Stories by Patty Wetli

Chicago isn’t likely to break the 35-year-old record high of 99 degrees set for June 14 back in 1987, even though the heat index is expected to top 105 degrees. Which begs the question: What is the heat index?

“We’re in a state of emergency,” Ja’Mal Green told “Chicago Tonight” on Tuesday. “This city is in huge disarray.” 

A breakthrough bipartisan gun package got a boost — with the tentative backing of U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. As members of Congress tiptoe toward taking federal action — state legislators are likewise focused on firearms measures.

COVID-19 has worsened what behavioral health leaders say was already a serious shortage of mental health care providers. 

The candidates for Cook County assessor face off in a “Chicago Tonight” candidate forum.

The flag, dubbed “I Will,” was chosen from nearly 300 submissions. It was designed by Drew Duffy, a student at Glenbrook South High School.

With Tuesday’s successful vote in Chicago and another in St. Louis, organizers say there are now 150 union Starbucks locations around the U.S.

The Chicago Board of Ethics will not punish Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward) for violating the city’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance by appearing in photographs used on his social media page on city property.

Even as COVID-19 case numbers increased in recent weeks after an early spring lull, Lightfoot said she has no intention of returning to remote learning when classes resume in August.

U.S. regulators have historically inspected baby formula plants at least once a year, but they did not inspect any of the three biggest manufacturers in 2020, according to federal records reviewed by The Associated Press.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday he decided to convene the emergency committee on June 23 because the virus has shown “unusual” recent behavior by spreading in countries well beyond parts of Africa, where it is endemic.

Tony Award-winning Broadway star Kelli O’Hara performed a bravura solo concert Thursday accompanied by that ever dazzling “band,” the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Chicago Board of Ethics Chair William Conlon said the package of reforms — which has been stalled since April without Lightfoot’s backing — should be “swiftly” passed by the City Council and signed into law.

Jim Ryan served as Illinois attorney general for eight years starting in 1995. He twice ran, unsuccessfully, for Illinois governor. He died on Sunday after what his family said were “several lengthy illnesses.” He was 76.

A new fast-food chain restaurant opens in Russia, and it might look and taste familiar. Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headlines.

A group of Wisconsin Republicans tried to file fake electoral documents in favor of Donald Trump. A nonprofit law firm is suing to bring criminal charges.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday that her strategy to fill the “significant gaps” in Chicago’s mental health care system that she inherited by expanding city funding for nonprofit organizations — but not reopening city-run clinics — is succeeding.

Bruce Dyker has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct, according to the Cook County State's Attorney's Office, after he was allegedly seen on video grabbing a woman at North Avenue Beach.

Cyclist and pedestrian safety advocates rally for change after two toddlers are killed by drivers on Chicago streets.

“While the risk in Chicago remains low, CDPH wants the public to be able to make informed choices about gathering in spaces or participating in events where monkeypox could be spread through close or intimate contact,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, the commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

The proposal falls far short of tougher steps long sought by President Joe Biden and many Democrats. Even so, if the accord leads to the enactment of legislation, it would signal a turn from years of gun massacres that have yielded little but stalemate in Congress.

Federal health officials said Sunday that kid-sized doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5, a key step toward a long-awaited decision to begin vaccinating the youngest American children.

Day two of televised Jan. 6 hearings. We have the latest. Plus, what bike and pedestrian advocates are calling for after multiple deaths on Chicago streets. The Mag Mile gets a big new tenant, and new laws to prevent drowning in Lake Michigan.

Several sites in northeastern Illinois — including Waterfall Glen, Des Plaines Riverway, Hidden Lake and Wood Ridge forest preserves — will be sprayed with fake pheromones to confuse spongy moth males and disrupt mating.

Natashee Scott, the former alderperson’s wife, is set to pay $8,000 for two city-owned vacant lots adjacent to her family’s home along Albany Avenue across the street from Douglass Park in North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side.

Mild temperatures will give way to blistering heat this week, with the National Weather Service warning of temperatures in the mid-90s and peak heat indices of 110 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.