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.

Bordering the western suburb of Oak Park, community leaders say Austin often grapples with violence and disinvestment – as of late it’s struggled with COVID-19 and an uptick opioid overdoses.

While deaths from the coronavirus in the U.S. are mounting rapidly, public health experts are seeing a flicker of good news: The second surge of confirmed cases appears to be leveling off.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker releases new guidelines for recreational sports, and a war of words unfolds at the ComEd hearing at the Illinois Commerce Commission.

With the number of new coronavirus cases rising in Illinois and a handful of outbreaks linked to youth sports, the governor announced new guidance restricting youth and adults sports in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19.

During the day, Dr. Wendy Goodall McDonald sees patients at her obstetric and gynecological practice in Chicago. But after work, she entertains and educates the public through song parodies.

Health experts think people who had COVID-19 will have some immunity against a repeat infection. But they don’t know how much protection or how long it would last.

For nearly a week, more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Illinois each day. The spike has prompted Gov. J.B. Pritzker to repeatedly urge residents to wear masks and practice social distancing.

Sunday marks the fifth consecutive day in which the state saw an increase of more than 1,000 new cases. So far, more than 28,000 people in Illinois have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in July.