Stories by Associated Press

Skin doctors suddenly are looking at a lot of toes — whether by emailed picture or video visit — as concern grows that for some people, a sign of COVID-19 may pop up in an unusual spot.

Under an emergency rule quietly filed Friday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration, bars, restaurants and other businesses that open to customers in defiance of Illinois’ stay-at-home order now risk being charged with a misdemeanor.

In an online commencement address Saturday, former President Barack Obama told college graduates that the pandemic shows many officials “aren’t even pretending to be in charge.”

Michael McCaskey, who led the Chicago Bears for nearly three decades following the death of his grandfather George Halas, died Saturday after a lengthy battle with cancer, the team said. He was 76.

Illinois saw its coronavirus caseload increase Saturday by 2,088, but the percentage of positive cases among those tested, known as the “positivity rate,” fell to 15% statewide, down a percentage point from a day earlier.

In Chicago and around the world, people are creating photographs, paintings, emails, journals and social media posts that will shape how the world remembers the coronavirus pandemic for years and centuries to come. 

Across the United States, masks have become more and more prevalent. And people with masks – as well as latex gloves – have found their way into more and more crime reports.

More than 4,000 have died from COVID-19 in Illinois as Gov. J.B. Pritzker pushes the state’s estimated peak to mid-June. Chicago is on pace to move to the next phase at the end of the month, but the lakefront will remain closed. 

Employees of the Chicago Public Library will head back to work on Wednesday, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot tossed cold water on Library Commissioner Andrea Telli’s suggestion that libraries could reopen as soon as June 1.

With O’Hare and Midway airports deserted amid the coronavirus pandemic, stores, restaurants and rental car companies are set to get a two-month break on most of the rent they owe to the city under a proposal that cleared a key city panel Friday.

COVID-19 can mimic labor symptoms and can cause additional complications for women following birth, according to Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, who called for increased testing of pregnant women.

“In early 2020, I spent nine weeks traveling the country, talking to people about being well and staying focused. It was exhilarating. Then the pandemic hit and shook us all,” Oprah Winfrey said in a statement. “Now, it’s more important than ever to be and stay well and strong.”

The dandelion — a once-prized plant that gardeners used to exhibit at county fairs — now holds the title of Public Lawn Enemy No. 1. But is this reputation deserved?

The number of people seeking help from the Greater Chicago Food Depository and affiliated food pantries has surged 60% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, which has shut down the nation's economy and thrown tens of millions of people out of work. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot urged Chicago religious leaders on Friday not to hold in-person worship services this weekend, warning those who fail to follow the governor’s stay-at-home order are “playing with a fully loaded and cocked gun.”

Mayor Lori Lightfoot late Thursday called off a planned demolition of a building at the former Crawford Power Plant after protests erupted and the alderman objected.

Neighbors unanimously spoke out Thursday against General Iron’s application for a permit to move its Lincoln Park metal shredding operation to the Southeast Side, but questioned whether their concerns would even count.

With all the uncertainty facing theaters and their audiences, the Goodman Theatre is postponing the four productions remaining in its current spring and summer 2020 season, and will announce additional shows for the coming season at a later date.

About 60 miles south of Chicago, Kankakee County has seen 874 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Thursday, with 36 deaths and 204 recoveries. Local officials weigh in on the state’s handling of the pandemic.

Chicago’s brick buildings put on a refined face for the street side, but if you peek past the facade, you’ll find that what’s holding them up is a little bit rougher. Geoffrey Baer has this history of the Chicago common brick.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is facing political pressure from some areas of the state that want to reopen sooner than Chicago. We visit Kankakee to see how residents, farmers and others are coping with the pandemic.

With Illinois’ stay-at-home order in place through the end of May, some of us are looking to pick up new hobbies — or new books. We asked a trio of book lovers to share their picks.

It was founded in the Bronzeville home of Margaret Burroughs and moved to a Park District building in 1973. We explore the DuSable Museum collection with CEO Perri Irmer as part of our series of virtual art tours.

John Catanzara says he’s “not too concerned” with the opinions of his critics, and he’s hopeful that he’ll be able to secure what the Chicago police union has lacked for nearly three years: a contract with the city.

As Illinois faces record levels of unemployment, the state has launched a website aiming to connect job seekers with employers and provide free online access to workforce development courses.

A temporary ban put in place by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has kept children in foster care from having supervised visits with their parents and siblings during the COVID-19 pandemic.