Stories by Patty Wetli

Temperatures edged out the record for the continental U.S. set back in 1936 during the “Dust Bowl” summer, according to the latest climate report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Two planned skyscrapers, a performing arts center and a church are still unfinished at the World Trade Center complex, which plays host Saturday to the annual ceremony honoring nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks.

Less than a month after the Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash closed down a swath of Douglass Park and surrounding streets, Riot Fest is about to do the same. Residents said they're fed up with the loss of green space and the “literal paywall.”

Terry Brennan, a star halfback on three unbeaten Notre Dame teams who was hailed as a wunderkind when he succeeded Irish coaching great Frank Leahy at just 25 years old, has died. He was 93.

In 2009, Adlai Stevenson III spoke with Carol Marin on “Chicago Tonight.” Even though he was a self-proclaimed “reformer,” he still found virtues in the old party machinery. Stevenson died Monday at the age of 90.

City Council colleagues of Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th Ward) are calling for him to be punished after text messages show him using offensive language and seeking to withhold city services from a constituent. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

After recent drownings in Lake Michigan, activists have been clamoring for the Chicago Park District to install life rings along the lakefront, but the agency’s safety plan reinforces messaging surrounding “not safe to swim” locations.

Ann Marie Frank is using social media to help feed homeless individuals in her community and beyond. We visit Des Plaines to see how she’s opened her kitchen to make thousands of lunches — with the help of family members and volunteers.

Starting in January, students ages 7-17 can take up to five mental or behavioral health days off from school without having to provide a doctor’s note. Under the new law, students are referred to school staff for professional help after their second mental health day.

As flu season approaches, the country is still grappling with a surge in COVID-19 infections driven largely by the delta variant. Will flu cases and the coronavirus result in a “twindemic” this year? A local doctor weighs in.

The Illinois House is reconvening Thursday for what lawmakers hope will be the penultimate chapter of yearslong energy negotiations. And now it’s truly down to the wire for a far-reaching omnibus package.

What’s next for energy legislation in Springfield. A long-awaited police contract on the horizon — our Spotlight Politics team has more. Mental health days for students. And remembering Adlai Stevenson.

A push by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to allow cannabis to be sold legally downtown cleared a key city panel on Wednesday, even though it won’t allow Michigan Avenue to become a “pot paradise.”

The World Health Organization last month listed mu as a “variant of interest” because of concerns it may make vaccines and treatments less effective, though more evidence is needed. 

Street festivals, dance classes, outdoor concerts and unique eats usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Chicagoans who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 should not travel, Dr. Allison Arwady announced Wednesday, as officials expanded the city’s advisory designed to stop the spread of the still-surging virus to every state and territory in the U.S.

Marina Verbitsky, 46, allegedly told staff at a Florida airport that there was a bomb inside her checked luggage after she’d been informed she would not be able to get on to her scheduled flight.

A collection of some 22,000 personal artifacts — some on display at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and others on display at other museums around the country — provide a mosaic of lost lives and stories of survival: wallets, passports, baseball gloves, shoes, clothes and rings.

The head of the World Health Organization is calling on rich countries with large supplies of coronavirus vaccines to refrain from offering booster shots through the end of the year, expanding an earlier request that has largely fallen on deaf ears.

Air pollution is slashing years from billions of people’s lives around the world and is a greater threat to life expectancy than smoking, HIV/AIDS or war, a report published Wednesday shows. 

Footwork is an art form that consists of both music and dance, and it’s brought people together from around the world. Now it’s bringing folks downtown to see animated projections on the Merchandise Mart.

Texas has taken a controversial approach to banning abortions once cardiac activity is detected, with a law that allows private citizens to sue anyone involved with the procedure. Now, activists on both sides of the abortion debate are gearing up for a legislative battle.

Nearly a year and a half into the pandemic, some health care workers are reporting feelings of burnout. We talk with medical professionals about what they’re seeing during the latest surge of COVID-19.

More than two million people might be eligible to join a class-action lawsuit over the Chicago Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices, according to attorneys suing CPD and the city. We hear from one of the plaintiffs in the suit and an attorney.

Illinois’ eviction moratorium is in place for one more month, but many residents fear they’ll be out of a home once that ban lifts. And now animal shelters are preparing for what could be an influx of pets in need of homes, too. 

A Chicago woman falsely claimed a bomb was on a plane at a South Florida airport after missing her flight, authorities said.