Stories by WTTW News

Watch the Dec. 17, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board issued a 2-1 vote denying the teachers union’s request for an injunction to halt Chicago Public Schools’ plan to reopen schools for in-person learning early next year.

The teen, who was not identified, is charged with first-degree murder and attempted armed robbery in connection with the death of retired Chicago Fire Department Lt. Dwain Williams.

South Side residents have reason to hope that Mercy Hospital could yet be saved from closure. We speak with three people who are fighting to keep the city’s oldest hospital open.

The current $5,000 maximum fine for air pollution violations could jump to $50,000 under a proposed ordinance. The hike was prompted by events including a botched demolition of a smokestack in Little Village this past spring.

Black and Latino communities are disproportionately getting sick and dying from the coronavirus, but a new analysis reveals additional disparities that are impacting families during the public health crisis.

A Chicago woman has filed a lawsuit against the city, and expects to take more legal action after she says Chicago police forcefully, and wrongly, raided her home and then sought to stifle the video evidence.

As Chicagoans say goodbye to loved ones who have died from gun violence, a local artist is working to make sure their lives are honored this holiday season through his nonprofit, Never Forget Chicago.

With coronavirus deaths surpassing 300,000 and the coronavirus surge — and winter temperatures — forcing people indoors, some people are leaning on their faith and religion to help.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday apologized to Anjanette Young, the Chicago woman who was handcuffed while naked by police officers who mistakenly raided her home in February 2019.

President-elect Joe Biden introduced his one-time Democratic primary rival Pete Buttigieg as his nominee for transportation secretary Wednesday.

Jupiter is preparing to pass Saturn, an event known as a great conjunction. On Dec. 21, the two planets will come closer to each other than they’ve been in nearly 400 years — and it will be visible to the naked eye. 

The coronavirus pandemic has made internet access more essential than ever as people work and learn from home. But not everyone has a device to connect to the web — or internet access itself.

Congressional negotiators closed in Wednesday on a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that would deliver additional “paycheck protection” subsidies to businesses, $300 per week jobless checks, and $600 or so stimulus payments to most Americans.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot introduced a measure Wednesday to expand protections for immigrants by blocking Chicago Police from cooperating with federal immigration agents.

CPS CEO Janice Jackson and school leaders say 77,343 students plan to return to schools beginning in January and February 2021. That’s about about 37% of eligible pre-K through eighth grade students.

Watch the Dec. 16, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

President-elect Joe Biden is set to introduce former presidential rival Pete Buttigieg on Wednesday as his nominee for transportation secretary. The 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, would also be the first openly gay person confirmed by the Senate to a Cabinet post. 

During the winter holidays, the demand on food pantries spikes, and this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has already exacerbated hunger around the U.S. How food pantries are keeping their clients and volunteers safe.

A nonprofit on Chicago’s Lower West Side is getting creative this holiday season. We check out the 2020 Pilsen Christmas Window Walk.

He is a crafty artist who uses a gas-powered paintbrush and tree trunks as his canvas. Meet Eric Widitz, a Chicago-area entrepreneur who has been using chainsaws to make wood sculptures for nearly 40 years.

A recent investigation finds immigrant teenagers are illegally employed working night shifts in suburban factories. ProPublica reporter Melissa Sanchez joins us with the story.

Aldermen on Tuesday advanced a scaled-back effort to test whether Chicago’s affordable housing crisis could be eased by permitting basement, attic and coach house dwellings in five areas of the city.

Facing a nearly $4 billion budget hole, Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday outlined millions in cuts that he called a “first step” toward balancing the state’s budget.

Travelers coming to Chicago from nearly every U.S. state, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, must quarantine for 10 days or record a negative test for COVID-19, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office announced Tuesday.

The unanimous opinion issued Monday is the first public enforcement of rules governing the use of social media by elected officials in Chicago. In keeping with the ethics board’s rules, the official was not named.