Stories by Blair Paddock

After a summer of social unrest and calls to remove some monuments, activists are still pushing for the city to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. How some groups envision reteaching the history of Christopher Columbus.

Perhaps the most hotly contested race on Illinois ballots this year isn’t between two candidates. It’s a fight over income tax rates. We hear from both sides of the hotly contested measure.

Far more Chicagoans may have been infected by COVID-19 than previously thought. We discuss the preliminary findings of a new study with Dr. Elizabeth McNally of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Watch the Oct. 12, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

For the first time since it began flying to Chicago in 1985, Southwest Airlines will begin flying from O'Hare. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker joins us with that story and more.

Amid the tumult of the 2020 presidential campaign, one dynamic has remained constant: The Nov. 3 election offers voters a choice between substantially different policy paths.

Illinois’ seven-day positivity rate is up to 4.3%, nearly a full percentage point higher than it was a week ago, according to data from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Facebook is banning posts that deny or distort the Holocaust and will start directing people to authoritative sources if they search for information about the Nazi genocide.

The White Sox announced Monday Renteria won't return after he led them to a 35-25 record in his pandemic-shortened fourth year. They ended a string of seven consecutive losing seasons with their first playoff appearance since 2008.

Senate Republicans are vowing a quick confirmation for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, as the party rushes to put conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett on the high court before the Nov. 3 election.

With Sen. Kamala Harris on the ticket, advocates discuss the power of Black women at the ballot box. A throwback to funnyman Bernie Mac. And we’ll get a taste of some Black-owned restaurants.

Black women are considered the backbone of the Democratic Party, despite what advocates call a resurgence in voter suppression tactics. How they became a formidable force in U.S. elections.

President Donald Trump on Sunday declared he was ready to return to the campaign trail despite unanswered questions about his health on the eve of a Florida rally meant to kick off the stretch run before Election Day. 

State health officials reported more than 2,700 new cases of the coronavirus Sunday, bringing statewide totals to 319,150 cases and 8,984 deaths since the first infection was reported in Illinois in late January.

Restaurants have not had it easy the past few months. But in Chicago, a food blogger is doing his best to elevate Black-owned restaurants through social media. We meet up with Jeremy Joyce, the founder of Black People Eats.

The White House doctor said that President Donald Trump was no longer at risk of transmitting the coronavirus but did not say explicitly whether Trump had tested negative for it.

President Donald Trump’s proclamation Friday commemorating Columbus Day veered from a typical White House holiday announcement, with stark warnings of “radical activists” seeking to tarnish the explorer’s legacy.

Community members in Little Village fight to retain their cultural identity. The need for LGBTQ role models. And in La Ultima Palabra: closing the health disparity gap for Latinos.

The executive director of the Mary and Michael Jaharis Health Law Institute has the last word on closing the health disparity gap for Latinos.

How the local business Blossom Inspirations is building bridges between American and Latino cultures through artisan crafts.

In honor of National Coming Out Day, we speak with a group that’s making sure young LGBTQ Latinos have role models in their communities.

President Donald Trump has been urging his supporters to go the polls and “watch very carefully,” raising concerns about possible voter intimidation. 

Confirmation hearings begin Monday for President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett. If confirmed, the 48-year-old appeals court judge would fill the seat of liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died last month. 

From apples and pumpkins to pig races, hay rides, petting zoos and beyond, we’ve rounded up some options for fall fun in the Chicago area.

After the president refuses to participate in a virtual debate, it is canceled by the Commission on Presidential Debates. The city faces a nearly unsolvable budget problem as federal stimulus talks break down. And the “fair tax” fight heats up.

The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates confirmed Friday that the Oct. 15 faceoff would be scrapped.