin her four-year contract as CEO and president of Choose Chicago. The agency promotes leisure and business travel to bring revenue to the city’s attractions, events, hotels, restaurants and convention centers, most notably McCormick Place. 

The building, 410 S. Michigan Ave., opened as the Studebaker Building in 1885 as a showroom and assembly plant for carriages. Thirteen years later, it was remodeled and repurposed as the Fine Arts Building.

A New York firm adds a former Office Max Headquarters to its buying spree in Chicago; what’s next for the vacant office campus of a former publishing company; and inflation forces a Chicago-based food giant to get meaty.

According to the newly released data, 26.3% of gay, lesbian or bisexual students attempted suicide between Jan. and June 2021. For heterosexual students, the number was 5.2% and other or questioning students at 16.5%.

Flanked by a large group of friends, supporters and religious officials, Willie Wilson made the announcement Monday in his condominium overlooking Lake Michigan and Navy Pier.

According to the Chicago Police Department, 24 people were shot in 27 separate shooting incidents across the city between 6 p.m Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Move over, Guangzhou. Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is once again the world’s busiest airport.

The Biden administration will come out with its long-awaited ghost gun rule — aimed at reining in privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up at crime scenes — as soon as Monday, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s historic confirmation to the Supreme Court and what it means for the American legal system. A one-on-one interview with civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his fight for Black lives. And a visual artist and teacher with an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry gives us the Last Word on Black creativity. 

Judge Ketanji BrownJackson will not only be the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court, she’ll also be the first former public defender.

Attorney Ben Crump has become a household name as the go-to lawyer for families impacted by police violence, including those of Michael Brown, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and many others. He was in Chicago Tuesday calling for federal police reform.

Broadway Star Renée Elise Goldsberry was in Chicago Saturday for a one-night-only concert performing classic songs from artists like Aretha Franklin, along with her own Broadway hits.

An exhibit celebrating Black creativity is open from now until April 17 at the Museum of Science and Industry. 

Food Hero, a culinary school that operates on a social enterprise model, offers instruction on food preparation and entrepreneurship free of charge. Founder Javier Haro says the idea came in part from his own experience as the former owner of a tapas restaurant in Pilsen.

In 1995 two 60-foot-high Puerto Rican flags were planted over Division Street, also known as Paseo Boricua, solidifying its identity as the heart of the Puerto Rican community in Chicago. Now, the flags are poised to receive landmark status from the city.

Illinois lawmakers have proposed a new bill that defines organized retail crime for the first time in statute. But some community groups are raising concerns saying the legislation will further harm communities that have been oppressed by the criminal justice system for decades. 

The Illinois State Board of Education is announcing a $4 million grant to cover tuition costs for teachers interested in becoming licensed to teach English-language learners.

Efforts in Springfield to combat retail thefts have some community groups concerned. A culinary school teaching entrepreneurship. And an iconic structure in Humboldt Park is up for landmark status.

“Die Kathrin” is now receiving its American premiere as part of the ten-day multi-faceted Korngold Festival that concludes on April 10. It is being presented as part of a collaboration between the University of Chicago and Chicago’s Folks Operetta company designed to explore the life and work of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Illinois voters may have been asleep from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. Saturday morning as members of the General Assembly passed a new state budget, but lawmakers designed it to grab their attention in an election year.