Stories by Heather Cherone

Illinois residents scrambling to renew their driver’s licenses and identification cards got a five-month reprieve Monday as lines swelled at secretary of state offices across the state.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability recommended two months ago that Officer Evan Solano have his gun and badge taken from him after the March fatal shooting of a 22-year-old in Portage Park, even as a probe of the killing continues.

Families of the missing visited the scene of the Florida condo building collapse Sunday as rescuers kept digging through the mound of rubble and clinging to hope that someone could yet be alive somewhere under the broken concrete and twisted metal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the agency is tracking the Delta coronavirus variant, among others — and warned that there is a small chance a fully vaccinated person could still get infected if they’re exposed.

In the U.S., many people view incarceration as the punishment one receives for breaking the law. But a recently released study indicates that for the more than 3.3 million people with criminal records in Illinois, punishment continues well beyond time served.

Helping people who’ve been involved with the criminal legal system get a fresh start. A new book from the late novelist Richard Wright. And The Last Word on mental health in the Black community.

A novel by Richard Wright, published more than 61 years after his death, is this month’s Black Voices Book Club selection. We discuss “The Man Who Lived Underground” with the grandson of this influential author.

The Supreme Court has already issued big decisions on health care and religious freedom this month. And next term, the high court has agreed to take on cases about abortion and guns. The court could say as soon as Monday what it will do about these issues awaiting action.

A bill awaiting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s signature would repeal the state’s so-called HIV criminal transmission statute, which makes it illegal for people living with HIV to have unprotected sex without disclosing their status to sexual partners.

The Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center turns 50. The latest on an effort to repeal Illinois’ HIV transmission law. And la ultima palabra on how small businesses save communities.

The forces of gentrification can make people being priced out of their neighborhoods feel powerless. But the founders of Lolita’s Bodega in Humboldt Park say residents have more power than they think.

Chicago’s oldest Latino cultural institution has brought Afro-Latin dance, music and art to the West Side since 1971. Now it’s celebrating a milestone after one of the most difficult years arts organizations have ever faced.

As many as 50 people are missing after setting out on three-hour car trips this year between Mexico’s industrial hub of Monterrey and the border city of Nuevo Laredo on a well-traveled stretch of road local media have dubbed “the highway of death.”

Many working-age people assume that Medicare covers just about every kind of health care that an older person may need. It doesn’t.

Rescuers used infrared technology, water and foam to battle the blaze, whose source was unclear, and Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the smoke has been the biggest challenge. In a news conference, she described the blaze as “very deep” and said rescuers faced “incredible difficulties” because of the flames.

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $230 million to New York state to settle claims that the pharmaceutical giant helped fuel the opioid crisis, Attorney General Letitia James said on Saturday.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot suffered a stinging defeat Friday as aldermen refused to approve her efforts to reduce their control over business signs, an indication that aldermen will not relinquish their veto over ward issues.

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for the murder of George Floyd, whose dying gasps under Chauvin’s knee led to the biggest outcry against racial injustice in the U.S. in generations.

An iconic roadway is renamed after a chaotic City Council meeting. Tornadoes rip through the western suburbs. The mayor says violence is trending down, but the numbers don’t add up. And former Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin is sentenced.

The vote Friday to change the name of the city’s most iconic roadway came after months of intense and raucous debate that included accusations of racism over how best to honor Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first non-native settler. 

Garfield Park is set to receive an infusion of Tax Increment Financing dollars for various projects that will help restore some of the park’s historic features, while reimagining others.

Edmond Harris, 18, faces charges of carjacking, discharging a firearm and causing death through the use of a firearm during a crime of violence, stemming from the fatal March shooting of Javier Ramos in Chicago.

President Joe Biden announced new efforts Wednesday to stem a rising national tide of violent crime, declaring the federal government is “taking on the bad actors doing bad things to our communities.” But questions persist about how effective the efforts can be in what could be a turbulent summer.

After one of the driest springs on record, the Chicago area is making up for lost precipitation in June. Waves of thunderstorms and torrential rains will roll through the Chicago region this weekend.

Illinois’ attorney general on his frustrations with the Chicago Police Department. Live from Woodridge as residents clean up from a tornado. Following up on Wednesday’s chaotic City Council meeting.

After a major tornado ripped through west suburban DuPage County, community members are picking up the pieces. For some, it will be a long road: more than 160 homes saw significant damage and about 30 were destroyed.