Stories by Dan Lambert

By declaring the state a disaster area for the disease, the Illinois Department of Public Health will be able to more quickly coordinate the agency’s response to the spread of the virus and distribute vaccines more efficiently, according to a statement from the governor’s office.

For the fifth consecutive month, the Chicago Police Department reported a decline in homicides from the same period a year prior, but that hasn’t translated into a reduction in other crimes.

The WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist is to return to court on Tuesday, a month after the beginning of the trial in which she could face 10 years in prison if convicted. As the trial has progressed, the Biden Administration has faced rising calls for action to win her release.

More than one in five New York City elementary schools had fewer than 300 students last school year. In Los Angeles, that figure was over one in four. In Chicago it has grown to nearly one in three, and in Boston it’s approaching one in two, according to a Chalkbeat/AP analysis.

A 16-year-old boy fatally shot in Brighton Park early Sunday morning was among five people killed by gunfire over the weekend in Chicago.

Sen. Joe Manchin, one of the Democrats’ most conservative and contrarian members, declined on Sunday to endorse Joe Biden if the president seeks a second term in 2024 and refused to say whether he wants Democrats to retain control of Congress after the November elections.

Born Grace Dell Nichols in suburban Robbins, Nichelle Nichols first worked professionally as a singer and dancer in Chicago at age 14, moving on to New York nightclubs and working for a time with the Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton bands before coming to Hollywood.

An exhibition at the DePaul Art Museum titled “Remaking the Exceptional: Tea, Torture and Reparations, Chicago to Guantanamo” is acknowledging 20 years since the opening of a United States extra-legal prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

A community-based art initiative is pushing for more public artwork across Chicago’s neighborhoods. Earth Art Chicago is awarding nearly $550,000 to 11 arts organizations throughout the city.

A grassroots movement fighting homelessness in Chicago. A public art initiative aims to inspire climate action. And kids exploring opportunities in the performing arts. 

A new proposal would increase the city’s real estate transfer tax, a one-time tax paid when a property is sold, by nearly 2% on properties over $1 million. An advocacy organization says the move would impact about 4% of properties sold and would generate $163 million to fund permanent affordable housing with services.        

How pharmacies can go beyond just prescriptions. Plus, Minnie Miñoso is now a Hall of Famer, hear from one of his kids about the ceremony. And meet a woman using her bike to claim space. 

When it comes to health care, clear communication is critical to good outcomes. Nowhere is that truer than in America, where the health care system can be difficult to navigate as well as vastly different from the systems in other countries.

Nine percent of America’s Latinos live with a disability, ranging from physical and cognitive impairments to mental health disorders. While that’s a lower rate than other racial and ethnic groups, Latinos are more likely to be unemployed or drop out of school due to disability. They’re also more likely to have worse health outcomes.

Local cyclist, Xail Hernandez offers la ultima palabra on what claiming a lane did for her health and her spirit, and what she says it can do for yours too.

White Sox legend Minnie Miñoso made the ultimate home run: a forever home in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, July 23. For generations of White Sox fans, he was a favorite for his outstanding performance on the field and his gregarious spirit off it.

“We are thrilled to have witnessed one of the biggest jackpot wins in Mega Millions history,” Ohio Lottery Director Pat McDonald, currently serving as Lead Director for the Mega Millions Consortium, said in a statement on the lottery’s website. “We’re eager to find out who won and look forward to congratulating the winner soon!”

Mayor Lightfoot lures the Bears with a Soldier Field dome proposal. Google to take over the Thompson Center. Illinois Democrats feud with one another. And Lollapalooza is here this weekend and beyond.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly dropped out of the contest Friday afternoon, acknowledging her bid to serve a full four-year term as chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois, known as the DPI, “will come up just shy of the necessary majority.”

The 2022 season may have been heartbreaking for Chicago’s piping plover lovers (RIP, Monty and Rose), but the news from across the Great Lakes was among the most encouraging in decades when it comes to the endangered shorebirds.

The agreement represents the second largest national settlement in U.S. history, dwarfed only by the agreements with tobacco firms reached in the 1990s.

$83.3 billion in climate financing was given to poorer countries in 2020, a 4% increase from the previous year, but still short of the proposed goal. The United Nations-backed payment plan was first agreed in 2009 to help poorer nations adapt to the effects of climate change and reduce emissions.

No injuries were reported from Thursday’s flooding, but the St. Louis Fire Department said on Twitter that it responded to 75 flooding-related emergencies and 60 people were rescued or helped to safety.

Will Smith has again apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscar telecast in a new video, saying that his behavior was “unacceptable” and that he had reached out to the comedian to discuss the incident but was told Rock wasn’t ready.

Economists are divided over whether a recession is looming. What’s clear is that economic uncertainty isn’t going away anytime soon. But there are steps you can take now to be ready for whatever is ahead.

Located about 30 miles north of downtown Chicago, Waukegan has recently become a hub for Planned Parenthood doctors in Wisconsin to treat their patients since that state halted abortions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.