“The many challenges of COVID-19, coupled with the inconvenience of life-threatening conditions that cold weather and extreme weather brings every year, that means we’ve got to utilize every tool that we can to protect the health and well-being of our residents,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Monday.

Consumers are expected to spend between $10.2 billion and $11.3 billion on Monday, making it once again the biggest online shopping day of the year, according to Adobe Digital Economy Index.

If 41 alderpeople do not agree on a map, the final decision could be made by voters for the first time in 30 years via a referendum.

Speaking Monday at the White House, Biden said it was inevitable that the new variant would reach the U.S., but he also said the country has the tools necessary to protect Americans — particularly the approved vaccines and booster shots.

What we know so far about the newest COVID-19 variant: omicron. The economy as the holiday shopping season arrives. The city preps for winter. And more attention for cases of missing Black women.

Calls for land-based reparations to Indigenous Americans. The impact of rising costs on food insecurity. The art of birchbark canoe building. A local cartoonist keeps alive a “Mad” magazine tradition.

The op-ed also raises the idea of doing away with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and says tribes would be “freed” of treaties with the federal government – an idea some Native Americans oppose.

Food insecurity continues to be far above pre-pandemic levels. Advocates say supply chain issues and inflation are worsening this problem — higher grocery bills make it even harder for some to afford food.

Local reaction to the verdict in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. COVID cases surge ahead of Thanksgiving. A tuition-free art school. And the Bears prepare for the Lions amid turmoil in the organization.

The increase in cases in Illinois this fall has now surpassed last summer’s delta variant surge. Health officials are urging residents to take extra precautions as they make plans to gather with family members who may or may not be vaccinated. 

Whatever takes place on the field Thursday is dwarfed right now by the confusion surrounding the entire Bears organization. Various reports paint a picture of a head coach about to be out of a job, and questions of whether there is any competence at all in the upper management of the organization.

Effective spring 2022, an art school just south of the city will be the first of its kind—offering tuition-free art classes for emerging and developing artists of all ages. Angel Idowu takes us to a ceramics class at the Hyde Park Art Center to show us how they’re making art more accessible for everyone.

Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico said that he supports Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mitigation efforts but still believes Illinois should follow the other 44 states that do not have a mask mandate.