Stories by Angel Idowu

For the first time, self-portraits of Evanston artist Leo Segedin are on display in a solo exhibition.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $225.8 million to the Brandon Road Lock and Dam invasive carp barrier. The funds will complete the planning and engineering phase of the project.

As dentists across Illinois experience staffing shortages and an increased demand for dental appointments, they are asking state officials to consider teledentistry and other services to help fill the demand. 

McDonald’s faces a lawsuit that claims systemic racism in the company’s practices. Ann Dwyer has details on that story and more.

In the first half of January, an estimated 8.8 million U.S. workers were reported to have stayed home either because they were sick with COVID-19 or were caring for someone who was sick. The news comes as some workers are running out of employer-provided sick days, or don’t have enough earned sick days to begin with. 

The stock market extended its three-week decline and put the benchmark S&P 500 on track for a so-called correction — a drop of 10% or more from its most recent high. 

Under a new statewide compromise, public school and higher ed employees across Illinois won’t have to expend their sick time if they are forced to miss work due to COVID-19 — as long as they’re fully vaccinated.

The City Council’s Finance Committee voted unanimously Monday to recommend the settlement, which is set for a final vote by the full City Council on Wednesday.

At President Biden’s direction, the Pentagon is putting about 8,500 U.S.-based troops on heightened alert for potential deployment to Europe amid rising fears of a possible Russian military move on Ukraine.

Melissa Ortega, a third-grade student at Emiliano Zapata Academy in Little Village, died Saturday after she was shot in the head by a suspect who Chicago police say was aiming at a 26-year-old man.

The first free N95 masks have started to arrive at U.S. pharmacies, with more on the way in the coming days, as the Biden administration seeks to ramp up access to high-quality masks amid the spread of the highly-transmissible omicron variant.

The conservative-dominated Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a challenge to the consideration of race in college admissions, adding affirmative action to major cases on abortion, guns, religion and COVID-19 already on the agenda.

You’ve heard of blizzards and maybe even the polar vortex, but have you heard of ice pancakes? What about ice bites or ice jams? These unique names sound fascinating but require specific weather conditions.

As of 6 a.m. Sunday, snowfall totals measured 3.6 inches at Midway Airport, 3.5 inches at O’Hare Airport and 2.8 inches in Romeoville, according to the National Weather Service. Another round of snow is expected Monday morning. 

The US Food and Drug Administration could decide in the coming days to take steps to curb the use of antibody treatments produced by Eli Lilly and Regeneron, the source said, pointing to the growing body of evidence that shows their monoclonal therapies don't effectively neutralize the virus’ omicron variant.

Hilary Knight, who grew up in north suburban Lake Forest, is making her U.S. women’s hockey record-matching fourth Olympic appearance in which she’s won a gold and two silvers.

The wave of infections brought on by the omicron variant and a shortage of treatments have focused attention on the policies. Medical experts say the opposition is misleading. Health officials have long said there is a strong case for considering race as one of many risk factors in treatment decisions. And there is no evidence that race alone is being used to decide who gets medicine.

A look back, and ahead, as we enter year three of COVID-19. Renewed calls for action over the Little Village smokestack implosion. Helping seniors access resources. And La DePaulia turns two.

We’re about to enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. And with news that the omicron wave has passed its peak in Chicago, a light begins to appear at the end of the tunnel. But public health advocates are warning the city’s residents not to let their guards down just yet.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot did not respond to a question from WTTW News about whether she thought it was appropriate for her appointees to reject the inspector general’s recommendation to fire an employee of the Chicago Department of Public Health and punish two other employees of the Department of Buildings responsible for approving and overseeing the implosion of the smokestack.

In January 2020, student journalists at DePaul University launched a Spanish-language platform reporting on Chicago’s Latino community, La DePaulia. We spoke to editor-in-chief and co-founder María Marta Guzmán and managing editor Erika Perez about the young news outlet’s first two years and their hopes for the future.

For Latino seniors, issues of language access, health inequities, lower incomes and documentation status can make the daily business of living even more complicated. "Latino Voices" met with an organization aiming to develop a strategic action plan for aging in Illinois. 

Reparations on the way for the first 16 Evanston residents selected in its program. Unresolved murder cases from the Civil Rights era get a fresh look. And a new brew for the beer industry.

We speak with author and Chicagoan Zetta Elliott, who created the urban fantasy book series “Dragons in a Bag” to allow Black children to see themselves in the pages of fantasy books.

Beer is intended to be for everyone, of drinking age of course, but it’s not always made by everyone. The craft beer industry has historically been dominated by white men. That lack of diversity is the inspiration behind a new scholarship initiative in Illinois.

A historic moment in Evanston as the city determines who will be the first to receive reparations. We speak with two people behind the push to make it happen.