Stories by Kristen Thometz

With Halloween and Día de los Muertos fast approaching, state health officials released guidelines Friday to help people safely celebrate common fall traditions, like trick-or-treating and visits to pumpkin patches.

The officer, Michael A. Riley, is accused of tipping off someone who participated in the riot by telling them to remove posts from Facebook that had showed the person inside the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, according to court documents.

A judge on Friday denied a last-ditch effort to dismiss a criminal case against actor Jussie Smollett, who is accused of lying to police when he reported that he was the victim of a racist, anti-gay attack in downtown Chicago in January 2019.

The Chicago Cubs hired Carter Hawkins as general manager on Friday, dipping into Cleveland’s front office in an effort to bolster their own player development system.

U.S. health advisers endorsed a booster of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine Friday, citing growing worry that Americans who got the single-dose shot aren’t as protected as those given two-dose brands.

Police and other first responders — who come in close physical contact with Chicagoans — must be vaccinated to protect the health and safety of Chicagoans, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. 

Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara's actions and rhetoric "threatens the health and safety of Chicago’s residents and first responders," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

Police charged Aireon Luster, 24, on Wednesday with first-degree murder and attempted murder in the death of Serenity Broughton. He was ordered held without bond during a Thursday court hearing. 

Located on Chicago’s West Side, North Lawndale is a neighborhood that has dealt with decades of disinvestment and vacant spaces. Community members have taken things into their own hands by creating community gardens and safe spaces for the next generation.

City Council approves e-scooters for the city. Community development in North Lawndale. Superman’s bisexual son. And the Bears take on the Packers. That and more.

It’s the oldest rivalry in football, but the Packers have had the upper hand for most of the past decade. The Bears have won just three games against the Packers and lost 19 since 2011.

The fifth issue of the DC comic series “Superman: Son of Kal-El” will confirm that the new Superman – Jon Kent, child of Clark Kent and Lane – is bisexual after falling for Jay Nakamura, a male reporter, DC announced this week.

Since it was founded back in 1956, The Chicago Children’s Choir has grown from a single choir to a vast network of singers across the city. Their latest recording speaks to the resilience of young people working together to raise each other’s voices. 

Former House Speaker Michael Madigan ruled Illinois politics for decades. Amid the expanding ComEd bribery scheme investigation, Madigan stepped down from two powerful positions this year: the state speakership and chair of Illinois’ Democratic Party.

City officials are hopeful that the two-wheeled vehicles will reduce congestion and encourage the use of public transportation throughout Chicago.

During Thursday’s City Council meeting, alderpeople introduced a resolution calling for the Department of Streets and Sanitation to reinstate treatment of the city’s remaining parkway ash trees — numbering close to 50,000 — and also develop a systematic program for removing and replacing infested trees.

With its ideally titled program, “Home: A Celebration,” the Joffrey Ballet finally made its pandemic-delayed debut as the resident dance company at the Lyric Opera House on Wednesday. And it did so by way of a beautifully constructed and exquisitely danced program.

The panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously to recommend a booster shot for seniors, as well as younger adults with other health problems, jobs or living situations that put them at increased risk from COVID-19.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it will ask its outside experts to meet in late November to scrutinize Merck’s pill to treat COVID-19.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to its lowest level since the pandemic began, a sign the job market is still improving even as hiring has slowed in the past two months.

More than 10,000 Deere & Co. workers went on strike Thursday, the first major walkout at the agricultural machinery giant in more than three decades.

Chicago backed up its Game 1 win with another strong offensive performance, yet couldn’t finish it off.

Longtime WTTW fans may remember that back in 1987, our airwaves were hijacked by an unknown TV “pirate.” Now nearly 34 years later, it’s inspired a new film playing Thursday at the Chicago International Film Festival.

In March, a task force was formed by the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, and others to try and put the brakes on carjackings.

A University of Illinois Chicago lab and its partners have been tracking the virus that causes coronavirus in wastewater and sharing the data with local public health agencies. 

The Joffrey Ballet is welcoming back company dancers and instructors. It’s also welcoming choreographers, including Chanel DaSilva. As one of Joffrey’s 2020 Winning Works choreographers, the New York based artist is back with a dance interpretation and reimagining of the old Negro Spiritual, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.”