Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Mayor Lori Lightfoot wants to employ a new tactic in the fight against crime and violence: sue gang members in civil court. But the plan is proving controversial.

“We've committed to strategies and measurable outcomes that hold us accountable to the public. It's not enough just to talk about equity. We must act,” Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said.

Chicago’s second-largest bank by deposits is closing multiple branches by the end of the year. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

A police union contract years in the making heads to city council Tuesday. We talk with alderpeople about that and other city business.

The mandate is intended to push about two-thirds of American workers to get vaccinated, but some are claiming it's government overreach. 

The nonprofit El Valor has raised thousands of monarchs, and each year the community comes together for a butterfly release. 

The leader of an Illinois anti-government militia group who authorities say masterminded the 2017 bombing of a Minnesota mosque was sentenced Monday to 53 years in prison on several civil rights and hate crimes for the attack, which left a community terrified.

Even if you haven’t heard of the creator economy, you’ve likely encountered it. About 50 million people worldwide consider themselves creators, with the majority – about 46.7 million – calling themselves amateurs, according to a report. 

Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez, who were released in 2016 after serving 23 years in prison for the murder of Rodrigo Vargas, would each get $10.25 million if the settlement is approved by the City Council on Tuesday. 

Yes, but studies indicate they’re less likely than adults to be affected by symptoms that persist, recur or begin a month or more after infection.

At least 60 people were shot in 40 shooting incidents across the city between Friday evening and 11:59 p.m. Sunday. That included a pair of mass shootings and the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Kaden Ingram.

More on the mayor’s proposal to sue gangs. City Council members on pot shops, police contracts and more. The business vaccine mandate debate. Racial equity week for Cook County. And monarch butterflies fly through town.

Treasurer Melissa Conyears Ervin said the measure was a “critical step” to combatting the disparity in mortgage lending in Chicago. 

The average person doesn’t need a COVID-19 booster yet, an international group of scientists — including two top U.S. regulators — wrote Monday in a scientific journal.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and interim Chicago Public Schools CEO Jose Torres on Thursday unveiled a new Chicago Families Forward Fund, which they say will distribute more than $9 million in assistance to CPS families before the end of the fall semester.

Maternal health outcomes for Black women as a Texas law bans nearly all abortions in that state. Plus, a deeply personal book about three girls growing up in Bronzeville. And microgrants for students.

As a Texas law that bans nearly all abortions in that state goes into effect, we take a look at what reproductive health care means for Black women. 

The risk of catching or passing a virus that has infected more than 40 million people in the United States will depend on where the stadium is and whether the game is outdoors, among other factors. 

The documentary is an intimate portrait of a longtime public servant whose notoriety has risen dramatically — and with that, brought heaps of far-right scorn on the veteran of seven White House administrations.

The Taliban raised their flag over the Afghan presidential palace Saturday, a spokesman said, as the U.S. and the world marked the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The document released Saturday, on the 20th anniversary of the attacks, is the first investigative record to be disclosed since President Joe Biden ordered a declassification review of materials that for years have remained out of public view. 

Illinois has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Federal pandemic unemployment benefits ended on Labor Day, cutting off weekly payments to more than 300,000 people in the state. 

Federal pandemic unemployment benefits end, what it means for Chicago’s labor force. Plus, a new law aimed at helping local immigrants. And La Villita’s iconic arch is up for landmark status. 

Should full landmark status be granted, the arch will become the first symbol of Chicago’s Latino community to receive that honor, as well as the first time an architect of Mexican descent has had a structure landmarked here. 

Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton all gathered at the site where the World Trade Center towers fell two decades ago. 

Nearly 10,000 Afghan evacuees are staying at the base while they undergo medical and security checks before being resettled in the United States.