Officials are opening mass vaccination sites hoping they’ll correct disparities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Lower COVID-19 infections prompt Mayor Lori Lightfoot to relax restrictions on restaurants. And a return to in-person learning for Chicago high schoolers is floated. 

The fight is on to replace Michael Madigan as Democratic Party chair, while his legislative successor steps down after three days on the job. And Chicago City Council erupts over COVID-19 spending. 

A political era ends. A report slams the police response to summer unrest. Gov. Pritzker’s budget has no income tax hike but some pain for business. Vaccination rates lag in Black and Brown communities.

Impeachment managers and Donald Trump’s defense wrap up the former president’s second impeachment trial. U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth continue to push President Joe Biden to keep Chicago’s top federal prosecutor. Gov. J.B. Pritzker says no new taxes in his new budget. 

After heated negotiations this week, there’s still no deal between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union. Meanwhile, Chicagoans scramble for COVID-19 vaccinations as complaints mount against the sign-up process.

Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union are still negotiating a return to in-person learning. The coronavirus keeps indoor dining to a minimum in Chicago, and pushback over backroom political deals.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are sworn in at a heavily fortified inauguration. Biden starts his term with executive orders on COVID-19 and immigration. Partial indoor dining is set to resume in Chicago.

President Trump is impeached a second time. A monumental shift in Springfield as state Rep. Michael Madigan relinquishes the speaker’s gavel. The battle over in-person learning continues between Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union.

Calls are rising for President Trump’s removal after he incited his own supporters who stormed and looted the Capitol. Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union battle over plans to resume in-person learning Monday. And state lawmakers return to Springfield.

COVID-19, civil unrest, a chaotic election, spiking homicides and the walls close in on House Speaker Madigan. Looking back at a year nobody will ever forget, and what lies ahead in 2021.

The first round of health care workers in Illinois receive COVID-19 vaccines. Mayor Lightfoot slammed over a shocking police video of a wrongful raid. And the Chicago Teachers Union loses its challenge to prevent in-person learning.

The White House pressures the FDA to grant emergency authorization for Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, as the virus kills more than 14,000 people in Illinois. 

Coronavirus cases surge after Thanksgiving as a record number of deaths are reported this week. With approval of a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon, the first Illinois residents are expected to be vaccinated later this month.

After an unprecedented year, we take a hard look at the pandemic-ravaged economy, as businesses gear up for the all-important holiday retail season. 

More Democrats announce they won’t support Speaker Michael Madigan, who vows to run again. As the coronavirus surges, officials urge residents to stay home while CPS announces reopening plans.