Stories by Heather Cherone

The 113th edition of the Chicago Auto Show will be the first convention to return to Chicago since the pandemic began in March 2020, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Tuesday, and it marks a major step toward normalcy after a harrowing year.

At the end of 2020, about 1,400 women were in the Illinois prison system, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. One group is aiming to cut that number in half.

Illinois Congress members on Liz Cheney, infrastructure and more. Plus, the latest on Chicago and Illinois' reopening plans. The debate over menthol cigarettes. Internet cookie concerns and more.

Tobacco companies have long marketed menthol cigarettes to Black Americans. The CEO of the NAACP calls a potential ban of such products “long overdue,” but some people are concerned it could lead to further criminalization of communities of color.

President Joe Biden laid out a long list of policy priorities in his speech to Congress — and some are more politically plausible than others. A look at what’s possible, and what’s unlikely, when it comes to action in Congress.

Concerned that a surge in violence that begin in 2020 will turn into a bloody summer, aldermen urged city officials to spend the city’s $1.9 billion share of the latest federal COVID-19 relief package on efforts to stop shootings and murders by funding mental health services and job programs.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday set a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one shot to 70% of adult Americans by July Fourth as he tackles the vexing problem of winning over the “doubters” and those unmotivated to get inoculated. 

As data breaches in recent years have exposed weaknesses in the storage and transfer of personal data, lawmakers in the United States and Europe have expressed concern over the tracking of users online. 

Scientists have long talked about climate change — hotter temperatures, changes in rain and snowfall and more extreme weather — being the “new normal.” Data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put hard figures on the cliche. 

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association has just announced that beginning May 27, and running through June 13, the CSO will perform its first concerts for a live audience since March 2020.

The Hoosier State is the only state to be added to the most restrictive level of city’s COVID-19 travel order, which was updated Tuesday.

As schools reopen, Black students have been less likely than white students to enroll in in-person learning — a trend attributed to factors including concerns about the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus on communities of color. But many Black parents are finding another benefit to remote learning.

Renaming 17 miles of Lake Shore Drive for Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, Chicago’s first permanent non-Indigenous settler, would be a massive undertaking without precedent in the city’s history, city officials told aldermen Thursday.

When “My Octopus Teacher” won an Oscar last month for best documentary, I was reminded of my own cross-species encounter with a rather large insect on the Paw Paw River in southwestern Michigan.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Janice Jackson says she will be leaving her post this summer, more than three years after she was tapped to lead the nation’s third-largest school district. Jackson joins “Chicago Tonight” to talk about her decision.

It’s time for Illinois legislators to get down to the business of drawing new sets of maps that will decide the boundaries for state legislative and congressional districts. It’s a seemingly arcane task, but one with big consequences. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for youngsters ages 12 to 15 by next week, according to a federal official and a person familiar with the process, setting up shots for many before the beginning of the next school year.

After helming the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville for many years, the South Side native has returned to the city to lead the Chicago History Museum. Donald Lassere joins us to talk about expanding the museum’s mission to all of Chicago. 

The U.S. top trade negotiator will begin talks with the World Trade Organization on ways to overcome intellectual property issues that are keeping critically needed COVID-19 vaccines from being more widely distributed worldwide, two White House officials said Sunday.

With Janice Jackson stepping down as CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Mayor Lori Lightfoot will now be on the hunt for the 10th person to head the district since the position was created in 1995. Here’s a look back at the people who’ve held the spot and where they are now.

Thousands of COVID-19 vaccines wasted at Walgreens and CVS. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

Timothy Nielsen, who is accused of trying to run over a group of friends celebrating a birthday in Logan Square on Saturday, allegedly told a witness, “Watch what I’m going to do,” before he sped his truck toward the victims.

Cook County officials are marking Small Business Week, which runs through Saturday, with the launch of a new initiative aimed at supporting small businesses as they recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first Biden administration rule aimed at combating climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to phase down production and use of hydrofluorocarbons, highly potent greenhouse gases commonly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.

One-on-one with CPS CEO Janice Jackson as she announces her resignation. Communities push for greater political representation. A push to rename Lake Shore Drive. And an encounter with a giant insect.

The next round of grants, set to open this month, could provide residents with 15 months of rental assistance to cover past-due rent from the previous 12 months and three additional months.