Each year, 22 million pounds of plastic finds its way into the Great Lakes – the source of potable water for more than 30 million Americans. We take a look at what can be done to limit plastic pollution.

COVID-19 infections are again rising in Chicago following Lollapalooza, which drew hundreds of thousands of people to Grant Park last weekend. But the city’s top doctor says the four-day event is not to blame.

Is a vaccine passport in the works for Chicago? A call for pregnant people to get the vaccine. The lights are flickering on a renewable energy bill. And “Hamilton” is back in Chicago — sort of.

Miguel Cervantes joins us in conversation ahead of a performance this week at The Metropolitan Club and the reopening of “Hamilton” on Broadway next month.

With possibly just a few weeks left before Exelon shutters a nuclear reactor in Byron, feuding and politically powerful interests have failed to reach a deal that would keep the plant open and otherwise move Illinois toward its renewable energy goals.

Many unknowns about COVID-19 remain more than a year into the pandemic, among them the mysterious loss of taste and smell. But new research offers insight into the cause of this common symptom.

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Illinois’ only governor to be impeached and removed from office, was back at the Dirksen federal courthouse on Monday, but this time it was on his own volition — rather than as a defendant in criminal proceedings.

Residents in and around downtown neighborhoods describe a noisy problem that has been festering for a year, and one that seemed to hit a fever pitch during Lollapalooza. But are law enforcement officials listening?

One of the leading doctors for the U.S. Olympic team says star gymnast Simone Biles was right to withdraw from competition after a bout of what gymnasts call the “twisties.” Dr. Mark Hutchinson joins us from Tokyo to share his impressions of the Games so far.

People with HIV can no longer be criminally prosecuted for exposing someone else to the virus without their knowledge. Advocates say the law discouraged testing and treatment for HIV — and the repeal is long overdue.

Amazon Prime members who shop at Whole Foods in select cities, including Chicago, will soon see a new charge on their bills. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.

A new lawsuit from former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Noisy motorcycles reach a fever pitch downtown. A new law protects people with HIV. The mysterious effect of COVID-19 on your sense of taste and smell.

The quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman, Mr. Microphone and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ, has died, his family said.