The Federal Reserve said Monday that Americans’ household net worth jumped nearly 7% in the April-June quarter to $119 trillion. That figure had sunk to $111.3 trillion in the first quarter, when the coronavirus battered the economy.

Calling out “free books” to passersby, organizers of a book giveaway on the Far South Side distributed more than 1,200 books while garnering support for a larger project they hope will spark a transformation of the neighborhood.

A task force released recommendations this week to help Chicago increase its affordable housing stock. We ask two housing activists to share their thoughts on that guidance.

Big state budget cuts are on the horizon. The Big Ten is back, but youth sports remain on hold. In Springfield, the Madigan inquiry moves forward. And the White Sox are going to the playoffs.

Restaurants and bars in Will and Kankakee counties — Region 7 of the state, as outlined in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois Plan — can once again offer indoor dining and service beginning Friday evening.

“This is an opportunity to get this right,” said Ald. Byron Sigcho Lopez (25th Ward), who vowed not to allow developers to dominate the discussion.

Before the pandemic hit the economy, the number signing up for jobless aid had never exceeded 700,000 in a week, even during the depths of the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Now they've topped 700,000 for 26 straight weeks.

“State and municipal budgets across the nation and here in Illinois are being decimated,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday. “It’s not a blue state problem or a red state problem.”

Pritzker has extended the ban on evictions three times since he lifted the stay-at-home order at the end of May, when the state began to make significant progress in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

For thousands of Illinois renters who are out of work during the pandemic, the threat of eviction is getting closer to reality.

The city asked for creative winter outdoor dining ideas, and Chicagoans delivered, offering 643 submissions ranging from the practical to the ridiculous. 

As MLB sprints through two months, the businesses in the neighborhoods surrounding the stadiums that rely so heavily on thousands making their way through the turnstiles 81 times a year are struggling, their futures murky at best.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday warned of looming cuts to state government, including potential layoffs, without help from the federal government.

The unmistakable sound of the Salvation Army’s bell-ringers could be heard Monday morning along Michigan Avenue as the organization announced an unprecedented September kickoff to its annual Red Kettle fundraiser.

The city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance created just 1,049 homes in 13 years by requiring some developers to set aside units for low- and moderate-income Chicagoans, but that has barely dented the city’s affordable housing gap, according to a new report.

Nearly 2,000 new cases of coronavirus and 28-virus related deaths were reported Thursday by state health officials, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker said eight Illinois regions are making progress in slowing the spread of the virus.