Stories by Matt Masterson

Eight Cook County residents were among the 24 deaths reported by Illinois health officials Thursday as the state nears 8,000 virus-related deaths and more than 227,000 cases of COVID-19.

Oak trees, once abundant in the Chicago region, have been struggling to reproduce in recent decades. A grant from the U.S. Forest Service will help fund a restoration project at Greene Valley in Naperville.

Groups that had taken to Kenosha’s streets with long guns were nowhere to be seen early Thursday following somber protests and no widespread unrest for the first night since the weekend police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Pedro Soto, a high-ranking Chicago Public Schools official, has been charged with lying to FBI investigators about giving non-public information to a lobbyist on behalf of a bidder seeking a $1 billion custodial services contract.

A white, 17-year-old police admirer was arrested Wednesday after two people were shot to death during a third straight night of protests in Kenosha over the police shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake.

The president’s wife and children present the case for their dad’s reelection. Republican state lawmakers share their thoughts about the Republican National Convention so far.

Even before the pandemic, Illinois Secretary of State offices in Chicago saw long lines as people sought Real IDs ahead of a fall deadline. That deadline and others have been pushed back. Here’s what you need to know.

The painful legacy of Emmett Till seems fresh amid this era of civil unrest. We reflect on his death with Ollie Gordon, Till’s cousin, and Chris Benson, who co-authored an autobiography of Mamie Till-Mobley, Till’s mother.

As part of our special coverage of the Republican National Convention, we speak with Illinois Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady.

Resource officers will remain in Chicago Public Schools once in-person learning resumes after the Board of Education approved a new contract with the Chicago Police Department.

Thousands of Chicagoans who lost their jobs or found their paychecks scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic asked the city for help paying their rent or mortgages, officials said.

Chicago is facing a lot of unfunded infrastructure needs in the coming years, according to officials. And it’s not just roads, bridges and streetlights that need work. The city’s lakefront is grappling with another year of high lake levels.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 2,157 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and another 37 virus-related deaths — including a teenage girl from Cook County.

Even though the Obama Presidential Center has yet to receive final approval from the federal government to break ground, Woodlawn’s real estate market is already bubbling, with the median sale price rising 106% from 2016 to 2020.

Two Chicago men will face federal charges that they looted three Northwest Side pharmacies on May 31 during the protests triggered by the death of George Floyd.

Watch the Aug. 26, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

First lady Melania Trump offered a polished portrait of Trump’s presidency Tuesday night that was often at odds with the crises, division and unforgiving actions of his administration.

We take a closer look at the role race has played in the political conventions — especially at the opening night of the Republican National Convention.

As part of our special coverage of the Republican National Convention, we speak with Jeanne Ives, Republican candidate for Congress in Illinois’ 6th District.

Many Republican delegates will be watching the convention from their couches this week, missing the usual excitement of an in-person event. We check in with two first-time delegates for their impressions so far.

Jacob Blake, the Black man shot multiple times by police in Wisconsin, is paralyzed, and it would “take a miracle” for him to walk again, his family’s attorney said Tuesday.

President Donald Trump aggressively asserted control over the Republican National Convention on Monday, overshadowing the prime-time speakers, as he made clear he wants voters to focus on him. 

The measure includes a ban on short-term rentals that last only one night in an effort to block huge parties that have become a regular nuisance in some neighborhoods.

Parts of Chicago’s South and West sides are at risk of being significantly undercounted in the 2020 census. We discuss efforts for a complete count with Marilyn Sanders, the Chicago regional director for the U.S. Census Bureau.

Watch the Aug. 25, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The measure approved Tuesday by a City Council committee would revise the law that requires women to cover their nipples with “pasties” or latex while performing topless at a bar or club that has a liquor license.