Stories by Marc Vitali

A local theater artist goes on house calls and takes his puppets on the road in Chicago neighborhoods.

Beyond first-day jitters, Chicago educators expressed concerns over stable internet connections and checking in with students about COVID-19 as classes in Chicago Public Schools resumed Tuesday for a fall unlike any other.

Starting Friday, Chicago’s quarantine order will apply to 21 states, but visitors from California and Puerto Rico will no longer be required to quarantine for two weeks, officials announced Tuesday. 

In a bid to keep restaurants open once cold weather hits, the city has launched a competition aimed at generating creative, yet feasible, ways to extend outdoor dining into Chicago’s winter. 

The Lost Summer of 2020 drew to a close Monday with many big Labor Day gatherings canceled across the U.S. and health authorities pleading with people to keep their distance from others.

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris met the family of Jacob Blake to kick off her Labor Day visit to the critical swing state of Wisconsin, while President Donald Trump assailed the Democratic ticket.

The coronavirus pandemic is highlighting systemic racism that Black and Brown communities have faced for decades, including systemic racism in the prison and criminal justice system. 

Watch the Sept. 7, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

Of Illinois’ 183 native tree species, nearly 140 are represented on the Illinois Big Tree Register as a state “champ,” leaving 46 species still in need of a big discovery. Here’s how to nominate a tree for inclusion on the list.

Some college campuses are seeing alarming spikes in the number of COVID-19 cases. Many schools have launched widespread testing efforts, but reports of student parties and gatherings have led to increased restrictions.

Everyone could use a little sunshine in their life right now, so a Wisconsin farmer decided that’s what he was going to do, and planted more than 2 million sunflowers in his fields.

Painted fridges stocked with free, fresh food and drinks have been popping up across Chicago for the past two months. Find out how the Love Fridge project is helping those in need during the pandemic.

The U.S. Census Bureau for now must stop following a plan that would have it winding down operations in order to finish the 2020 census at the end of September, according to a federal judge’s order. 

Plywood used to board up businesses in the wake of civil unrest this summer is now a sign of economic growth and engagement in one South Side community.

Jacob Blake has spoken publicly for the first time since a Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer shot him seven times in the back, saying he’s in constant pain from the shooting, which doctors fear will leave him paralyzed from the waist down.

Student activists calling for the disbandment of the University of Chicago Police Department ended their weeklong occupation of the 4900 block of South Greenwood Avenue in Kenwood on Friday.

More than 2,800 new cases of the coronavirus and 23 deaths were reported Saturday by state health officials, bringing totals to 248,177 cases and 8,166 deaths since the first confirmed infection was reported in the state in late January.

Voting will look a little different this November. States are turning to stadiums, drive-thrus and possibly even movie theaters as safe options for in-person polling places amid the pandemic.

President Donald Trump defended himself Friday against accusations that he mocked American war dead as his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, intensified efforts to frame the election as a referendum on the president’s character.

President Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visit Kenosha after the police shooting of Jacob Blake. CPS students head back to school. And the CDC tells states to prepare for a coronavirus vaccine. 

Twenty-one finalists are now vying for the highly coveted licenses that will add 75 new cannabis dispensaries throughout the state, which will hold a lottery sometime this month to make it final.

The fear is that backyard parties, crowded bars and other gatherings will cause the coronavirus to come surging back. “I look upon the Labor Day weekend really as a critical point,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease expert.

Jacob Blake’s father said Friday that his “happy-go-lucky” son is optimistic for his future, although he remains paralyzed from the waist down after being shot seven times in the back. 

Attorneys for R. Kelly want to question a convicted member of the Latin Kings gang who says he beat up the jailed R&B singer in a Chicago cell.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reported thousands of new cases of the coronavirus after fixing an issue that affected the reporting of tests and created a backlog, which has now been cleared.

Make the most of the three-day weekend by exploring the Chicago region’s abundant hiking and biking trails.