Stories by Amanda Vinicky

Illinois’ statewide positivity rate for the coronavirus fell to 3% this weekend – down from last Saturday’s rate of 5.5%.

The fatal shooting of a black man by a white Atlanta police officer and the death of another black man found hanging from a tree outside a city hall in California ignited new anti-racism protests over the weekend.

As Illinois businesses and schools closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, daily routines changed. How much of an impact will COVID-19 have on people’s future behaviors?

Chicagoans who lost their jobs or found their paychecks scaled back because of the coronavirus pandemic would be protected from evictions for an additional two months after the state’s ban ends under a proposal from Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Companies that win multimillion-dollar tax incentives to bring industrial jobs to Chicago could be stripped of those benefits if they “betray the public’s trust” under a plan set to be considered Wednesday by the Chicago City Council.

The family of a 55-year-old Chicago man who died five hours after paramedics were called to his West Garfield Park home but left without treating him should be paid $200,000, city lawyers recommended.

Citizen complaints against police across the U.S. are largely kept secret, either under the law or by union contract — a practice some criminal justice experts say deprives the public of information that could be used to root out problem officers before it’s too late.

Last month the global average temperature was 60.3 degrees, tying 2016 for the hottest May in 141 years of record keeping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In a move applauded by President Donald Trump’s conservative religious base, his administration on Friday finalized a rule that overturns Obama-era protections for transgender people against sex discrimination in health care.

Activists call on Mayor Lori Lightfoot to defund the police – an idea she rejects. She’s pushing to license police after video caught a dozen officers lounging as looters destroyed businesses.

A Cook County judge on Friday shot down actor Jussie Smollett’s attempt have the criminal charges against him dropped, telling the actor that the new charges against him do not violate his right against double jeopardy.

Chicago will not create a commission to study whether — and how — the city should pay reparations to Chicagoans who are the descendants of enslaved African Americans after Mayor Lori Lightfoot objected to the long-in-the-works effort.

The Chicago City Council violated the Open Meetings Act by holding an online conference call with Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the wake of unrest that swept the city following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Friday that the Illinois State Fair, scheduled for August, will be canceled in 2020 due to risks posed by the coronavirus.

“It is time, actually, it is way past time, for this change in our state,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday, adding that she'd already directed her legal team to begin drafting legislation to be presented in Springfield.

Nine days after Chicago began reopening — and after days of massive protests against police brutality and unrest — the rate of confirmed cases of the coronavirus is still dropping, city health officials said Friday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted the guidelines Friday, along with a second set for organizing and attending big gatherings such as concerts, sporting events, protests and political rallies.

In its semi-annual monetary policy report to Congress, the central bank said Friday that the COVID-19 outbreak was causing “tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world.”

Jonathan Ballew, a credentialed journalist who has worked with multiple local media outlets, filed a federal lawsuit Thursday claiming he was “assaulted with a chemical agent” during the May 30 protests in River North.

As part of our ongoing series, we speak with local officials and activists about Evanston’s reopening and recent calls for police reform in the near north suburb.

Enrich Chicago has been working to support arts and culture groups dedicated to building diversity, equity and inclusion since 2014. We speak with the organization’s director and others about their work locally.

As those of us who are accustomed to sniffling, coughing and sneezing our way through spring and summer already know, it’s allergy season. But during a pandemic, those coughs could signal something more than a high pollen count.

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have created the most detailed simulation that exists to model the spread of COVID-19 in Chicago — and what it shows is sobering.

A plan to fast-track applications from restaurants and cafes to serve customers outdoors cleared a key city panel Thursday, as city officials vowed to do everything possible to help restaurants stay afloat amid the pandemic.

Angela Tovar, a Chicago native who grew up in the South Chicago community, has been named the city’s chief sustainability officer.

The celebrated nonprofit Misericordia is looking to expand its campus by demolishing a historic building next door. Preservationists have a plan to save that building, but the timeline is tight.