Will an uptick in COVID-19 cases lead to more restrictions across the city and state? Our politics team takes on that story and more in this week’s roundtable.

Determined to reopen America’s schools despite coronavirus worries, President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to hold back federal money if school districts don’t bring their students back in the fall.

A “perfect storm” is to blame for the surge in homicides during June, which has put the city on pace to record more murders than any year since 2016, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday.

A contentious vote on police in schools. The next phase of reopening for the city and state. A plan for in-person instruction at schools in the fall. Those stories and more in this week’s roundtable.

An ordinance that would terminate the $33 million contract between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Police Department failed to advance Wednesday, but supporters of the measure vowed to continue their campaign.

Amid a pandemic that has been linked to the deaths of more than 2,000 people in Chicago, the city is cautiously reopening. But some communities are facing another hurdle: rebuilding.

Chicago scores a casino win in the legislative session that just wrapped up.  And both Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot expand on what reopening across the city and state will look like.

Among the measures approved by the City Council is one that makes it illegal for workers to lose their jobs if they become ill with COVID-19. “Employees should not have to choose between keeping their jobs or saving their lives,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

The lakefront will not reopen during the third phase of the plan to reopen Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday during a speech to the Economic Club of Chicago. 

The number of COVID-19 cases in Chicago’s Latino community has more than doubled in the past four weeks, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Wednesday, calling the data “no less breathtaking” than the rate of infection in Chicago’s African American community.

Starting Saturday evening, Illinois should feel a little quieter than usual. Our politics team has the latest on a just-announced executive order from Gov. J.B. Pritzker to curb spread of the new coronavirus.

What to make of the election results Tuesday? And did the governor make the right call to hold the election amid COVID-19 fears? Our politics team takes on the primary election in this week’s roundtable.

The Chicago Board of Elections is pleading with the public in order to find election judges for Tuesday’s primary. Our politics team takes on that story and more election news in this week’s roundtable.

In less than three weeks, Illinois voters will go to the polls. Will the state have a big role in weeding out the Democratic presidential field? And how will the contentious race for Cook County state’s attorney shake out?

Lost in the hoopla of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s homecoming speech Wednesday was a nod he gave to the mild-mannered man standing nearby. So, who is Mark A. Vargas? Our politics team digs into that and more.

Actor Jussie Smollett is facing a fresh set of charges for allegedly staging a hate crime on himself. Our politics team digs into that and more in our weekly roundtable.