Stories by Patty Wetli

Owners of the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline have been given the go-ahead by Illinois to double capacity. Opponents aren't ready to give up the fight to block the expansion.

The Senate Judiciary Committee set Oct. 22 for its vote to recommend Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the full Senate, with a final confirmation vote expected by month’s end.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker warned Illinois residents Friday that the entire state is seeing a surge in confirmed cases of the coronavirus, as the state set a single-day record for new infections and reported 38 deaths linked to the virus.

The school district announced Friday morning that its citywide enrollment had fallen from 355,156 in the 2019-20 school year to 340,658 this year.

A federal judge has ordered Jeremiah “Jerry” Harris, star of the Netflix documentary series “Cheer,” to remain in jail pending trial on a charge he sexually exploited underage children.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced on Friday that Illinois’ ban on evictions would be extended until Nov. 16, as state officials continue to send grants to Illinois residents struggling to make ends meet.

The all-day event Saturday will take advantage of a sweet spot in the migratory timeline, with organizers expecting to record outgoing and incoming species.

Inspector General Joe Ferguson’s report details several instances when Eddie Johnson got special treatment after being discovered unconscious behind the wheel of his vehicle near 34th Place and Aberdeen Street last year.

West suburban Wheaton, home to historic Wheaton College, hasn’t been spared the health and economic hit caused by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The election is just weeks away and early voting is in full swing. How ready are voters and election authorities?

The Bears have a 4-1 record after eking out a 1-point win over the Buccaneers on Thursday, but that record may flatter them. Former Bears offensive lineman James "Big Cat" Williams gives us his take.

The exhibit would normally feature authentic artwork from Mexican artists, including traditional ofrendas, or altars. This year, the artwork comes from both the museum’s personal collection and local artists.

“This has not been a good week in Chicago,” said Dr. Allison Arwady, urging people to avoid gatherings, wear masks and keep 6 feet of distance from others. 

Cynthia Donald, who filed the lawsuit Thursday in Cook County Court, claimed that for more than three years, she was subjected to “unwanted and uninvited sexual advances” from Johnson inside his office at CPD headquarters.

Under the district’s plan, pre-K and cluster program students would return for full-day learning, five days a week beginning next quarter.

Geoffrey Baer takes a look at the redesigned event in the latest Ask Geoffrey.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle plans to consolidate two clinics into Provident Hospital and change its full-service emergency room to a stand-by emergency department. “We are strengthening Provident Hospital. It is here to stay. Period,” she said.

Each week, 200 South Side households receive a free delivery of fresh produce, thanks to a collaboration between Star Farm and Experimental Station. To keep the program running through October, organizers need to raise $20,000.

Watch the Oct. 15, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

The Deerfield, Illinois-based drugstore chain said Thursday it made $373 million in the final quarter of fiscal 2020 after losing $1.7 billion the previous quarter, when millions of shoppers stayed home to avoid the rapidly spreading pandemic.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department coincides with other recent data that have signaled a slowdown in hiring. The economy is still roughly 10.7 million jobs short of recovering all the 22 million jobs that were lost when the pandemic struck.

The economic collapse caused by the coronavirus pandemic presented an “extraordinarily challenging” set of circumstances to the county’s finance team, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said a day before unveiling her $6.9 billion spending plan.

Billionaire Pritzker cousins are hurling cash at opposing sides of the “fair tax” amendment. Our politics team tackles that story and more — including the battle over the Supreme Court — in this week’s roundtable.

What you need to know about mail-in voting and voting in person as Nov. 3 — Election Day — approaches.

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett faced a second day of questions Wednesday from the Senate Judiciary Committee as Democrats kept up their focus on health care three weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election. 

Dr. William Yates has made public safety through technology his business, first by developing metal detectors to prevent gun violence, and now, by developing no-contact thermal scanners to protect against the spread of COVID-19.