Stories by Kristen Thometz

Illinois will soon begin the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccination effort, extending doses to residents ages 65 and older as well as essential front-line workers. The rollout is again prompting officials to urge residents get the vaccine once it becomes available to them.

U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event.

Aditya Singh, 36, is charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft after he was arrested Saturday.

Aldermen are set to consider a revised proposal backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday that would expand protections for immigrants by blocking Chicago police from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

The Garfield Park Conservatory is celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day virtually, with a look back at past tributes.   

Small groups of right-wing protesters — some of them carrying rifles — gathered outside heavily fortified statehouses around the country Sunday, outnumbered by National Guard troops and police brought in to prevent a repeat of the violence that erupted at the U.S. Capitol. 

Revisiting North Lawndale decades after Martin Luther King Jr. moved into the area. A history-making week for Black lawmakers in Springfield. A local poet honors Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.

The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus passes criminal justice legislation. Amanda Vinicky gives us the rundown on a week of sweeping changes in Springfield.

Following the election of Kamala Harris as vice president in November, Chicago poet Leslé Honoré updated a poem she wrote in 2017 to celebrate the historic nature of Harris’ win. 

On the 55th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s arrival in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood, we revisit the work he did to end slum conditions and combat discriminatory housing practices.

As portions of the state see a loosening of restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19 — including the return of limited indoor dining and drinking in two regions — state health officials announced 4,162 new and probable cases of the virus on Sunday, and 29 deaths.

President-elect Joe Biden’s decision to immediately ask Congress to offer legal status to an estimated 11 million people in the country has surprised advocates given how the issue has long divided Democrats and Republicans, even within their own parties.

The coronavirus was found on ice cream produced in eastern China, prompting a recall of cartons from the same batch, according to the government.

More than 125 people have been arrested so far on charges related to the violent insurrection led by supporters of President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol, where a Capitol police officer and four others were killed. 

With the FBI warning of potential for violence at all state capitols, the ornate halls of government and symbols of democracy looked more like heavily guarded U.S. embassies in war-torn countries.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that one-third of Chicago’s Latinos — the majority of them women — are living in poverty. We explore the relationship between poverty and domestic violence.

The link between poverty and domestic violence. A scathing report on Trump’s family separation policy. A Mexican printmaking tradition in Chicago. And how COVID-19 can spark creative solutions.

A scathing report on the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy that separated thousands of families at the border. 

The founder of an arts organization in Little Village gives us the last word on how adversity can spark creative solutions.

While monitoring online chatter about protests at state capitols in advance of next week’s presidential inauguration, the Seattle Times came across a chilling description for journalists: soft targets.

All federal prisons in the United States have been placed on lockdown, with officials aiming to quell any potential violence that could arise behind bars as law enforcement prepares for potentially violent protests across the country in the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday. 

As part of a memorial service planned by the incoming Biden-Harris administration, Chicago’s skyscrapers will go dark for 10 minutes Tuesday night in remembrance of those who have died from COVID-19. Here’s how you can participate.

President Trump is impeached a second time. A monumental shift in Springfield as state Rep. Michael Madigan relinquishes the speaker’s gavel. The battle over in-person learning continues between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union.

The 21st Ward alderman sued the Chicago Board of Ethics after it unanimously found he had violated the city’s Ethics Ordinance by defending clients — including former Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno — in criminal cases involving the Chicago Police Department.

The numbing figure was reached just over a year after the coronavirus was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The number of dead, compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Brussels, Mecca, Minsk or Vienna

Inspectors found the River North eatery to be in full compliance with COVID-19 regulations after a probe on Thursday, said Isaac Reichman, a spokesman for the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.