Stories by Marissa Nelson

Tuesday marks the beginning of a payroll tax holiday — but don’t get too attached to the extra cash. It’s due back in April. Here’s what you need to know.

Quantum technology is expected to transform our world, and Chicago appears to be at the center of this quantum acceleration, thanks to funding from the Department of Energy to establish two quantum research centers locally.

City officials Tuesday defended their efforts to help Chicago’s small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic and recover from unrest touched off by police brutality protests, even though only 20% of a $100 million loan fund has been spent.

In Cook County, Black people are 26% more likely to get colon and rectum cancer than white people, according to the CDC. “Screening rates a bit lower, but they’re not that much lower,” said Dr. Ed McDonald, a gastroenterologist. “There’s something else going on.”

Antibodies that people make to fight the new coronavirus last for at least four months after diagnosis and do not fade quickly, as some earlier reports suggested, scientists have found.

President Donald Trump charged into the latest eruption in the nation’s reckoning over racial injustice on Tuesday, blaming “domestic terror” that he said fueled the violence in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and declaring it was enabled by Democratic leaders.

Former Cook County Commissioner Jeffrey Tobolski, who also served as mayor of the tiny west suburban city of McCook, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal corruption charges, acknowledging that he engaged in multiple extortion and bribery schemes while in office.

Genove Martin was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder and has been ordered held on $300,000 bond. Prosecutors allege he accidentally shot Reed on July 31 after he opened fire on a passing vehicle.

The conservatory has transformed its Artist’s Garden into a reflection of Monet’s vision, featuring plants that inspired some of Impressionism’s most memorable paintings. The exhibit opens Saturday in tandem with “Monet and Chicago” at the Art Institute. 

Visitors to Chicago from Hawaii, Nebraska and North Carolina will be required to quarantine for two weeks starting Friday, city officials announced Tuesday. Indiana is also on the verge of being added to the quarantine order that includes 21 states and Puerto Rico.

Watch the Sept. 1, 2020 full episode of “Chicago Tonight.”

City officials shut down five restaurants and clubs for violating rules designed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Tuesday.

Police recorded 63 homicides in August, bringing the yearly total in Chicago up to 506, surpassing last year’s total with a full quarter of the year to go, according to data released Tuesday by the Chicago Police Department.

The man, who has not yet been identified, died at Stroger Hospital after being shot by at least one officer who opened fire after their police cruiser was shot at by a group of people standing on a sidewalk in the Pilsen neighborhood.

A familiar narrative emerged after Jacob Blake’s shooting by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin, one seen many times after a Black man or woman is shot by police: That somehow Blake's actions or his past can explain why an officer fired seven bullets into his back.

The 52 plaintiffs, who owned around 200 U.S. stores before being forced to sell them over the last decade, are seeking compensation of $4 million to $5 million per store, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in federal court in Chicago.

Restaurants, bakeries and other food- and beverage-related businesses have banded together to encourage customers to support enterprises run by women, starting Tuesday.

Chicago’s second-largest hotel is hit with a $338 million foreclosure lawsuit, proving it's not immune from the pandemic’s effects on the hospitality industry. 

Illinois’ minimum wage increased from $9.25 to $10 in July, despite a request from business owners to delay the hike during a pandemic. But for employers whose take-home pay is largely dependent on tips, the minimum wage is $6.

Some residents in Kenosha fear a planned visit by President Donald Trump may stir more emotions and cause more violence and destruction in the divided southeastern Wisconsin city after several days of peace.

A Highland Park shop specializing in ukuleles is keeping its music community alive by offering virtual lessons on how to play the “happiest instrument on the planet.”

On top of that colossal shortfall, the city’s financial picture worsened significantly during the past three months because of an “economic catastrophe caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” according to Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

As summer nears its end, Chicago is seeing COVID-19 cases rise, and suburban Cook County is showing warning signs of increased risk of transmission of the virus, according to state officials. We check in with Chicago Department Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady.

Monday is Overdose Awareness Day, an annual event aimed at reducing drug-related deaths and the stigma of substance use disorders. And it comes this year amid a dramatic spike in opioid-related overdoses and deaths in Chicago.

Less than an inch of rain was recorded at O’Hare in the month of August, pushing Chicago toward drought. That’s likely putting stress on trees, so give them a soak.

The coronavirus pandemic, protests, a rancorous election year and a perception that cities are being overrun by violent mobs have brought about a markedly more aggressive stance by some gun owners and widened the divide over firearms in America.