Stories by Patty Wetli

The philanthropist announced $2.7 billion in donations Tuesday to 268 organizations, including a number of Chicago-area institutions. The University of Illinois at Chicago received $40 million, the largest gift from an individual in school history.

Marvin Flanagan and another suspect allegedly fired assault rifles at a Humboldt Park resident during an attempted home invasion late last year, Cook County prosecutors said Tuesday.

The city’s travel order has been suspended since June 1, when seven states moved from the orange tier to the less-restrictive yellow tier.

A new analysis of blood samples from 24,000 Americans taken early last year is the latest and largest study to suggest that the new coronavirus popped up in the U.S. in December 2019 — weeks before cases were first recognized by health officials. 

According to police, several people were at a gathering inside a home in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street when shots were fired following an argument. Four victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

As part of the city’s reopening celebrations, a nine-part House City series is bringing free events to the Chicago neighborhoods where house music got its start. 

Considered one of Latin music’s most iconic bands, the group will start its three-concert tour in Los Angeles on Aug. 27, followed by a performance in Chicago’s Soldier Field on Sept. 4 and a final night on Sept. 15th at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Illinois legislators left Springfield a couple of weeks ago, but they’re already heading back. Here are some of the items on the docket.

What could drier-than-normal weather mean for your garden and the greater climate? A climate change specialist and floral expert weigh in.

An explosion at a northern Illinois chemical plant Monday morning sparked massive fires that sent flames and huge plumes of thick black smoke high into the air and debris raining onto the ground, prompting evacuations.

The move by Florida’s state Board of Education was widely expected as a national debate intensifies about how race should be used as a lens in classrooms to examine the country’s tumultuous history.

A trove of leaked IRS tax returns analyzed by ProPublica reveals America’s richest billionaires — including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos — often pay little to no income tax.

Walter McCrone championed the light microscope — and used it to analyze art world treasures and frauds. The late scientist is featured in the recently released Netflix documentary series “This Is a Robbery” and appeared years ago on WTTW’s “The New Explorers.”

The historic Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall is currently undergoing a vigorous restoration. We toured the site and caught up with the city’s cultural historian to learn more.

A “reimagined” series of pop-up food and music events will take place across the city in July, including a one-day reuniting of Taste of Chicago stalwarts, Eli’s Cheesecake and Robinson’s No. 1 Ribs.

Jose Torres, a former Chicago Public Schools official who previously led the second-largest school district in Illinois, will serve as interim CEO once Janice Jackson’s contract expires at the end of June.

Good news for employees as air travel rebounds. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

Beautiful weather, but no rain: What the drought conditions mean for the climate. Spotting fakes in the art world. No more furloughs for United Airlines workers. A bombshell report from ProPublica.

The approaching 600,000 mark, as tracked by Johns Hopkins University, is greater than the population of Baltimore or Milwaukee. It is about equal to the number of Americans who died of cancer in 2019. And as bad as that is, the true toll is believed to be significantly higher.

Rockford’s weather station recorded a record-setting number of days reaching temperatures of 90 degrees or above in early June. Chicago’s average temperature for the month is more than 8 degrees above normal. 

The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world.

As the nation marks the fifth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando on Saturday, it has a staggering and grim new statistic to contend with for 2021.

The airline industry’s recovery from the pandemic passed a milestone as more than 2 million people streamed through U.S. airport security checkpoints on Friday for the first time since early March 2020.

At the group’s first face-to-face meeting in two years, the leaders dangled promises of support for global health, green energy, infrastructure and education.

Dan O’Conor said he started jumping into the lake at Montrose Harbor on the city’s North Side last year to relieve stress.

Two people were killed and at least 30 others wounded in mass shootings overnight in three states, authorities said Saturday, stoking concerns that a spike in U.S. gun violence could continue into summer as coronavirus restrictions ease and more people are free to socialize.