Stories by Kristen Thometz

Arts 77, a new citywide arts recovery and reopening plan named with a nod to Chicago’s 77 community areas, will work to support local artists and organizations, a sector “decimated by the global pandemic,” according to an official.

Over the past year, news coverage about traumatic topics like the pandemic and fatal police shootings have caused many to feel burnt out. Is there a balance between staying informed and not feeling overwhelmed by distressing stories?

The clock is nearing midnight for the Chicago Tribune and efforts to prevent a takeover from controversial hedge fund Alden Global Capital. WTTW News has learned there are still active talks behind the scenes to come up with a bid that could derail Alden’s plan.

Chicago has more lead service pipes than any other U.S. city. Last year the city announced a plan to slowly replace those lines, an effort which has yet to get underway. Now, state lawmakers want to tackle the toxic problem—and they want Congress to foot the bill.

More and more colleges and universities are making vaccination for COVID-19 a requirement in the fall. Other businesses are more circumspect. But during a global pandemic, should vaccines be mandatory? And what are your rights if you refuse a vaccine?

Can your employer or school mandate you get the COVID-19 vaccine? State lawmakers battle over the budget. Replacing Illinois’ lead service lines. And millions of dollars for public art.

U.S. health officials say fully vaccinated Americans don’t need to wear masks outdoors anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers, and those who are unvaccinated can go without a face covering outside in some cases, too.

Americans will have more time to get the Real ID that they will need to board a flight or enter federal facilities.

Chicagoans who are vaccinated against COVID-19 could get a “Vax Pass” allowing them to attend summer events and concerts like Lollapalooza, Chicago’s top doctor said Tuesday.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will no longer be authorized to carry out routine arrests at courthouses, a practice that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said discouraged people from attending court hearings and cooperating with law enforcement.

Eight weeks after federal and state officials opened a COVID-19 mass vaccination site at the United Center, it will close to first-dose walk-in appointments on May 11, Chicago’s top doctor announced Tuesday.

New guidelines announced Tuesday mean doctors and other health workers will no longer need extra hours of training to prescribe buprenorphine, a gold standard medicine that helps with cravings.

More than 60 community-based organizations and 23 federally qualified health centers are involved in a new program to assist residents who become infected with COVID-19 and to educate people about the vaccines.

Brandis Friedman and a panel of guests discuss the Derek Chauvin verdict, including what it means for racial justice and policing in Chicago and the U.S. Watch it now.

Six public meetings, including one held entirely in Spanish, have been scheduled for the first week in May before CPS officially releases its fiscal year 2022 capital plan later in the summer.

Opponents of the Obama Presidential Center’s location in Jackson Park lost a bid to have their case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. The nonprofit Protect Our Parks called the decision disappointing but not surprising. 

A look at the 13 states that will gain or lose political power — and federal money — through the apportionment process because of changes in population over the past decade.

Marine scientists say they have found what they believe to be as many as 25,000 barrels that possibly contain DDT dumped off the Southern California coast near Catalina Island, where a massive underwater toxic waste site dating back to World War II has long been suspected.

After a year that has laid bare persistent inequities in everything from health care outcomes to criminal justice, leaders of philanthropic organizations are reassessing how, and to whom, they are lending their support.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan held a tight grip on the gavel for 36 years – a term only interrupted by a two-year blip in the ‘90s. His successor, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, is making headway on fulfilling a promise that would prevent anyone else from a similar reign.

The U.S. poverty rate last month reached its highest point during the pandemic at 11.7%, according to researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame. We discuss the issue as part of WTTW’s Firsthand initiative exploring poverty.

COVID-19 has put some people on disability benefits, but others say the system isn't built for people with the virus. We discuss the obstacles people with long COVID-19 symptoms are facing.

Chicago’s top doctor talks about the resumption of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the latest updates on the Loretto Hospital scandal, declining infection rates in Chicago and more.

After an anxious 24 hours, bird watchers can relax: Monty, one half of Chicago’s beloved piping plover lovebird duo, has arrived at Montrose Beach Dunes, and been reunited with his mate, Rose.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has long complained about the flow of illegal guns into Chicago from Indiana, where gun control laws are much more relaxed than they are in Illinois.

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an appeal to expand gun rights in the United States in a New York case over the right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.