Stories by Heather Cherone

Officials will open new appointments at the county’s five mass vaccination sites for the residents who are newly eligible at noon Friday. More than 68% of individuals 65 and older in suburban Cook County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, officials said.

The murder of eight people Tuesday at three spas in the Atlanta area constitute a hate crime, and former President Donald Trump’s “hateful rhetoric” is partly to blame for the violence, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.

The next phase of Chicago’s vaccination effort will allow all essential workers and those with underlying health conditions to get doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday.

A white gunman accused of killing eight people, most of them of women of Asian descent, at three Atlanta-area massage parlors was charged with murder Wednesday in an attack that sent terror through the Asian American community that’s increasingly been targeted during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday condemned a mass shooting a day earlier in Georgia that left eight people dead, most of them women of Asian descent.

Watch the March 17, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Chicago Public Schools officials say they've offered COVID-19 vaccine opportunities to all employees and hope to get everyone vaccinated by the end of the month, as the district hits the one-year mark since the pandemic forced the suspension of in-person learning across Illinois.

March Madness arrives as vaccinations increase in the U.S. and the death toll from COVID-19 has dropped, but health experts note that many seniors and other at-risk people still haven’t been vaccinated. 

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Americans to get vaccinated to help curb the COVID-19 pandemic, calling it “safe” and “something that works.” 

Wearing a mask. Staying home. Getting the vaccine. These are the methods that are likely top of mind when it comes to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. But there’s another tool too — and it’s in the air.

In a letter to parents and families Tuesday, Chicago Public Schools officials said their target goal is to bring back high school students on April 19, the first day of the fourth quarter of this academic year. But the teachers union says no agreement has been made for that date or any other.

Ma Rainey made history as the “mother of blues.” Her music and her story are highlighted in the film “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which depicts a recording session in 1920s Chicago. Not too far from Chicago, Academy Awards history is being made by a native of Gary, Indiana.

Echoing statements made by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the state’s comptroller says stimulus funds will first go toward paying back the billions Illinois borrowed from the Federal Reserve early in the pandemic last year.

This time last year, hospitals were bracing for the unknown as COVID-19 accelerated its spread across the U.S. We got an exclusive look inside Illinois’ largest private health system as hospital professionals reflect on a year unlike any other.

Chicago is looking forward to live theater again as vaccines roll out and infection rates remain low. Here’s what you can expect — and when.

Detectives are seeking to identify two male subjects in relation to the non-fatal shooting of a 32-year-old off-duty Chicago police officer on Monday afternoon in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

Comments this week by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., underscored that immigration remains a complex problem for the two parties to tackle successfully, even with Donald Trump no longer in the White House. Local members of Congress weigh in on this and more. 

New evidence that it may be safe for schools to seat students 3 feet apart — half of the previous recommended distance — could offer a way to return more of the nation’s children to classrooms with limited space.

Cornelius Carr, 18, was charged with vehicular hijacking and armed robbery after he allegedly called a ride-hailing service with the sole intent of carjacking the driver who arrived to pick him up.

Watch the March 16, 2021 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Chicago Department of Public Health has requested additional information from General Iron’s parent company regarding the “cumulative impact” of its proposed Southside Recycling facility.

Is birding a sport? That’s up for debate even within the birding community, but you can’t say the activity isn’t competitive. There’s not one, but two March Madness-style tournaments involving birds underway.

The diminutive Supreme Court justice with a towering legacy would have been 88 years old Monday. Her son Jim Ginsburg and daughter-in-law Patrice Michaels talk about a classical music tribute to her.

It’s been a full year since Gov. J.B. Pritzker took the extraordinary step of issuing an executive order to halt dine-in service at bars and restaurants across the state. Five days later, the stay-at-home order was announced. The governor joins us to reflect on the past year and discuss what’s ahead.

With 10,000 people turning 65 every day in the U.S., the number of people with visual impairment or blindness is expected to rise significantly in the coming years. Here’s how two Chicago-area institutions have been working to support the visually impaired for over a century. 

Having trouble springing forward? A professor of sleep medicine offers some tips to help you adjust to daylight saving time.