Stories by Patty Wetli

Chicago gets high marks for access, with 98% of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park versus the national average of 55%.

“Overture,” the final entry in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s springtime series of three different programs was performed live in Orchestra Hall on Thursday.  Remaining performances are Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. 

As state lawmakers prepare to return to Springfield for a pivotal vote on whether Chicago Public Schools should be run by an elected school board, Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked members of the Illinois House to delay a vote approved by the Illinois Senate.

Diego Vargas, 26, entered a guilty plea on Thursday on a single count of maliciously attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of an explosive device, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

The towering sculpture, constructed near the site of this weekend’s G-7 summit, sounds the alarm about the growing problem of electronic waste.

While celebrating the full reopening of Chicago on Friday morning as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she does not support the push to rename Lake Shore Drive, again calling it an “iconic” name with national recognition.

Karol Chwiesiuk is facing five misdemeanor charges, including disorderly conduct, disrupting government business and entering a restricted building, according to a federal complaint filed Friday.

Illinois would become the first state to require public schools to teach Asian American studies if the governor signs a bill that cleared the state Legislature. Lawmakers have proposed similar mandates this year in Connecticut, New York and Wisconsin.

For many, the top political priority is passage of the Equality Act, which would extend federal civil rights protections to LGBTQ people. 

McDonald’s has become the latest company to be hit by a data breach after unauthorized activity on its network exposed the personal data of some customers in South Korea and Taiwan.

Illinois Democrats used inadequate data and an opaque process to draw new legislative districts, a Latino civil rights organization argued in the latest lawsuit seeking to block the maps from being used for statehouse elections over the next decade.

Temporary side effects including headache, fatigue and fever are signs the immune system is revving up – a normal response to vaccines. And they’re common.

There are natives and then there are plants known as “nativars,” and wildlife can tell the difference.

Leaders from the Group of Seven industrialized nations are set to commit at their summit to sharing at least 1 billion coronavirus shots with struggling countries around the world — half the doses coming from the U.S. and 100 million from the U.K.

Reopening! Paris Schutz is live — from the river — on how businesses and folks are getting ready. The city’s top doc on what’s next. And a Frida Kahlo exhibit in Chicago for the first time in decades.

Some of Frida Kahlo’s original works are returning to the Chicago area for the first time since the late ‘70s.

The city and state’s full reopening is a double-edged sword for many in the hospitality and entertainment industry. They wonder: the crowds may be coming back, but will the labor force return?

All businesses will be allowed to operate at full capacity and gatherings of all sizes will be permitted, according to the new rules.

ComEd officials said they were not responsible for the outages on May 6 and May 25 at the Roseland Pumping Station.

Several aldermen are unconvinced that the city should ink a new franchise agreement with ComEd — and Chicago may have other options, officials said.

Damien Davis was allegedly driving at speeds between 90 and 100 mph last month when he struck another car on Western Avenue, killing 1-year-old Jamyah Harris.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the COVID-19 vaccine can cause swelling in the lymph nodes in the underarm where women received the shot, which the agency says is normal. But that swelling can appear in mammograms. Here’s what you need to know. 

The company said a Food and Drug Administration review concluded the shots remain safe and effective for at least 4 1/2 months. In February, the FDA originally authorized J&J’s vaccine for up to three months when stored at normal refrigeration levels.

Just a week after losing their first nest to a skunk attack, Monty and Rose have produced a second nest and laid one egg, the Chicago Park District announced. 

On social media and in political speeches, some Republicans and pro-police groups say last year’s calls to slash spending on law enforcement have led to a dramatic rise in killings in cities overseen by Democrats.

Chicagoans’ view of Thursday morning’s “ring of fire” solar eclipse was over before most people were awake.