Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Illinois’ primary date next year is moving from March 15 to June 28, giving candidates for the U.S. House time to organize their campaigns and petition drives, given that legislators will not finalize a new map of congressional districts until fall.

The pandemic’s effect on veterans’ health. Remembering one of America’s greatest cartoonists. A guide to summer festivals. And a close encounter with a large insect. 

By the age of 23 he had fought in World War II, tangled with Gen. Patton, and won his first Pulitzer Prize. Cartoonist Bill Mauldin created artwork for magazines, books and newspapers from the 1940s into the ‘90s. We explore a new exhibition of his work.

On Memorial Day, Americans remember and celebrate members of the military who made the ultimate sacrifice. But living veterans have fought another enemy over the past year: the coronavirus pandemic.

With just one day remaining before they’re scheduled to adjourn until fall, Illinois legislators have a heaping set of issues left to tackle: a state budget, ethics reform, a follow-up to the major criminal justice overhaul signed into law in February, and legislation to fix issues with Illinois’ gun licensing system.

Barring quick action from the General Assembly, a requirement that health insurance companies treat virtual visits as they would regular, in-person appointments will soon lift. Lawmakers appear to be on the verge of extending that mandate before Monday’s planned adjournment.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot kicked off a firestorm of criticism when she announced that interviews about her second anniversary as mayor would only be given to reporters of color. We speak with leaders of local journalist associations on the role of diversity in newsrooms.

Leaders of local journalist associations on newsroom diversity. The 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. And a local puppeteer’s experience with racial profiling.

U.S. history is filled with dark events — often involving racism and racial violence — that haven’t been made part of the national fabric. Many involved Black Americans, of which the Tulsa Race Massacre is considered among the most egregious in its absolute destruction.

Vietnam has discovered a new coronavirus variant that’s a hybrid of strains first found in India and the U.K., the Vietnamese health minister said Saturday.

All legal gun owners would need to be fingerprinted under legislation that narrowly passed the Illinois House on Saturday – a practice that gun rights advocates say will prevent violence, but which critics say is an example of excessive government overreach.

Is it safe to ditch your mask? Local doctors on why it may be premature. Plus, Latino veterans pushing for a new American Legion post. And summer jams for your next road trip.

Some local doctors say scrapping mask mandates is premature, and increases the risk of COVID-19 for essential workers, many of whom are Latino.

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer in Chicago and for many that means it’s time to visit the city’s lakefront beaches. But fun in the water can also lead to tragedy.

The American Legion counts all who served active duty in any branch of the U.S. armed forces as members. But for young Latino veterans like Marcos Torres and Daniel Del Rivero, it didn’t seem like a place for them.

Music journalist Sandra Treviño shares five new songs perfect for a road trip or beach day to get your summer playlist started.

More than 1.8 million people went through U.S. airports on Thursday, and the number was widely expected to cross the 2 million threshold over the long holiday weekend — that would be the highest mark since early March 2020.

President Joe Biden on Friday unveiled a $6 trillion budget for next year that’s piled high with new safety net programs for the poor and middle class, but his generosity depends on taxing corporations and the wealthy to keep the nation’s spiking debt from spiraling totally out of control.

To counter a pervasive, if unconscious, bias toward male birds within North American ornithology and hobbyist circles, a group dubbed the Galbatross Project launched Female Bird Day, now in its second year, running Memorial Day weekend.

The number of marijuana dispensaries may soon soar, with Gov. J.B. Pritzker set to sign into law a measure intended to bring racial diversity to a burgeoning industry that has so far eclipsed entrepreneurs of color.

Illinois legislators voted along partisan lines Friday in response to another set of political lines: the boundaries of districts for the legislature, state Supreme Court and the Cook County Board of Review.

City officials prepare for summer violence. Lake Shore Drive name change gets a punt. Federal investigation now close to former House Speaker Madigan. And lawmakers down to the wire in Springfield.

For three months out of the year, Chicago’s every bit as much of a beach town as Los Angeles or Miami. As we kick off summer 2021, here are some things you might not know about the city’s sandy shore.

After two months and 42,000 jabs, the city-run mass vaccination site near Wrigley Field will close Saturday, as efforts to bring a COVID-19 vaccine directly to residents ramp up, officials said.

As Chicago hits the unofficial start of summer this weekend, city officials have announced a citywide strategy aimed at preventing summer shootings and homicides by focusing resources in historically violent areas on South and West sides.

A Chicago Police Department representative did not respond to questions about why Brown has yet to act on the recommendation made by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, known as COPA, April 28.