We dig into the city budget with analysts. Our Spotlight Politics team on that and redrawing the city ward maps. Why pediatric hospital visits are up. And the Chicago Sky are headed to the playoffs.

Hospitals in parts of the state are facing a critical shortage of available beds in their intensive care units. The highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19, combined with low vaccination rates, has created an overwhelming situation for medical providers for the last month.

Two harbingers of autumn — the harvest moon and fall equinox — are occurring within days of each other this week, which will make for some interesting sunsets and moon rises. And keep an eye out for “Chicagohenge.”

Options narrowed Tuesday for thousands of Haitian migrants straddling the Mexico-Texas border as the United States government ramped up expulsion flights to Haiti, and Mexico began flying and busing some away from the border.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, several economists are warning consumers about higher prices and delays for shipments due to a shortage in everything from microchips to coffee to the supply containers for transporting goods.

The House voted late Tuesday to keep the government funded, suspend the federal debt limit and provide disaster and refugee aid, setting up a high-stakes showdown with Republicans who oppose the package despite the risk of triggering a fiscal crisis.

State education officials say students who don’t have medical exemptions must be taught in school this year. But in Chicago, there’s still a standoff between the mayor’s office and the teachers union over what in-person learning should look like during a pandemic.

Thousands of Haitians are being removed from Texas — we have local reaction. How many Chicago police officers are vaccinated? A shortage of ICU beds downstate. A harvest moon and the fall equinox.

Heading out to a bar, restaurant or theater in Chicago? You may be asked to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19. Proof is not required — and a coalition of restaurateurs say it shouldn’t ever be. But a group of City Council members have a different view.

As Chicago emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told WTTW News on Monday that city officials must be “bold and transformative” to address not only the immediate damage caused by the pandemic but also the city’s longstanding woes. 

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to close a projected $733 million budget gap in 2022 relies on $385 million in federal relief funds and nearly $299 million in savings and efficiencies, but the plan contains “no new tax or significant fee increases” for Chicago residents, she said.

Geico customers in Illinois will be paying more for car insurance. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Danny Ecker has details on that story and more.

The United States and Mexico restarted high-level economic talks Sept. 9 after a four-year pause as top advisers to presidents Joe Biden and Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed eagerness to make headway on issues important to both nations such as infrastructure, trade and migration.