Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $1.2 billion budget gap by hiking property taxes and laying off employees got a cool reception Monday from aldermen, who pleaded for other options amid a raging pandemic.

It’s one of the most contentious races on the Cook County ballot. Former Cook County judge and prosecutor Patrick O’Brien talks about his campaign to unseat Democratic incumbent Kim Foxx.

Illinois moves up in a technology and innovation ranking as skilled workers move into the state. Crain’s Chicago Business Editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headlines of that story and more.

Starting Wednesday, indoor service at bars and restaurants will be suspended in suburban Cook County and the Metro East region of the state due to rising coronavirus positivity rates.

“The Batman” continued filming stunt sequences in Chicago over the weekend, rewarding onlookers with a sighting of the new batsuit.

The latest television ad from the Republican challenger running for Cook County State’s Attorney uses a statement from Chicago police Superintendent David Brown to blast incumbent Kim Foxx.

With just over a week to go until Election Day, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has launched a hotline for residents in Chicago and the surrounding areas to report any complaints of voter fraud or intimidation.

Watch the Oct. 26, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

A year after the fanfare-filled launch, city officials said the program had begun to show results — with $70 million in public funds attracting $300 million in private investments.

Chicago recorded its first official trace of snow of the season at O’Hare Airport on Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. Oct. 30 is the “normal first date” for snow.

In a surprise announcement from his studio window to faithful standing below in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis said the churchmen would be elevated to a cardinal’s rank in a ceremony on Nov. 28. 

As Chicago grapples with a second wave of the pandemic, a Wall Street ratings agency fired a shot across the bow as aldermen prepared to start a month of hearings on Mayor Lightfoot’s spending plan.

A vibrant mural taking shape on North Michigan Avenue honors former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her pioneering support of gender equality.

The Chicago Teachers Union reacts to plans for returning to in-person learning. How African American sororities are stepping up for one of their own. And a Pointer Sisters classic gets a reboot.

The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority has fought for voting rights for more than a century. We talk with AKA member Kimberley Egonmwan about what they’re doing to get the vote out today.

“We all want to return to our students. We don’t want to die doing our jobs, and we don’t want to be vectors for spreading illness or death to our students and their families,” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said.

Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett toward final confirmation despite Democratic objections, just over a week before the presidential election. 

A day after reporting a record number of new COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period in Illinois, state health officials said another 4,000-plus residents had become infected with the virus.

President Donald Trump assured supporters packed shoulder to shoulder at weekend rallies that “we’re rounding the turn” on the coronavirus and mocked challenger Joe Biden for raising alarms about the pandemic.

What you need to know about the so-called fair tax amendment. A win for Southwest Side residents fighting gentrification. Why Dia de los Muertos is a family reunion. And we visit a Peruvian kitchen.

Chicagoans are casting their votes for political candidates and making their voices heard on political ideas. A group of journalists walks us through the referenda on the ballot.

Chef Jesus Delgado talks about making Peruvian plates for Chicago palates.

Scientists in Washington state have discovered the first nest of so-called murder hornets in the United States and plan to wipe it out Saturday to protect native honeybees, officials said.

A suburban Chicago police officer who shot a Black couple inside a vehicle — killing a 19-year-old man and wounding his girlfriend — has been fired, the police chief announced late Friday.

The Senate is poised for a rare weekend session as Republicans race to put Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court  and cement a conservative majority before Election Day.

COVID-19 rollbacks hit Chicago and the collar counties. Tax hikes, borrowing and layoffs are in Mayor Lightfoot’s budget. A state supreme court race gets political. A recap of the final presidential debate.