Over the past year, news coverage about traumatic topics like the pandemic and fatal police shootings have caused many to feel burnt out. Is there a balance between staying informed and not feeling overwhelmed by distressing stories?

The clock is nearing midnight for the Chicago Tribune and efforts to prevent a takeover from controversial hedge fund Alden Global Capital. WTTW News has learned there are still active talks behind the scenes to come up with a bid that could derail Alden’s plan.

Chicago has more lead service pipes than any other U.S. city. Last year the city announced a plan to slowly replace those lines, an effort which has yet to get underway. Now, state lawmakers want to tackle the toxic problem—and they want Congress to foot the bill.

More and more colleges and universities are making vaccination for COVID-19 a requirement in the fall. Other businesses are more circumspect. But during a global pandemic, should vaccines be mandatory? And what are your rights if you refuse a vaccine?

Can your employer or school mandate you get the COVID-19 vaccine? State lawmakers battle over the budget. Replacing Illinois’ lead service lines. And millions of dollars for public art.

After a year that has laid bare persistent inequities in everything from health care outcomes to criminal justice, leaders of philanthropic organizations are reassessing how, and to whom, they are lending their support.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan held a tight grip on the gavel for 36 years – a term only interrupted by a two-year blip in the ‘90s. His successor, Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, is making headway on fulfilling a promise that would prevent anyone else from a similar reign.

The U.S. poverty rate last month reached its highest point during the pandemic at 11.7%, according to researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Notre Dame. We discuss the issue as part of WTTW’s Firsthand initiative exploring poverty.

COVID-19 has put some people on disability benefits, but others say the system isn't built for people with the virus. We discuss the obstacles people with long COVID-19 symptoms are facing.

Chicago’s top doctor talks about the resumption of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the latest updates on the Loretto Hospital scandal, declining infection rates in Chicago and more.

Crop prices are expected to surge and spill over onto grocery shelves. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

One-on-one with the new speaker of the Illinois House. When Chicago may reach herd immunity. Can COVID-19 long-haulers qualify for disability benefits? How the pandemic has impacted poverty.

On Chicago’s South Side, there’s a bridge spanning the Dan Ryan expressway that looks more like a Disney World monorail than part of a working CTA train line.

The murders of Emmett Till and George Floyd were separated by more than six decades, contrasting circumstances and countless protests, but their families say they feel an intimate connection in their grief and what comes next.

A permanent casino could open as soon as 2025 in Chicago, although slot machines could start ringing at O’Hare and Midway airports much sooner — with tentative plans for a temporary gaming palace also in play.