Stories by Kristen Thometz

After a weekslong surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday announced an indoor mask mandate for all Illinois residents and a vaccine requirement for pre-K through 12th grade teachers and staff, among others.

The U.S. is projected to see nearly 100,000 more COVID-19 deaths between now and Dec. 1, according to the nation’s most closely watched forecasting model. But health experts say that toll could be cut in half if nearly everyone wore a mask in public spaces.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker may soon make the rare move of vetoing a bill that passed both houses of the Democratic-controlled General Assembly — unanimously. The bill has to do with how private ambulance companies are reimbursed when they transport Medicaid patients. 

A shortage of paramedics. What’s holding up a Chicago casino? An exclusive look at the city’s first and only national monument. Hedy Weiss is back. And pajamas on pit bulls.

A Humboldt Park woman is on a mission to break the stigma surrounding pit bulls — one colorful outfit at a time. How Erin Crowley’s line of dog apparel aims to help change people’s preconceived notions about the breed. 

The mandate is likely to trigger a legal battle with the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, which represents the city’s 12,000 rank-and-file officers.

The annual event that puts the spotlight on Chicago dance companies is free and open to the public this year with a concert at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park.

Six years ago President Barack Obama named the Pullman neighborhood a national monument. On Labor Day weekend, a new visitor center in the century-old clock tower will finally open. Geoffrey Baer visited Pullman to get an exclusive first look.

This should have been the week when the long-awaited Chicago casino project finally got up and running. Monday was the initial deadline to submit proposals to develop the much vaunted project — but after few bidders appeared interested — the city pushed back the deadline to the end of October.

There’s nothing bashful or traditional about the Thompson Center, so it should come as no surprise that finalists’ designs in a competition to reimagine the building include a proposal for an indoor water park. Here’s a look at each of the designs.

City officials will have to move cautiously to extend the city’s program that earmarks a portion of city contracts for firms owned by Black, Latino and Asian Chicagoans as well as women in the face of hostile courts, officials warned the Chicago City Council.

R&B hitmaker R. Kelly’s forced his girlfriends to write fake blackmail letters that he could use to defend himself in case he got charged with sexually abusing them, one of his accusers testified on Wednesday at his New York City trial.

With the new school year set to begin Monday, Chicago Public Schools interim CEO Jose Torres said he believes the district has done enough to protect both students and staff amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.

Greek eats, house music, circus acts and retro tunes usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago.

Curtis Tyler, 30, was ordered held on $350,000 bond during a hearing Wednesday afternoon following his arrest on charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, theft and public indecency.

Military troops must immediately begin to get the COVID-19 vaccine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a memo Wednesday, ordering service leaders to “impose ambitious timelines for implementation.” 

Congress provided hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up the nation’s election system against cyberattacks and other threats, but roughly two-thirds of the money remained unspent just weeks before last year’s presidential election.

Ald. Carrie Austin’s resignation as chair of the City Council’s Committee on Contracting and Oversight Equity comes nine days after WTTW News reported that the committee spent more in 2020 than nearly all other City Council committees while meeting only three times.

The parent company of a now-shuttered metal recycler on the North Side will pay a fine as part of an agreement to resolve charges that the firm’s operation violated the Clean Air Act, Environmental Protection Agency officials announced Wednesday.

Grammy-winning rock band Wilco hit the road this month for the first time since the pandemic shutdown. We caught up with Tweedy from the Wilco tour bus before the sound check for Tuesday’s show in Boston, and ahead of the band’s return to Chicago for a show at Millennium Park on Saturday. 

The Chicago Police Department’s crime-fighting technology is called into question. Controversy over a new sex education law. And we talk with Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy.

Many people had big plans for summer: travel, concerts, gatherings with family and friends. But now, the more transmissible delta variant of COVID-19 is delaying, once again, a full reopening in Chicago and beyond. How to move past the feeling of being stuck.

Fewer than 1 in 10 ShotSpotter alerts between 2020 and 2021 resulted in evidence of a gun-related criminal offense being found, according to a new report from Chicago’s independent watchdog.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed into law a pair of bills that update sex education for K-12 schools in Illinois. Supporters say the move will offer students age-appropriate information, but critics say the new standards go too far.

Jerry Harkness was inspired by Jackie Robinson to take up the game of basketball. He ended up becoming a civil rights trailblazer in his own right.

As Chicago inches toward the replacement of its lead service lines, officials need help identifying where those pipes are. Here’s a simple way to determine whether you’ve got lead, steel or copper lines running into your home.