Stories by Kristen Thometz

Summer in Chicago is synonymous with neighborhood street festivals, outdoor concerts and art shows. But what will the season bring in 2020? We asked some local organizers for their take on festival season in the COVID-19 era.

Chicago officials said Thursday they will not ticket, boot or impound cars that do not pose a public safety threat for an additional month as part of an effort to help Chicagoans facing a cash crunch.

Wrigley Field should be stirring to life this week. But with the baseball season postponed indefinitely by the coronavirus pandemic, the Friendly Confines will instead welcome a temporary outpost of the Lakeview Pantry. 

Since testing positive for COVID-19 last month, Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin has made a full recovery. He joins us to discuss his city’s response to the pandemic.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has teamed up with his counterparts in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana and Kentucky on a coordinated effort to reopen local economies as they work to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

Watch the April 16, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The government said 5.2 million more Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the four-week total to about 22 million out of a work force of 159 million — easily the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record. 

Chicago-area public transportation got $1.43 billion in CARES Act funding, which the revenue-strapped agencies hope arrives soon. But the Regional Transportation Authority warns they shouldn’t plan on another round of federal bailout money.

As federal officials weigh how and when to reopen the country, experts worry that the United States does not have enough public health workers to suppress another outbreak, especially those qualified to do contact tracing.

The nonprofit Urban Growers Collective operates community farms on Chicago’s South Side, providing fresh produce to underserved neighborhoods with few to no nutritional food options.

Garden centers are juggling an anticipated increase in demand with social distancing concerns. Now, many are offering online ordering, no-contact delivery and curbside pickup as options.

The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting new challenges to communities across Chicago that are already struggling. We visit Albany Park as part of our reporting series.

President Donald Trump has halted funding to the World Health Organization until a review can be conducted of its pandemic response. U.S. Reps. Adam Kinzinger and Jan Schakowsky weigh in on that and other recent moves by Trump.

As part of an ongoing series on how professional musicians are responding to a changing landscape, we meet a few aspiring young musicians, who tell us the downside – and the upside – of studying music during the pandemic.

The pandemic has made it even harder to do the things that some of us already had a hard time doing, like eating well and exercising. But with some planning and creativity, staying active and healthy while staying at home is totally doable.

Twenty weeks after he took over as the Chicago Police Department’s interim superintendent, Charlie Beck officially stepped down from his post Wednesday, handing over a badge to the city’s new top cop David Brown.

Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood is home to immigrants from all over the world. But the area is now seeing an uptick in gun violence and threats to housing stability, the area alderman says.

The novel coronavirus has closed schools, restaurants, bars and businesses throughout the state, and on Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker revealed how the pandemic will cause a $2.7 billion shortfall this year and a $4.6 billion shortfall next year.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot called on the city’s watchdog to complete his probe into what happened before — and after — former Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson was discovered asleep in his running car after a night of drinking.

Michael Grice has used a wheelchair since he was a young man. He lives on his own in an apartment and gets help from assistants daily. This makes social distancing difficult, but his biggest concern right now is for people living in group settings.

Defending his office’s COVID-19 testing and isolation procedures, the Cook County sheriff said Wednesday he took action to prevent the spread of the virus earlier than any other sheriff in the country.

Watch the April 15, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

“We have just been crushed” by the coronavirus, said Metra CFO Tom Farmer. The agency has seen ridership drop as much as 97% during the pandemic.

When the governor issued a stay-at-home order last month, cases of COVID-19 were more than doubling every three days in Chicago. Had that rate held steady, approximately 64,500 Chicagoans would have been sickened by now, according to new data.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot presided over the city’s first virtual meeting Wednesday morning from her office on the 5th floor of City Hall, with 48 aldermen connected via Zoom.

The United States is WHO’s largest single donor, contributing between $400 million and $500 million annually to the Geneva-based agency in recent years.