Lawmakers on Tuesday approved new rules crafted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to reduce the spread of the coronavirus despite opposition from Illinois Republicans and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois opened a new health and wellness center in Morgan Park on Monday after renovating a building abandoned by Target.  

Already this year, financial and enrollment problems aggravated by the pandemic have forced the permanent closure of more than 140 Catholic schools nationwide, according to officials who oversee Catholic education in the country.

The United States’ failure to contain the spread of the coronavirus has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe, as the world’s most powerful country edges closer to a global record of 5 million confirmed infections.

As educators prepare to welcome students back to class, schools’ ability to quickly identify and contain coronavirus outbreaks before they get out of hand will be put to the test in thousands of districts around the country.

Racial disparities in the U.S. coronavirus epidemic extend to children, according to two sobering government reports released Friday. 

For a time, the ZIP code that comprises much of West Ridge had the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases – but not anymore. The community’s positivity rate is now below the city average.

So far this year, 21 pedestrians have been killed by drivers, according to city data and media reports. That puts Chicago on pace to match last year’s 40 pedestrian deaths

Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Wednesday that Chicago Public Schools is moving to a fully remote schedule this fall. Our politics team of Amanda Vinicky, Paris Schutz and Heather Cherone digs into that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

With coronavirus cases rising, Gov. J.B. Pritzker implored local officials to take action to stop the spread of the virus and warned if they don’t, more stringent regulations could be on the way, including another stay-at-home order. 

Mercy Hospital announced plans to shut its doors by June 2021. Now, concerns of a health care desert on the South Side are resurfacing as residents prepare to find new providers.

When the coronavirus pandemic struck Illinois in the spring, Cook County was hit hard while areas downstate were largely spared. But that’s changing. “We’re seeing troubling signs,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday.

Inspectors shut down an illegal party at a Humboldt Park warehouse where revelers were not wearing masks or following social distancing rules, city officials said Monday.

Despite a statewide mandate, not all residents are wearing masks. A new campaign aims to encourage folks to do just that. “A mask is like anything that keeps us safe. It only works if you wear it,” the governor said.

Nearly 400 people in 34 states, including 10 in Illinois, have become ill with a strain of the bacterial disease linked to red onions from a major California producer, according to a food safety alert from the CDC.

Ready to hit the open road? You might want to rethink those travel plans. Even a simple day trip to Wisconsin could cost you two weeks at home — or a possible fine.