Stories by Heather Cherone

“While this will never heal the painful wounds of losing Ella, this is a small step toward justice for her family and all those who love her,” Chicago Police Supt. David Brown tweeted Wednesday.

City officials announced Wednesday that they have awarded $24 million to the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership to serve as the lead organization for a new initiative to promote overall health and wellness.

Current and former employees at an Amazon warehouse in Joliet say the mega-retailer has allowed a racially hostile work environment, including death threats against Black employees and workers who are allowed to wear Confederate flag clothing, according to a complaint filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

The profits have come as the weapons have been used in mass shootings that have horrified the nation, including one that left 10 people dead at a grocery store in Buffalo and another where 19 children were shot to death in Uvalde, Texas.

Donnell Russell, 47, of Chicago, entered the plea in Brooklyn federal court. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said Russell used threats, harassment and intimidation to silence one of R. Kelly’s sexual abuse victims.

“Back to the Oval,” President Joe Biden tweeted after the White House released the latest daily update from his doctor confirming that he was clear to end the isolation period that is required after someone tests positive for the coronavirus. Biden, 79, tested positive last week.

A big anniversary is coming up for Walt Whitman and the Soul Children of Chicago.

Why many alderpeople are calling it quits. Inside the proposal for a domed Soldier Field. Indiana lawmakers take up abortion. And previewing a big concert from the Soul Children of Chicago.

A growing list of alderpeople have announced they will not be running for re-election in 2023, or have already resigned from the City Council. We hear from four of them. 

Chicago is battling New York City, Atlanta and Houston for the right to celebrate the party’s nominees for president and vice president in August 2024, while showcasing the Democratic Party’s pitch to voters.

The mayor has a new proposal to upgrade Soldier Field, but can it really sway the Bears to stay? 

A wildly exuberant, ideally performed, fabulously designed production of “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”  — superbly directed and choreographed by the ever formidable Christopher Chase Carter — has come to the stage of Chicago’s Mercury Theater.

Damage across the St. Louis region was widespread after a massive downpour dropped more than 11 inches of rain in parts of St. Charles County and up to 10 inches elsewhere in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

On Monday, “Chicago Tonight” correspondent Joanna Hernandez hosted the latest edition of our “Chicago Tonight: Voices” community conversation series, moderating a discussion focused on gun violence in America.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin announced Tuesday new federal legislation targeting the straw purchasing of firearms, nearly a year after a Chicago police officer was fatally shot with such a weapon during a traffic stop in Englewood.

Growth appears to be sputtering, home sales are tumbling and economists warn of a potential recession ahead. But consumers are still spending, businesses keep posting profits and the economy keeps adding hundreds of thousands of jobs each month.

Legal experts, including Republican attorneys, say there is no legal means to decertify the past election and no evidence to support such action. Nevertheless, decertification continues to be a rallying cry among many Republicans in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

Indiana is one of the first Republican-run state legislatures to debate tighter abortion laws following the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month overturning Roe v. Wade. The Supreme Court ruling is expected to lead to abortion bans in roughly half the states.

The mayor unveils her Hail Mary plan to keep the Bears at Soldier Field. The owner of a bakery vandalized with hate speech. A Chicagoan on his painful bout with monkeypox.  And inside the new musical based on a cult sci-fi comedy.

Mayor Lightfoot unveiled three options to renovate Soldier Field, ranging in price from $900 million to $2.2 billion. The mayor, who is running for a second term, declined to say how much public funding she was prepared to spend to prevent the Bears from leaving the city and moving to Arlington Heights.

Additional monkeypox vaccines are arriving in Chicago, but they will be in limited supply. This as the World Health Organization this declared monkeypox a public health emergency. 

It’s been a difficult few weeks for UpRising Bakery and Café in suburban Lake in the Hills. The cafe was targeted with hate speech and vandalized after making plans to host a family-friendly drag show. 

A new business venture from a co-founder of a Chicago weed giant fizzles. The company that gave up the Water Tower Place is now selling it’s big property across the street. And there’s some good news for landlords trying to fill suburban office spaces.

Sundays on State brings the city of neighborhoods to one central location to showcase the best of what Chicago has to offer. What started as a way to accelerate the economy after the pandemic has since transformed into a free celebration showcasing local vendors and performers.

The abandonment and neglect that has undermines the economies of many Chicago and Cook County neighborhoods is very much man-made, according to a new study.

From planter boxes to koi ponds, these Chicago gardeners know how to create an oasis in the city.