Stories by Matt Masterson

Speaking on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Friday there has been a marked increase in gun violence in 2020, despite a stay-at-home order that was in place statewide for more than two months during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the milestone was the result of the “incredible work of so many people behind the scenes.”

President Donald Trump took a victory lap Friday morning after the government reported surprising job gains for last month, seizing on the data to predict that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic disruption was in the rear-view mirror.

Several authors of a large study that raised safety concerns about malaria drugs for coronavirus patients have retracted the report, saying independent reviewers were not able to verify information that’s been widely questioned by other scientists.

“We will not tolerate that kind of abusive, offensive conduct on the part of police officers, period,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Friday.

As images of police brutality and cities on fire saturate the media, keeping kids in the dark may not be an option. Here are tips for talking to children about difficult topics.

With a global pandemic and ongoing protests against police brutality, LGBTQ organizations are returning to their revolutionary roots as they celebrate Pride Month.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she supports neighbors being vigilant but that she won’t tolerate people taking up arms. “We’ve seen that end with tragic results across the country,” she said.

You can camp, golf and — starting next weekend — even go zip lining, but plenty of closures and restrictions remain in effect. Here’s a look at what you can and can’t do in the preserves, and when.

According to a new study, cycling through Cook County Jail — a facility once dubbed the “largest-known source” of COVID-19 in the U.S. — is associated with roughly 16% of all documented cases of the virus in Illinois and Chicago through mid-April.

Caravans of burglars have capitalized on chaos, communicating with each other via messaging apps during heists and using both the protests over the death of George Floyd and other tactics to throw police off their trail. 

These days, buying flowers might seem like the very definition of a nonessential luxury purchase. But dozens of struggling nonprofits are in fact relying on flower sales to fund the vital social services they provide.

The placenta provides nutrients and oxygen to a developing fetus, among other things. In a small study, researchers found the placentas from pregnant women with COVID-19 showed signs of injury.

The mural of George Floyd projected above his golden coffin, where mourners knelt and cried, paused and prayed at his memorial service Thursday had a simple message: “I can breathe now.”

Watch the June 4, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Efforts to put an elected board of Chicago residents in charge of the Chicago Police Department — stalled by the coronavirus pandemic — could get new life amid a renewed nationwide push to hold police officers accountable for misconduct.

We get a taste of what some restaurant industry players experienced Wednesday as Chicago moved info phase three of its reopening plan.

How Chicago communities came together to push past tensions that were feeding a racial divide. 

There was a message of unity Wednesday as solidarity marches replaced fears of racially motivated violence. We visited Pilsen, Little Village and the suburb of Cicero for a view from the ground.

Despite days of protests, some which turned destructive, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says the message from business owners is clear: they want to reopen. 

Chicago has officially moved into phase three of its reopening plan. We discuss the public health implications of reopening with Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.

A conversation with the Rev. Martin Hunter, the great uncle of Laquan McDonald, whose fatal shooting by a Chicago police officer in 2014 sparked widespread calls for police reform.

An increasing number of complaints that Chicago officials decided to protect downtown at the expense of neighborhoods on the South and West sides are “not true and illogical,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.

Cook County prosecutors claim Michael Mangan, 36, broke a total of 82 windows at a Northwest Side elementary school, valued at $16,400, and did so because “the school ruined his life.”

Looting and unrest has largely subsided in Chicago as large peaceful protests against police misconduct continue, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told reporters Wednesday.

Watch the June 3, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”