Stories by Associated Press

Pileup Along Icy Chicago Expressway Sends 14 to Hospitals

Portions of a Chicago expressway left icy by a wintry blast that brought overnight snowfall led to a pileup involving of dozens of vehicles early Wednesday, sending 14 people to hospitals, officials said.

Snow in Mid-April?! Not Even Close to the Record for Latest in the Year

Could this year get any worse? Well yeah, it could. It once snowed in June, according to the National Weather Service.

New Era Dawns: Chicago City Council Set to Meet Virtually for First Time

The City Council will write a new chapter in the history books Wednesday by meeting virtually to keep from spreading the coronavirus. The meeting will follow an “abbreviated agenda” and is designed “primarily to adopt rules addressing meetings by videoconference.”

Lupus Patients Can’t Get Their Medicine Because People Think It Prevents COVID-19

A drug that has the potential to heal, or even prevent, the coronavirus is in high demand. And that’s a problem for patients with autoimmune diseases who know the drug works for them. 

Austin Community Grapples With High Rate of COVID-19

The West Side neighborhood of Austin has become a hot spot for COVID-19 cases. According to the city, it falls into a zip code that has recorded a COVID-19 case rate of between 431-720 people per 100,000. 

Chicago Gospel Singer’s Message in ‘Goshen’ is More Timely Than Ever

The city had declared 2020 as Chicago’s “year of music.” Now with live music all but shut down, we’ve been talking with artists who were set to share their sounds before the coronavirus outbreak – including Donald Lawrence and the Tri-City Singers.

CPS Chief Education Officer Spells Out Goals for Remote Learning Plan

This week, Chicago Public Schools families are learning a new lesson: how remote learning works. We check in on the district’s remote learning plan with LaTanya McDade, CPS chief education officer.

Pandemic Changes Rituals of Life — and Death

Dealing with loved ones dying in normal times can be difficult enough. But during this global health crisis, a host of new challenges arise as physical distancing forces families apart during final bedside moments.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford: ‘West Side is Struggling Hard’

Like other predominantly African American neighborhoods in Chicago, Austin has seen a disproportionately high number of COVID-19 cases. We speak with state Rep. La Shawn Ford, whose district includes much of the neighborhood and several western suburbs.

‘I Don’t See This as a Job’: Group Home Manager Quarantines with Residents After COVID-19 Diagnoses

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many of us with challenging decisions, from managing our groceries to caring for vulnerable family members. Linda Smith made a choice many of us would find hard to imagine.

Cook County Sheriff Says Supply of Masks for Detainees, Staff Could Run Out in a Week

Sheriff Tom Dart’s office said it has begun complying with a court order mandating additional protective measures inside the Cook County Jail, but it estimates its supply of surgical masks for detainees and employees will run out in “six to seven more days.”

Hilco Issues Apology for Demolition Gone Awry, Neighbors Demand Prosecution

Hilco Redevelopment Partners issues an apology and outlined corrective actions following a demolition that left the Little Village neighborhood covered by a plume of dust over the weekend.

Pritzker: ‘We are in Fact Bending the Curve’

New statewide totals: 23,247 cases, 868 deaths

Gov. J.B. Pritzker says the state of Illinois is making strides in its fight against the novel coronavirus, pointing Tuesday to key metrics that show “a deceleration of virus transmission.”

West Side Newspaper Adapts to Cover Communities During Pandemic

Social distancing and the statewide stay-at-home order has changed the way reporters gather and share the news. We check in with Michael Romain, editor of the Austin Weekly News, as part of our series COVID-19 Across Chicago.

April 14, 2020 - Full Show

Watch the April 14, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

At Least 19 Children at a Chicago Shelter for Immigrant Detainees Have Tested Positive for COVID-19

A coronavirus outbreak at a Heartland Alliance facility on Chicago’s South Side may be the largest outbreak of the virus in any shelter for immigrant youth in the country. At least 19 children and two staff have tested positive.

More Magic in the Skies: Planets and Moon Align for a Show This Week

The moon will align with Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in the pre-dawn hours this week.

Obama Endorses Biden: ‘Joe Gets Stuff Done’

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Joe Biden for president in a video message Tuesday that delivered a full-throated condemnation of President Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Coronavirus-Related Gloves, Masks and Wipes Don’t Belong in Recycling

Sanitation crews have been seeing a surge in coronavirus-related items placed in recycling bins. They belong in the trash.

‘Irresponsible and Wrong’: More Fallout from Crawford Smokestack Demolition

The Little Village community has already been hit disproportionately hard by COVID-19. Now, residents are fuming about the demolition of a smokestack that gave rise to a plume of dust and particulate matter that wafted through the neighborhood.

As Unemployment Claims Soar, Pritzker Outlines Efforts to Meet Demand

New statewide totals: 22,025 cases, 794 deaths

Between March 1 and April 4, the state received 513,173 initial unemployment claims, surpassing the total number of claims filed in 2019, according to Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 

Isolation, Hunger Chief Among Coronavirus Concerns for Seniors

What Illinois social service agencies are doing to mitigate the risks seniors face during the pandemic.

Blues Guitarist Looks Ahead with Delmark Records

It makes sense that a veteran Chicago blues and jazz musician is on the city’s oldest blues and jazz record label. We visit Dave Specter and Delmark Records for a look back — and forward.

COVID-19 Cure? Convalescent Plasma Therapy Trial Launches in Chicago

Patients who have recovered from the coronavirus can help those struggling to fight the disease, as part of a clinical trial just launched by University of Chicago Medicine – the first trial of its kind in the area.

Lessons on Remote Learning from a Hong Kong Educator

Chicago Public Schools has just started its remote learning program, but schools in other cities have been holding virtual classes for weeks. We speak with a Palatine native who is the vice principal at a school nearly 8,000 miles away.

Remote Learning Begins at CPS. Will Virtual Efforts Make the Grade?

Chicago Public Schools students are now back in the classroom — virtually, that is. Students officially began remote learning Monday, but many people argue that nothing can replace time in the classroom.
 

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