Stories by Kristen Thometz

CoronaConnects.org seeks to match people across the country with coronavirus-related volunteer opportunities based on interest, location, availability and time commitment.

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

The report emphasizes a few core concerns, including the financial management of more than $2 trillion in new spending and protecting the health and safety of government workers deemed essential during the pandemic.

Eleven percent of African Americans say they were close with someone who has died from the coronavirus, compared with 5% of Americans overall and 4% of White Americans.

Illinois has spent close to $600 million so far on COVID-19 relief, much of it going to personal protective equipment.

Communities across Chicago have staged demonstrations in support of Black Lives Matter, and not all of those areas have been Black and Brown. We visit a predominantly White community that held a rally last week.

Various businesses, religious organizations and even legislators have sued Gov. J.B. Pritzker over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. But the Illinois Republican Party says its lawsuit is different. 

Protesters across the city and nation continue to push for police reforms that some elected officials say should include defunding the police. That’s just one of the topics on the City Council’s packed agenda Wednesday.

Scooters will soon return to Chicago streets as part of a second pilot program despite the coronavirus pandemic and an initial run that ended with “mixed results,” city officials announced.

Like any proud new parent, the Shedd Aquarium is sharing adorable photos of its newest arrivals: four Magellanic penguin chicks, all of which hatched in mid-to-late May.

The Illinois attorney general says he began self-isolating after experiencing minor symptoms over the weekend. He is the most prominent politician in the state to test positive for the novel coronavirus. 

A new Illinois law is designed to considerably expand the number of voters who cast their ballot in the 2020 presidential election by mail. Gov. J.B. Pritzker called it perhaps “the safest method to cast a ballot in November.”

This fall was to mark the Joffrey’s first season in its new home on the Lyric Opera stage after many years of residence at the Auditorium Theatre.

Chicago’s most famous empty hole is set to get new life, in the latest massive development that will alter Chicago’s skyline in the midst of a global pandemic.

Bakers in Washington, D.C., started a movement that’s gone global. Now Chicagoans are taking part in the virtual bake sale, with proceeds going to local nonprofits that support racial equality.

In Rose Garden remarks, President Donald Trump stressed the need for higher standards and commiserated with mourning families, even as he hailed the vast majority of officers as selfless public servants and held his law-and-order line.

Public school districts in Minneapolis, Denver and Seattle have recently suspended or outright terminated their contracts with local police departments. Could Chicago Public Schools be next?

Next month, the University of Illinois at Chicago will begin testing a vaccine to see if it will prevent people from getting the novel coronavirus or experiencing severe illness from it if they do get it.

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

Researchers in England say they have the first evidence that a drug can improve COVID-19 survival: A cheap, widely available steroid reduced deaths by up to one third in severely ill hospitalized patients.

This bold — yet unsurprising — conclusion comes from the COVID Response Tracking Study, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago. It finds that just 14% of American adults say they’re very happy, down from 31% who said the same in 2018.

Amid a pandemic and a renewed focus on police brutality, some say the center’s work is more critical than ever. We speak with the newly appointed president and CEO of the Chicago-based nonprofit.

All across Chicago, communities are rebuilding from the twin crises of COVID-19 and property damage. We speak with residents, business owners and officials in the historic heart of black Chicago culture.

The conditions under which Chicago police officers can use force will be reviewed by a new community working group, but even before its work begins in earnest the group itself is under a degree of scrutiny.

For many people, calling the police to handle everything from noise complaints to neighbor disputes is a reflexive response. But for some, a troubled history with police makes calling 911 a difficult choice. 

During a virtual ceremony on Sunday, Oprah Winfrey told Chicago’s graduating high school seniors they are being called to “reckon with our country’s past and determine a more equitable future for black and brown people.”