Stories by Amanda Vinicky

The Illinois House is reconvening Thursday for what lawmakers hope will be the penultimate chapter of yearslong energy negotiations. And now it’s truly down to the wire for a far-reaching omnibus package.

What’s next for energy legislation in Springfield. A long-awaited police contract on the horizon — our Spotlight Politics team has more. Mental health days for students. And remembering Adlai Stevenson.

A push by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to allow cannabis to be sold legally downtown cleared a key city panel on Wednesday, even though it won’t allow Michigan Avenue to become a “pot paradise.”

The World Health Organization last month listed mu as a “variant of interest” because of concerns it may make vaccines and treatments less effective, though more evidence is needed. 

Street festivals, dance classes, outdoor concerts and unique eats usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Chicagoans who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 should not travel, Dr. Allison Arwady announced Wednesday, as officials expanded the city’s advisory designed to stop the spread of the still-surging virus to every state and territory in the U.S.

Marina Verbitsky, 46, allegedly told staff at a Florida airport that there was a bomb inside her checked luggage after she’d been informed she would not be able to get on to her scheduled flight.

A collection of some 22,000 personal artifacts — some on display at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and others on display at other museums around the country — provide a mosaic of lost lives and stories of survival: wallets, passports, baseball gloves, shoes, clothes and rings.

The head of the World Health Organization is calling on rich countries with large supplies of coronavirus vaccines to refrain from offering booster shots through the end of the year, expanding an earlier request that has largely fallen on deaf ears.

Air pollution is slashing years from billions of people’s lives around the world and is a greater threat to life expectancy than smoking, HIV/AIDS or war, a report published Wednesday shows. 

Footwork is an art form that consists of both music and dance, and it’s brought people together from around the world. Now it’s bringing folks downtown to see animated projections on the Merchandise Mart.

Texas has taken a controversial approach to banning abortions once cardiac activity is detected, with a law that allows private citizens to sue anyone involved with the procedure. Now, activists on both sides of the abortion debate are gearing up for a legislative battle.

Nearly a year and a half into the pandemic, some health care workers are reporting feelings of burnout. We talk with medical professionals about what they’re seeing during the latest surge of COVID-19.

More than two million people might be eligible to join a class-action lawsuit over the Chicago Police Department’s stop-and-frisk practices, according to attorneys suing CPD and the city. We hear from one of the plaintiffs in the suit and an attorney.

Illinois’ eviction moratorium is in place for one more month, but many residents fear they’ll be out of a home once that ban lifts. And now animal shelters are preparing for what could be an influx of pets in need of homes, too. 

A Chicago woman falsely claimed a bomb was on a plane at a South Florida airport after missing her flight, authorities said.

Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve in suburban Darien is roughly 30 miles and a world away from downtown Chicago, but this is where a section of the city’s prized lakefront once rested. 

A final vote is set for Sept. 14 on an eight-year deal that offers more than 11,000 Chicago police officers annual average raises of approximately 2.5% — while imposing new rules on officers suspected of misconduct.

Dennis Green, 38, faces attempted first-degree murder and other charges after he allegedly shot a CTA bus driver in the jaw following a physical altercation with the driver, who asked Green to exit the bus at the end of its downtown route Saturday.

A star-studded group of comedians will perform for one night only at Madison Square Garden to mark the 20th anniversary of 9/11.

COVID-19 booster shots may be coming for at least some Americans but already the Biden administration is being forced to scale back expectations — illustrating just how much important science still has to be worked out.

Some warm-blooded animals are experiencing shifts in their body shapes, likely as a response to the pressures of climate change, according to a new review of existing research.

Animals at Brookfield Zoo have begun receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, with Lincoln Park Zoo soon to follow, as federal and state officials approved the use of the inoculations.

What’s next for abortion in Illinois after a new Texas law takes effect. A class-action lawsuit against Chicago police. Health care workers on the current COVID-19 surge. A new study on air pollution.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced Tuesday that 19 counterfeit vaccination cards were recovered from a parcel that was en route to an Ohio address during an inspection at O’Hare Airport on Aug. 31.

Millions of jobless Americans lost their unemployment benefits on Monday, leaving only a handful of economic support programs for those who are still being hit financially by the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic.