Stories by Quinn Myers

Another day, another aldermanic federal indictment. The mayor coins the name “Burger King Ed,” and battles City Council over summer crime. Trump’s company gets indicted.

AAA forecasts that more than 47 million people will travel by car or plane this weekend in the U.S., a return to 2019 levels and 40% higher than last year. That includes 3.5 million airline passengers.

Friday’s report from the Labor Department was the latest evidence that the reopening of the economy is propelling a powerful rebound from the pandemic recession. Restaurant traffic across the country is nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, and more people are shopping, traveling and attending sports and entertainment events.

The Fourth of July holiday weekend will kick off Saturday with fireworks along the lakefront starting at 9:30 p.m. The display should be visible from Grand Avenue to at least 55th Street, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday.

The withdrawal from Bagram Airfield is the clearest indication that the last of the 2,500-3,500 U.S. troops have left Afghanistan or are nearing a departure, months ahead of President Joe Biden’s promise that they would be gone by Sept. 11.

As long-haulers grapple with lingering symptoms of COVID-19, some are turning to an antiparasitic for relief. We speak with local patients and experts about the use of ivermectin for treating COVID-19.

The CPD strategy for a safe holiday weekend. The Trump Organization faces criminal charges. A new effort to make D.C. the 51st state. And we’re live “In Your Neighborhood” North Lawndale.

The nation’s capital has a larger population than Wyoming or Vermont, and its estimated 712,000 residents pay federal taxes, vote for president and serve in the armed forces, but they have no voting representation in Congress.

 Donald Trump’s company and its longtime finance chief were charged Thursday in what prosecutors called a “sweeping and audacious” tax fraud scheme in which the executive collected more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including apartment rent, car payments and school tuition.

This week the area welcomed two new projects —  one bringing affordable homes and the other bringing jobs. We talk with community leaders about how these initiatives will strengthen the neighborhood and help residents build wealth. 

Police officials say additional officers will be on the ground this holiday weekend, including along the lakefront and around entertainment venues. Those officers will be working 12-hour shifts and all days off have been canceled through Monday.

Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward) was indicted Thursday on four charges that she took bribes from a developer and lied to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents. The 72-year-old alderperson is the third sitting member of the Chicago City Council to be charged with federal crimes.

While they await the arrival of their own chicks, Chicago’s beloved piping plovers have just become grandparents — four times over.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot took a page from former President Donald Trump on Thursday and bestowed a belittling moniker on a political opponent, referring to Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) as “Burger King Ed,” a reference to the criminal charges Burke faces.

People who’ve had a COVID-19 infection develop some antibodies to the virus, but how long does immunity last? Researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology are part of a nationwide study to find out.

Strides being made against the use of plastic products were derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, a global campaign is encouraging people to choose reusable materials over single-use plastic and get the reduction back on track.

The short answer: Yes, but not nearly as much as if you had both doses. Experts recommend getting fully vaccinated, especially with the emergence of worrisome coronavirus mutations such as the delta variant first identified in India.

The latest alarming coronavirus variant is exploiting low global vaccination rates and a rush to ease pandemic restrictions, adding new urgency to the drive to get more shots in arms and slow its supercharged spread.

Chicago has recorded 332 homicides through the first six months of 2021, according to the Chicago Police Department. Though that figure is just below the 338 homicides in the first half of 2020, it still marks the second deadliest six-month stretch to start a year since 1999.

Calling Donald H. Rumsfeld energetic was like calling the Pacific wide. When others would rest, he would run. While others sat, he stood. But try as he might, at the pinnacle of his career as defense secretary he could not outmaneuver the ruinous politics of the Iraq war.

Members of the Chicago City Council are in the early stages of drafting new ward boundaries, but so too are community members hoping to supplant a map drawn by alderpeople. We check in on the drafting process.

The process to draw a new ward map begins. What’s in store for post-pandemic theater? The new editorial page editor for the Tribune. A new law allows college athletes to be paid for endorsements.

The special meeting set for Friday is the second time this year that aldermen have called an emergency meeting of the Chicago City Council over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s objections. Our Spotlight Politics team weighs in.

Broadway shows are planning their long-awaited return to Chicago. Theater critic Chris Jones has the latest, plus an update on his new role on the editorial pages of the Chicago Tribune.

Chicago’s lakefront is often referred to as one of the city’s crown jewels, and as with many valuable things, it’s been the subject of frequent high-profile political and legal fights. A new history of the lakefront traces more than 150 years of nearly nonstop litigation.

About 46% of the United States’ population is fully vaccinated, but many countries have much lower rates. What the U.S. and other countries are doing to promote vaccine equity across the world.