Stories by Heather Cherone

Three aldermen dropped their call for a special meeting of the Chicago City Council late Friday, amid a growing furor over Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handling of a video showing Chicago police officers handcuffing a naked woman during a mistaken raid of her home in February 2019.

The panel members are leaning toward putting “essential workers” next up because people like bus drivers, grocery store clerks and others who perform vital jobs that can’t be done from home are the ones getting infected most often. 

The pandemic in Illinois reached another sobering mark on Friday, whenhealth officials reported 15,015 total deaths linked to the pandemic and 886,805 infections. 

Through the program, the school district will provide $310,000 in tuition reimbursement for educators who will work to earn a special education endorsement at one of four Chicago-area universities

The agenda for Tuesday’s special meeting includes an order that would stop the city’s Law Department from sanctioning Anjanette Young, the social worker whose home was raided, for releasing the video of the raid.

Vice President Mike Pence became the highest-ranking U.S. official to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday in a live-television event aimed at reassuring Americans the shot is safe

Dwain Johnson, 18, is the second person to be charged in the Dec. 3 murder of ex-Chicago Fire Department Lt. Dwain Williams.

Fraternal Order of Police President Lodge 7 John Catanzara faces possible termination from his position with the Chicago Police Department over multiple inflammatory social media posts.

On the Far Northwest Side, the Sauganash community seeks to make the season a bit more festive amid the coronavirus pandemic with its holiday light displays.

Former Bears offensive lineman James “Big Cat” Williams previews the Bears matchup Sunday against the Vikings.

All Illinois hospitals and health departments promised the first round of the COVID-19 vaccine now have it, but state officials are worried future shipments will be smaller than expected.

When it comes to designing buildings, form may follow function, but that doesn’t mean function has to be without form. Geoffrey Baer joins us with the story of the O’Brien Water Reclamation Plant and other ornamented utility buildings. 

Allergies are always a question with a new medical product, but monitoring COVID-19 vaccines for any other, unexpected side effects is a bigger challenge than usual. 

City officials shut down a 50-person party in West Town early Sunday for violating rules designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Chicago officials said Thursday.

The FDA’s green light for emergency use is expected quickly. Moderna would then begin shipping millions of doses, earmarked for health workers and nursing home residents, to boost the largest vaccination effort in U.S. history.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday acknowledged that she has known since November 2019 that Chicago police officers handcuffed a naked woman during a mistaken raid of her home in February 2019.

Gov J.B. Pritzker said the state's first vaccine shipments have been distributed to 77 hospitals across Illinois, and on Thursday, another 43,000 additional doses arrived in Cook, Lake, Madison and St. Clair counties.

The agency charged with investigating allegations of police misconduct improperly closed probes prompted by anonymous complaints that were supported by evidence of wrongdoing, according to a new audit by Chicago’s watchdog.

“Obviously respect the decision the Cleveland Indians made to go down that path, but we continue to deepen our commitment to upholding our namesake and our brand,” Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz said Thursday.

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.