Stories by Nick Blumberg

The Chicago Transit Authority will pay a $3 million settlement to a man whose left leg was amputated above the knee after he was struck by a CTA bus near the intersection of Madison Street and Pulaski Road in 2018.

A federal judge has dismissed a countersuit filed by former “Empire” star Jussie Smollett, who claimed he was maliciously prosecuted for the alleged hoax attack Chicago police say he orchestrated on himself last year.

Watch the April 22, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the grim milestone reached Wednesday in Illinois should not be a surprise, since the number of tests for COVID-19 conducted in the past 24 hours soared to an all-time high of 9,349.

Aldermen blocked a measure Wednesday that would have granted Mayor Lori Lightfoot expanded spending and contracting authority to respond to the coronavirus pandemic without the approval of the City Council.

Chicago Public Schools is planning to hand out more digital devices to students and families who need them as the school district prepares to carry out remote learning plans for the remainder of the academic year.

First responders, health care workers and correctional officers are on the front lines of the pandemic, and “we owe it to them to provide a safe place to quarantine,” said Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

The City Council on Wednesday voted 50-0 to appoint former Dallas Police Chief David Brown to lead the Chicago Police Department.

Chicago was a hub for environmental activism on the first Earth Day, and it remains a pioneer today.

Apollo 8 astronauts were the first to ever witness an earthrise, a view of the planet that put its fragility into perspective and helped propel the environmental movement.

In the Northwest Side neighborhood of Montclare, residents are quietly on edge, worried about the coronavirus and the prolonged economic shutdown it prompted, which has ravaged the hundreds of small businesses in the area.

Chicago’s Montclare neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side is home to several senior care facilities and many more senior citizens. We check in with Ald. Gilbert Villegas, who represents a broad swath of the community.

Photographer Mark‌ ‌Hersch‌ ‌contrast‌s the busy streets‌ ‌of the‌ ‌early‌ ‌1900s‌ ‌with ‌the‌ ‌empty‌ ‌streets‌ ‌today‌ ‌to‌ ‌capture‌ ‌the ‌pandemic — and provide a sense of hope.‌ ‌We hit State Street to see just how he does it.

The statistics are sobering. Data shows that nearly a quarter of all COVID-19 deaths in Illinois are tied to nursing homes and long-term care facilities. 

The only drive-thru COVID-19 testing site within Chicago city limits is now welcoming anyone with symptoms of the virus. We go for a look.

For parents who share custody of their children, or those in the process of divorce, the pandemic has turned situations that are challenging at best into much more complicated scenarios — virtually overnight.

We discuss the history of Earth Day and the environmental challenges the planet is facing today with Denis Hayes, the organizer of the very first event in 1970, and local environmental activist Kim Wasserman.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the state has secured relief options for student loan borrowers who weren’t previously covered by the federal CARES Act. The new options could benefit more than 138,000 Illinoisans, according to the governor’s office.

Aldermen advanced a measure Tuesday that grants Mayor Lori Lightfoot expanded spending and contracting authority to respond to the coronavirus pandemic without the approval of the City Council.

The rapid spread of the coronavirus sparked the shutdown last month of colleges around the country. But not every student on campus had somewhere to go, or the ability to live without assistance.

Environmental organizations have had to scale back plans for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Get ready for lots of livestreams and calls for digital action this week. Here’s a sampling of what’s on offer.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she expects Gov. J.B. Pritzker to extend the statewide stay-at-home order beyond April 30, which is “no longer a viable date” for that order to be lifted.

The mayor is calling on residents to make and donate cloth masks to help the city's fight against the coronavirus. Find out how you can help.

Watch the April 21, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Returning to a divisive issue at a time of national crisis, President Donald Trump says he will sign an executive order “to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States” because of the coronavirus.

As Chicagoans hunker down amid the pandemic, we check in with some familiar faces on how they’re weathering the storm – and what weird shortage their households are experiencing.