Stories by WTTW News

A new lawsuit from former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Noisy motorcycles reach a fever pitch downtown. A new law protects people with HIV. The mysterious effect of COVID-19 on your sense of taste and smell.

Fifty-one people were shot in 38 separate shooting incidents over the weekend. Chicago also closed out the month of July with 105 homicides, marking the second consecutive July in which the city has surpassed 100 killings.

The newest members of Chicago’s growing piping plover family have names. Meet Siewka (pronounced Shivka), which is the Polish word for “plover,” and Imani, the word for “faith” in Swahili. 

Employers are losing patience with unvaccinated workers. For months, most employers relied on information campaigns, bonuses and other incentives to encourage their workforces to get the COVID-19 shot. Now, a growing number are imposing rules to make it more onerous for employees to refuse.

The 2016 Olympic gymnastics champion will return to competition in the balance beam final on Tuesday, a little over a week after stepping away from the meet to focus on her mental health.

Members of East Garfield Park’s Hope Junior Drumline and WestDance Team have been practicing three hours a day, five days a week since late June to prepare for their 10-minute performance at Lollapalooza on Sunday.

In a sea of familiar artists — from Megan Thee Stallion to Miley Cyrus — a few local faces are hoping to make a bigger name for themselves at this year’s Lollapalooza. Among them is Chicago-based songwriter and producer Nez.

We meet local entrepreneur Karen Spears, whose “mind-mapping” process helps people figure out the first or next step in starting a business, all while preserving an art form she’s passionate about. 

When recreational marijuana was legalized in Illinois, Gov. J. B. Pritzker’s stated goal was to use the burgeoning industry to reverse the harm done to Black and brown communities during the war on drugs. But those profiting from pot sales are nearly all white men.

Building equity in the cannabis industry. Uncovering the lasting impacts of surviving gun violence. And a throwback performance with blues legend Buddy Guy.

Anger and frustration mounted in Congress over the weekend as a nationwide eviction moratorium expired during a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic. One Democratic lawmaker even camped outside the Capitol in protest as millions of Americans faced being forced from their homes.

Rapper DaBaby was cut Sunday from Lollapalooza’s closing lineup following crude and homophobic remarks he made last week at a Miami-area music festival. 

The nation’s top infectious disease expert warned Sunday that more “pain and suffering” is on the horizon as COVID-19 cases climb again and officials plead with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots.

The latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people who are fully vaccinated should get tested three to five days after a potential exposure, even if they don’t have symptoms.

The Senate convened for a rare weekend session on Saturday, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer encouraging the authors of a bipartisan infrastructure plan to finish writing their bill so that senators can begin offering amendments.

A plan of action for climate change in Illinois. An exit interview with a 30-year veteran of the city. And a group of street vendors are now the proud owners of a shared kitchen.

While she was originally planning to stay for just the first year of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s term, the pandemic delayed Rosa Escareño’s retirement plans – and gave her a firsthand seat to the massive blow COVID-19 dealt to the local economy.

Black and Latino neighborhoods in Chicago are more likely to be burdened by industries that pollute the air, ground and water, making environmental justice an important part of the equation as the country moves forward.

An Illinois tax agency has ruled that former President Donald Trump is due a $1 million refund on the 2011 tax bill for his downtown Chicago skyscraper, but local officials are trying to block the refund.

Conservative lawmakers made a push Thursday to boot Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger out of the House GOP because the two defied party leaders and joined the chamber’s special committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

President Joe Biden has announced sweeping new pandemic requirements aimed at boosting vaccination rates for millions of federal workers and contractors as he lamented the “American tragedy” of rising-yet-preventable deaths among the unvaccinated.

New evidence showing the delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may be more dangerous than other versions has prompted U.S. health officials to consider changing advice on how the nation fights the coronavirus, internal documents show.

Fears spike that Lollapalooza will be a super-spreader event, with thousands of locals and tourists attending amid surging delta variant cases. Meanwhile, masking mandates make a comeback. Illinois Republicans battle each other over the Jan. 6 committee hearings. And the Cubs shed their World Series stars.

Everyone in Chicago, regardless of their vaccination status should wear a mask indoors, Chicago health officials recommended Friday after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention added Chicago to its list of areas experiencing “substantial” transmission of the coronavirus.

More than a year after it was formed, the City Council’s Subcommittee on Reparations has met only once, and that meeting was sidetracked by a series of speakers who demanded that aldermen ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits at a profit to restrict the operations of breeders.

In a 10-page ruling, Judge James Linn ordered that Jussie Smollett may continue using attorney Nenye Uche to represent him in the actor’s disorderly conduct case, despite a push from Special Prosecutor Dan Webb to have Uche removed.