Medical advances made while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic may have valuable applications in fighting another epidemic. 

White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning for the last remaining ineligible age group to get shots. He said the Food and Drug Administration’s outside panel of advisers will meet on June 14-15 to evaluate the Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger kids.

According to AAA, the current price of a gallon of regular gas in the Chicago Metro area is now $5.56, up from $3.37 one year ago. The price of premium is well over $6.00.

The AIDS Garden Chicago, a project many years in the making, is now open to the public. Located just south of Belmont Harbor, the garden’s location has a meaningful place in the history of the city’s queer community.

Paul Vallas joins the race for mayor. The U.S. Senate reportedly considers bipartisan gun measures. And how local groups are gearing up for the release of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade ruling.

According to new data from the Chicago Police Department, there have been 239 homicides and 971 shootings in the city this year through May.

The proposal crafted by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), chair of the City Council’s Ethics and Government Oversight Committee, and the Chicago Board of Ethics would hike the maximum fine for violating the city’s ethics ordinance from $5,000 to $20,000 as part of an effort to grapple with Chicago’s seemingly intractable legacy of graft and mismanagement.

If Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, states neighboring Illinois are poised to further restrict abortion access. Illinois organizations, both for and against abortion, are bracing for the influx of people who will likely turn to Illinois providers. 

Only six states require someone to be at least 21 years old to buy rifles and shotguns. Advocates argue that such a limit might have prevented the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two teachers dead and the racially motivated supermarket attack in Buffalo, New York, that killed 10.

Paul Vallas’ announcement emphasized his years of public service, which included stints as former Mayor Richard M. Daley’s budget director and schools’ chief. 

A violent Memorial Day weekend and how police are responding. What the high COVID-19 threat level means, and how scientists are tracking the virus. And a high honor for a local theater company.

At the end of last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention elevated the threat level from medium, meaning there's also a high potential for straining the city's health care system.