Stories by Nick Blumberg

Chicagoans will get their yearly fix of cinema under the stars despite the coronavirus, the Chicago Park District announced late Friday. The city’s annual “Movies in the Parks” series is a go, with some key public health restrictions in place.

An uptick in COVID-19 cases. Will public schools open in the fall? Who Chicago’s top cop is blaming for rising violent crime rates. And Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth takes heat from President Trump.

Health experts have warned of a looming mental health crisis linked to the coronavirus outbreak, and the federal government rolled out a broad anti-suicide campaign. But doctors and researchers say the issues reverberate deeper among Black people.

July is National Bison Month — who knew? Here’s where you can catch buffalo roaming, close to home, in Illinois and Indiana.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said she “broadly” feels confident that schools will be able to offer “some” in-person classes starting in September.

The Trump administration has agreed to invest more than half a billion in tax dollars in ApiJect Systems America, but its injector is not approved by federal health authorities and the company hasn’t yet set up a factory to manufacture the devices.

Most of Wall Street is drifting higher Friday, though a rare pullback for some of the year's biggest winners in the stock market is tamping down the gains.

Since 2014, the Chicago Tree Project has commissioned more than two dozen sculptures across the city, bringing new life to dead ash trees. The latest is a work by artist Gary Keenan.

The new restrictions, which aim to reduce a slight increase in the number of coronavirus cases among young Chicagoans, took effect immediately, the Mayor Lori Lightfoot's office announced Friday morning. 

Geoffrey Baer has the scoop on some Chicago ice cream history.

Summer education enrichment programs have taken to Zoom. Are they working?

The North Side neighborhood gets its name from the 16th president, but much of its community’s cultural heritage comes from the German immigrants who founded the area in the 1840s.

July in Chicago brings scorching summer heat to the city, and often with it, poor air quality.

“These victims, I’m just going to classify them as good community members who were trying to do the right thing,” Chicago police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said of the three men who were shot on May 31.

While at an estate sale last September, Chicago artist Shannon Downey found an unfinished quilt and knew she had to complete it, but would need help. 

The home of the Chicago Architecture Center is both a gallery and a hub for dozens of tours. The space recently reopened to visitors – how you can explore Chicago architecture – and get a tour – from home. 

Federal health officials won’t revise their coronavirus guidelines for reopening schools despite criticism from President Donald Trump, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. 

More than 100 Chicago artists and stars who got their start in the Windy City perform the blues anthem, “Sweet Home Chicago.”

In a change to its previous thinking, WHO noted on Thursday that studies evaluating COVID-19 outbreaks in restaurants, choir practices and fitness classes suggested the virus might have been spread in the air.

Dujuan Randle, 41, was held without bond Thursday on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, two days after allegedly carrying out the fatal attack in broad daylight in front of neighbors.

The EPA began cleaning up the site this week, stating the hazardous substances found in the soil posed an “imminent and substantial endangerment” to “public health, welfare, and the environment.”

Watch the July 9, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Deerfield, Illinois-based drugstore chain said Thursday that the rapidly spreading coronavirus took a bite of between $700 million and $750 million from sales, with much of the damage coming from outside the United States.

The Police Criminal Misconduct Complaint form, launched Tuesday, will allow residents to submit claims of criminal misconduct against law enforcement officers and upload photo and video evidence of any alleged incident.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled a new 104-page report Thursday, which calls for the city to accelerate investments in neighborhoods on the South and West sides in order to create jobs and reduce crime.

A partial release of Illinois companies that received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program has turned up some big names, including some who are politically connected — and some connected to ethics scandals.