Stories by Amanda Vinicky

In 2019, Tamara Clayton was driving to work along I-57 when she was shot and killed. Years later, a law passed in her honor that allows cameras to go up along certain Illinois expressways is taking effect — as expressway shootings are skyrocketing.

A firefight outside Kabul’s international airport killed an Afghan soldier early Monday, highlighting the perils of evacuation efforts as the Taliban warned that any attempt by U.S. troops to delay their withdrawal to give people more time to flee would “provoke a reaction.”

To open or not to open: That's been the question for Chicago’s performing arts community over the last year and a half. Now, the League of Chicago Theatres has announced new COVID-19 restrictions and safety measures as productions are set to fill up stages once again.

President Joe Biden says people who have been waiting for the FDA to formally approve a COVID-19 vaccine should get their shot now to stem what he calls a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.” Dr. Michael Angarone of Northwestern Medicine weighs in on that and more.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday declined to demand that indicted Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) step down as chair of the City Council’s Contracting Oversight and Equity Committee or resign from the City Council. The committee is poised to convene a subject-matter hearing at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

City workers will “absolutely” have to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday, promising a formal announcement in “days.”

Portions of Albany Park, Lincoln Square, Irving Park and North Center are slated for mosquito spraying Wednesday to protect residents against West Nile virus, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. 

Chicago home sales continue to rise, but there’s a twist in that fire-hot streak. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

Police Superintendent David Brown said Officer Carlos Yanez Jr. has been transferred from the intensive care unit into a rehab unit, weeks after he was shot multiple times during a traffic stop.

What’s in store for Chicago stages as they get set to reopen. Tracking down crime on city expressways. Chicago’s home sale hot streak. The FDA grants full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine.

The victims included five people who were shot in the 3400 block of West Lake Street early Sunday, and six others who were shot Saturday evening in the 1600 block of East 87th Place.

The U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday, a milestone that could boost public confidence in the shots and spur more companies, universities and local governments to make vaccinations mandatory.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, and his wife, Jacqueline, remained under doctors’ observation Sunday at a Chicago hospital and were “responding positively to treatments” for COVID-19, their son told The Associated Press. 

From wars to plagues to the Sept. 11 attacks, the literary response to historic tragedies has been a process of absorbing trauma — often beginning with poetry and nonfiction and, after months or years, expanding to narrative fiction.

Vaccine mandates are being put into place in some cities and sectors. Will those policies disproportionately disenfranchise the Black community, which lags behind in vaccination rates?

Could vaccine mandates disenfranchise Black Chicagoans? Local efforts to help those in Haiti impacted by the earthquake. How coffee and hip-hop are helping to normalize mental health therapy.

President Joe Biden said Sunday the U.S.-led evacuation of Americans, at-risk Afghans and others from the Kabul airport accelerated this weekend, although it remains vulnerable to threats posed by the Islamic State extremist group.

The founder of the organization Coffee, Hip-Hop & Mental Health gives us the last word on making mental health therapy normal — and accessible — for everyone who needs it.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, a famed civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, and his wife, Jacqueline, have been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19, according to a statement Saturday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s picks for key city posts during her first two years in office failed to keep pace with the growing number of Latino Chicagoans, according to an analysis by WTTW News.

New fall programs offered by the City Colleges of Chicago system aim to help city residents start or resume their college education amid the pandemic.

A new City Colleges program for students facing financial barriers. A new analysis of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s hiring trends. And a barbershop with a side of vintage music.

Nearly 700,000 Chicago residents claim Mexican heritage, and over the years, Mexican culture has become woven into the city’s tapestry. A new business in Little Village explores the space where the Midwest meets Mexico by combining haircuts with deep cuts.

Potential Islamic State threats against Americans in Afghanistan are forcing the U.S. military to develop new ways to get evacuees to the airport in Kabul, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.

This is a racketeering case. Prosecutors say R. Kelly physically, sexually and psychologically dominated children — girls and boys — and women, often recording sex acts with minors, and using a cadre of loyalists to do his bidding and recruit victims.

The Supreme Court is temporarily halting a judge’s order that would have forced the government to reinstate a Trump administration policy forcing thousands to wait in Mexico while seeking asylum in the U.S.