Stories by Heather Cherone

The Chicago City Council is one step away from creating a commission to study whether — and how — the city should pay reparations to Chicagoans who are the descendants of enslaved African Americans.

City officials announced Saturday they were prepared to spend as much as $1.2 million to hire 100 private security guards to patrol the South and West sides to protect businesses from a second weekend of looting and damage.

Andrew Alexander, the CEO and co-owner of famed The Second City improv theater, said he is stepping down after a former performer leveled accusations of racism against the comedy institution.

Tens of thousands gathered in Chicago’s Union and Seward parks Saturday to protest the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis. Here are sights and sounds from the day.

Joe Biden has formally clinched the Democratic presidential nomination, setting him up for a bruising challenge to President Donald Trump that will play out against the unprecedented backdrop of a pandemic, economic collapse and civil unrest.

As peaceful protests entered their ninth day in Chicago, the police department announced it had arrested 1,258 people in three days during the unrest that swept the city after the death of George Floyd.

As damning as video evidence in the George Floyd case appears to be, prosecutors know they must bring the right charges underpinned by sound legal logic if they hope to convict a Minnesota officer in Floyd’s May 25 death.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is calling for the firing of the Chicago police officer who flipped off protesters. A citywide curfew will remain in place even though most recent protests have been peaceful.

Chicago officers struck Chicago Police Board President Ghian Foreman five times on his legs with their batons during a protest on Sunday in Hyde Park that turned violent, Foreman told WTTW News.

“Yeah we’re not gonna do that,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a Friday morning press conference when asked if she would consider canceling CPS’ existing contract with the Chicago Police Department. “Unfortunately, we need security in our schools.”

As unrest swept the city Sunday, aldermen pleaded with Mayor Lori Lightfoot to help them protect their communities from roving bands of criminals clashing with police and looting businesses.

Speaking on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Friday there has been a marked increase in gun violence in 2020, despite a stay-at-home order that was in place statewide for more than two months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the milestone was the result of the “incredible work of so many people behind the scenes.”

President Donald Trump took a victory lap Friday morning after the government reported surprising job gains for last month, seizing on the data to predict that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic disruption was in the rear-view mirror.

Several authors of a large study that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs for coronavirus patients have retracted the report, saying independent reviewers were not able to verify information that’s been widely questioned by other scientists.

“We will not tolerate that kind of abusive, offensive conduct on the part of police officers, period,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.

As images of police brutality and cities on fire saturate the media, keeping kids in the dark may not be an option. Here are tips for talking to children about difficult topics.

With a global pandemic and ongoing protests against police brutality, LGBTQ organizations are returning to their revolutionary roots as they celebrate Pride Month.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she supports neighbors being vigilant but that she won’t tolerate people taking up arms. “We’ve seen that end with tragic results across the country,” she said.

You can camp, golf and — starting next weekend — even go zip lining, but plenty of closures and restrictions remain in effect. Here’s a look at what you can and can’t do in the preserves, and when.

According to a new study, cycling through Cook County Jail — a facility once dubbed the “largest-known source” of COVID-19 in the U.S. — is associated with roughly 16% of all documented cases of the virus in Illinois and Chicago through mid-April.

Caravans of burglars have capitalized on chaos, communicating with each other via messaging apps during heists and using both the protests over the death of George Floyd and other tactics to throw police off their trail. 

These days, buying flowers might seem like the very definition of a nonessential luxury purchase. But dozens of struggling nonprofits are in fact relying on flower sales to fund the vital social services they provide.

The placenta provides nutrients and oxygen to a developing fetus, among other things. In a small study, researchers found the placentas from pregnant women with COVID-19 showed signs of injury.

The mural of George Floyd projected above his golden coffin, where mourners knelt and cried, paused and prayed at his memorial service Thursday had a simple message: “I can breathe now.”

Watch the June 4, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”