Stories by Heather Cherone

Mayor Lori Lightfoot will ask aldermen to approve an ordinance designed to minimize the number of evictions across the city as the coronavirus pandemic eases, officials said.

The dire financial picture for Chicago comes after Mayor Lori Lightfoot insisted through mid-April that the city was well-prepared to weather the economic storm whipped up by COVID-19.

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

A Chicago police officer who was caught on camera last week extending his middle fingers toward peaceful protesters has been relieved of his police powers, days after Mayor Lori Lightfoot called for him to be fired.

This year’s summer festival season will look a little different, with large outdoor festivals canceled or moved online, including Lollapalooza.

Skeptics have been saying for weeks that Wall Street’s huge rally, which reached 44.5% between late March and Monday, may have been overdone. 

Negative police interactions can have a lasting impact on individuals and entire communities. We speak with two activists and a mental health worker about the changes they believe would improve police-community relations.

Just about every teenager gets safe-driving tips from their parents when they get their first driver’s license. But for black teens, the freedom and independence that comes with driving necessitates an added conversation.

It’s a conversation that goes hand-in-hand with learning how to drive. But many people argue “the talk” should not have to happen at all. 

When it comes to the relationship between Chicago’s residents of color and the police and political leaders who are supposed to serve them, the city has a long, complex and deeply painful history.

Chicago is an important city in the history of segregation and civil rights. How one neighborhood in particular is grappling with events from more than 50 years ago as it reacts to fallout from George Floyd’s death.

Illinois officials are dipping their toes into the idea of allowing swimming as the state begins its second week in phase three of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s reopening plan.

Chicago parks have reopened — though technically the outdoors was never “closed,” except along the lakefront — but access to facilities and equipment will remain limited.

As the number of COVID-19 cases decline at the Cook County Jail, Sheriff Tom Dart announced Monday he would resume allowing in-person family visits for detainees for the first time in months.

Insurance companies “must do everything in their power” to help retailers, restaurants and other businesses that were ransacked by looters get back on their feet, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday.

The Chicago Police Department’s latest crime figures show a 20% reduction in overall crime in May 2020 compared to last year. But year-to-date totals show an increase in shootings (30%) and homicides (25%) compared with the same time frame last year.

Protesters are pushing to “defund the police” over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans killed by law enforcement. Their chant has become a rallying cry — and a stick for President Donald Trump to use on Democrats.

Chicago’s City Council is poised to toss a lifeline to the city’s struggling hospitality industry, but brewery owners say it would do nothing to help their taprooms survive.

Watch the June 8, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Chicago Public Library branches are reopened as of Monday, but patrons will experience a few new restrictions. 

Democrats are mounting a new effort to push back against a well-funded Republican campaign that seeks to undermine public confidence in mail-in voting, which President Trump has said will lead to election fraud.

Black elected officials are demanding transformational change in the wake of George Floyd’s death and the attention it has brought to systemic racism — and they’re demanding the state provide money to back it up.

Worshippers were able to legally meet together Sunday in Chicago churches and other religious institutions — albeit with limitations in place — for the first time since orders meant to limit the spread of the coronavirus took effect.

Illinois’ total number of coronavirus cases reached 127,757 on Sunday as the state again reported fewer than 1,000 new cases over the past 24 hours. But doctors and officials fear that number could spike in the near future.

Chicagoans are once again free to roam the city at night. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced via social media that she was lifting her curfew order “effective immediately.”

Around the world, government resources diverted to pandemic efforts have opened opportunities for illegal land clearing and poaching. Lockdowns also have derailed the eco-tourism that funds many environmental projects.