Stories by Patty Wetli

The conservatory has transformed its Artist’s Garden into a reflection of Monet’s vision, featuring plants that inspired some of Impressionism’s most memorable paintings. The exhibit opens Saturday in tandem with “Monet and Chicago” at the Art Institute. 

Visitors to Chicago from Hawaii, Nebraska and North Carolina will be required to quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, city officials announced Tuesday. Indiana is also on the verge of being added to the quarantine order that includes 21 states and Puerto Rico.

Watch the Sept. 1, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

City officials shut down five restaurants and clubs for violating rules designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday.

Police recorded 63 homicides in August, bringing the yearly total in Chicago up to 506, surpassing last year’s total with a full quarter of the year to go, according to data released Tuesday by the Chicago Police Department.

The man, who has not yet been identified, died at Stroger Hospital after being shot by at least one officer who opened fire after their police cruiser was shot at by a group of people standing on a sidewalk in the Pilsen neighborhood.

A familiar narrative emerged after Jacob Blake’s shooting by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, one seen many times after a Black man or woman is shot by police: That somehow Blake's actions or his past can explain why an officer fired seven bullets into his back.

The 52 plaintiffs, who owned around 200 U.S. stores before being forced to sell them over the last decade, are seeking compensation of $4 million to $5 million per store, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.

Restaurants, bakeries and other food- and beverage-related businesses have banded together to encourage customers to support enterprises run by women, starting Tuesday.

Chicago’s second-largest hotel is hit with a $338 million foreclosure lawsuit, proving it's not immune from the pandemic’s effects on the hospitality industry. 

Illinois’ minimum wage increased from $9.25 to $10 in July, despite a request from business owners to delay the hike during a pandemic. But for employers whose take-home pay is largely dependent on tips, the minimum wage is $6.

Some residents in Kenosha fear a planned visit by President Donald Trump may stir more emotions and cause more violence and destruction in the divided southeastern Wisconsin city after several days of peace.

A Highland Park shop specializing in ukuleles is keeping its music community alive by offering virtual lessons on how to play the “happiest instrument on the planet.”

On top of that colossal shortfall, the city’s financial picture worsened significantly during the past three months because of an “economic catastrophe caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

As summer nears its end, Chicago is seeing COVID-19 cases rise, and suburban Cook County is showing warning signs of increased risk of transmission of the virus, according to state officials. We check in with Chicago Department Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

Monday is Overdose Awareness Day, an annual event aimed at reducing drug-related deaths and the stigma of substance use disorders. And it comes this year amid a dramatic spike in opioid-related overdoses and deaths in Chicago.

Less than an inch of rain was recorded at O’Hare in the month of August, pushing Chicago toward drought. That’s likely putting stress on trees, so give them a soak.

The coronavirus pandemic, protests, a rancorous election year and a perception that cities are being overrun by violent mobs have brought about a markedly more aggressive stance by some gun owners and widened the divide over firearms in America.

The Chicago Police Department announced the charges Monday against 19-year-old Jeffon Williams, who was also shot and wounded during the incident in the Homan Square neighborhood early Sunday.

Watch the Aug. 31, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Police officers exchanged gunfire during a traffic stop early Sunday on the city’s West Side, according to the Chicago Police Department. Both officers and the suspect are being treated for their injuries.

In 2018, the City Council’s most powerful committee spent approximately $2 million — the most of any of the legislative committees. The following year, the committee spent $1.1 million. The difference? Ald. Ed Burke resigned as chair on Jan. 4, 2019. 

The pandemic has led many cooped-up city dwellers to seek out the companionship of a pet. It’s kept rescue organizations busier than usual — and has led to some unexpected benefits as adoptions go virtual.

Democrats on Sunday accused President Donald Trump of trying to inflame racial tensions to benefit his campaign as he praised supporters who clashed with protesters in Portland, Oregon, where one man died overnight.

Scores of police supporters gathered Sunday in downtown Kenosha where protesters have been demonstrating against police brutality since the shooting of Jacob Blake last weekend.

Those whose deaths were reported Sunday ranged in age from their 30s to their 80s, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. They were residents of Cook, Bureau, Lake and Madison counties.