Stories by Heather Cherone

The Chicago City Council voted 31-14 to confirm Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick to lead the agency charged with probing misconduct by members of the Chicago Police Department after months of controversy.

The unique saliva test was developed by University of Illinois scientists and SHIELD officials say it has become an essential tool in halting the spread of COVID-19.

For some Chicago areas residents, what’s happening in Ukraine is personal. They’ve got relatives suddenly living in a war zone. They’re trying to draw Americans’ attention to the Russian invasion — including with a rally Thursday afternoon in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village.

The U.S. sanctions and penalties announced so far appear to spare Putin himself from sanctions. They also forgo an option long-cited as one of the toughest possible, by holding off from banning Russia from the SWIFT financial system that moves money around the world. Biden cited concerns by European allies.

A revival of “The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci,” a testament to a unique imagination, is now playing at the Goodman Theatre. 

Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Lane were convicted of depriving Floyd of his right to medical care as the 46-year-old Black man was pinned under fellow Officer Derek Chauvin’s knee for 9 1/2 minutes while handcuffed, facedown on the street on May 25, 2020.

Whoever Lightfoot picks and is confirmed by the Chicago City Council will potentially get a leg up if they choose to run for a full term in February 2023 to represent what is likely to be a very different 11th Ward.

Chicago would permanently ban investments in oil and gas companies under a measure introduced Wednesday by Treasurer Melissa Conyears Ervin and backed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

Ricco Carrasco was arrested this week and charged with aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated assault stemming from the Feb. 18 shooting. Cook County prosecutors on Thursday said they’re also charging him with attempted murder.

The Holocaust, World War II and Nazism have been important tools for Putin in his bid to legitimize Russia’s moves in Ukraine, but historians see their use as disinformation and a cynical ploy to further the Russian leader’s aims.

A lottery will determine which Chicagoans suffering from the economic catastrophe unleashed by the COVID-19 pandemic will get $500 per month for a year as part of an effort to study whether a universal basic income could reduce poverty in the city.

As enchanting as Lake Michigan's ice may appear, it’s unmistakably dangerous, as evidenced this week by the presumed drowning of an Indianapolis man who fell into the water off shelf ice at Indiana Dunes National Park on Monday.

Dr. Arwady on ending the city mask mandate. City council takes action on the mayor’s gang asset ordinance. Funding a state suicide prevention hotline. And dancing in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple.

A new report estimates an additional 111-thousand voter registration applications have been processed at Illinois Secretary of State facilities annually, thanks to a 2018 automatic voter registration law. But advocates say Illinois can — and should — do better.

Despite a safety agreement with the Chicago Teachers Union that requires universal masking in schools until the end of the academic year, CPS officials on Wednesday said there may come a time sooner in which masks will not be mandatory.

Illinois is months away from the scheduled launch of a new suicide prevention hotline, and state lawmakers are working to make sure it gets funding.

It is an uncommon pairing of great architecture and modern dance. In Oak Park, a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece will soon be the setting for a performance. We visited Unity Temple to find out what makes these dancers move.

The city will end its indoor mask mandate Monday. Plus, restaurants, fitness centers and bars will no longer require customers to show proof of vaccination for entry. We spoke with Chicago’s top doctor about recent COVID-19 metrics.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposal to fight crime by going after the profits earned by Chicago’s gangs failed to pass the Chicago City Council on Wednesday amid a deluge of criticism.

The Chicago Police Department’s failure to implement a foot pursuit policy is to blame for the shooting death of Anthony Alvarez by an officer last spring, his family has claimed in a new lawsuit.

Chicago Police officers must be vaccinated against COVID-19, an arbitrator ruled Wednesday, handing Mayor Lori Lightfoot a significant victory.

An icy dip in the lake, a historical re-enactment, vegan fare and a Black History Month celebration usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago this weekend.

Last month, there were more than 700 special education students who had still not been routed onto a bus during the current academic year. But as of this week, each one of those children are now receiving their legally mandated transportation from the district.

Ukrainian lawmakers approved President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decree that imposes the measure for 30 days starting Thursday. The state of emergency allows authorities to impose restrictions on movement, block rallies and ban political parties and organizations “in the interests of national security and public order.”

Carvana’s 14-story glass tower will be a blight on Skokie, said residents, whose frustration boiled over at Tuesday night's meeting of the village’s Board of Trustees, where the project received final approval.  

The vaccination drive in the U.S. is grinding to a halt, and demand has all but collapsed in places like this deeply conservative manufacturing town where many weren’t interested in the shots to begin with.