Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Gov. J.B. Pritkzer on Wednesday declared the availability of testing for COVID-19 – or the lack thereof – to be the greatest challenge Illinois has faced in combating the outbreak. But he’s hopeful that will soon change.

Can Jeanne Ives flip Illinois’ 6th Congressional District back to red? We sit down for a one-on-one with first-term congressman Sean Casten.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx came away the winner in Tuesday’s primary against three Democratic challengers. She joins us in discussion.

We discuss viruses and the role they’ve played in shaping who we are with University of Chicago paleontologist and author Neil Shubin.

What to make of the election results Tuesday? And did the governor make the right call to hold the election amid COVID-19 fears? Our politics team takes on the primary election in this week’s roundtable.

State officials on Wednesday announced the largest single-day jump in the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Illinois. The total now stands at 288 positive tests for the virus across 17 counties in the state.

The Trump administration has announced that most individuals and businesses will be allowed to delay paying their federal tax bills for 90 days as part of an emergency relief plan amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Watch the March 18, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

What can older adults and their families do to keep them safe during this crisis while still getting the food and care they need? We speak with Dr. John Holton, director of strategic initiatives at UIC’s Jane Addams Center for Social Policy and Research.

The Sheriff’s Department says it has placed a “high priority” on reducing the number of nonviolent, low-level offenders in its custody, particularly those who are at an increased risk of the new coronavirus.

Illinois State Sen. Iris Martinez has won the Democratic primary for clerk of the Cook County Circuit Court. Martinez topped the four-way race with 31.4% of the vote. 

Snowdrop, crocus, hyacinth and other early spring bloomers are cheering up the gloomy landscape.

The man who two years ago was appointed to fill the shoes of longtime Illinois Supreme Court Justice Charles Freeman is in position to keep that seat for another decade. But there are reportedly thousands of votes that remain uncounted.

Because Chicago is the storefront theater capital of this country, it’s worth looking at the situation now facing some of these small companies and how they are trying to deal with the global pandemic.

Joe Biden swept to victory in Florida, Illinois and Arizona on Tuesday, increasingly pulling away with a Democratic presidential primary upended by the coronavirus and building pressure on Bernie Sanders to abandon his campaign.

In her victory speech Tuesday night, the Cook County state’s attorney said there was an effort to make the primary election about one celebrity case (without specifically calling out Jussie Smollett) but that “the voters have overwhelmingly put that fallacy to rest.”

Challenger Marie Newman has defeated long-serving U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, and the Republican challengers for first-term Democrats Lauren Underwood and Sean Casten are set. Where else things stand across congressional districts.

The coronavirus pandemic has altered daily life in every way, from increasing financial worries and food insecurity to simply upending routines. How can people adjust to a new normal in the face of all these new worries?

A day that started out with confusion and low voter turnout looks to be ending with relatively few lingering problems, and turnout numbers that approach typical primary elections. 

As of Tuesday, 63 of the 160 people who have tested positive for the new coronavirus in Illinois are Chicago residents, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. We get the latest from CDPH Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

At least one St. Patrick’s Day tradition is alive and well in these topsy-turvy times. Animals at Brookfield Zoo received special shamrock-shaped treats on Tuesday.

A Chicago woman in her 60s marks the first reported death in Illinois related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the death Tuesday, as confirmed cases across the state grew to 160.

Watch the March 17, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Exasperated Chicago election officials say they urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to postpone Tuesday’s election, close all polling places and move to mail-in balloting, but Pritzker rejected the idea.

Nothing is certain in the age of the coronavirus. Three states scheduled to vote after Tuesday postponed their primaries. Ohio scrapped its Tuesday vote, while Arizona, Florida and Illinois vowed to push ahead.

Illinois hospitals are postponing elective surgeries, reconfiguring their emergency rooms and are making extra space in their intensive care units as they prepare for a spike in patients suffering from novel coronavirus.