Stories by Patty Wetli

Winter programs have been suspended due to mitigations in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus, but people are still welcome to enjoy park trails and outdoor spaces.

Ten months into quarantines and working from home because of the pandemic, household pets’ lives and relationships with humans have in many cases changed, and not always for the better.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office releases emails related to the wrongful raid of Anjanette Young’s home following calls for more transparency about the botched raid. Our politics team takes on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid crisis has worsened in Cook County, with more than 1,500 opiate-related deaths this year. To try and bring these numbers down, some groups see telehealth as an accessible way to bring treatment to people. 

At some point, Christmas trees get brown, the needles fall off, and it’s time for them to go. But that doesn’t necessarily mean tossing your tree in the trash.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell all but shut the door Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s push for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks, declaring Congress has provided enough pandemic aid.

The sound of hoofs pounding the pavement along the Magnificent Mile will be a thing of the past starting Friday, as a ban on horse-drawn carriages takes effect after a yearslong effort by animal welfare advocates.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot was told in November 2019 that a raid that left Anjanette Young handcuffed and pleading for help during a mistaken raid of her home in February 2019 was “pretty bad,” according to emails released Wednesday by the mayor’s office.

California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States.

With live music events still on hold, Chicago independent music venues look forward to relief in the Save Our Stages part of the stimulus bill.

Indiana’s attorney general recommended no criminal charges or licensing actions Wednesday after concluding an investigation into more than 2,000 sets of fetal remains found last year at the suburban Chicago garage of a late prolific abortion doctor.

Britain became the first country to authorize AstraZeneca’s inexpensive, easy-to-handle COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday, gaining another weapon against the virus amid a resurgence.

If ever a year's end seemed like cause for celebration, 2020 might be it. Yet the coronavirus scourge that dominated the year is also looming over New Year's festivities and forcing officials worldwide to tone them down.

More than a half dozen large parties have been shut down by city officials in the past month, even as Chicago remains under a stay-at-home advisory designed to prevent people from contracting COVID-19.

Watch the Dec. 30, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

From the pandemic to protests to the power of nature, 2020 has been a year for the history books. We take a look back at the year that was — warts and all.

President Donald Trump’s push for bigger $2,000 COVID-19  relief checks stalled out Tuesday in the Senate as Republicans blocked a swift vote proposed by Democrats and split within their own ranks over whether to boost spending or defy the White House. 

The first reported U.S. case of the COVID-19 variant that’s been seen in the United Kingdom has been discovered in Colorado, Gov. Jared Polis announced Tuesday, adding urgency to efforts to vaccinate Americans.

Friday marks one year since it became legal to buy and use marijuana in Illinois. But what about the thousands of people who previously got in trouble for possessing, smoking or selling pot? 

Many details surrounding the Christmas Day bombing in downtown Nashville remain unclear, but the incident has renewed concerns about the rise of domestic terrorism, and the proliferation of racist ideology by white supremacists. 

It’s a New Year’s Eve tradition. Check out our virtual discussion about the history of Watch Night services with Brandis Friedman, host of “Black Voices,” and a panel of guests.

A spacecraft designed by an Illinois researcher and professor will orbit Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer to better understand powerful bursts of radiation from the sun, also known as solar flares. Lara Waldrop tells us more.

Representatives of a Portage Park high school on Tuesday unanimously approved a measure saying students and staff will not be allowed into the building following winter break “until it is safe to return to in-person learning.”

The resignation was announced 3 1/2 years after Randy Conner took the top job amid a furor caused by the city watchdog’s determination that the Department of Water Management was rife with “overtly racist and sexist behavior and attitudes.” 

Disposable mask dispensers are being installed on 200 buses serving 20 routes, including the No. 56 Milwaukee, No. 91 Austin and No. 77 Belmont. If successful, the program will expand to all bus routes, as well as to rail stations, the CTA said.

Chicago Public Schools on Tuesday announced that 5,833 of its 7,002 pre-K and cluster program staff members will be heading back to schools when in-person learning resumes for those students on Jan. 11.