Every time you poop, you’re helping Chicago health officials track COVID
People shed the virus through their nose and mouth and in their poop! The city is using sewage data to help keep tabs on transmission.
Top Stories
Chicago aldermen make little progress toward compromise on a city ward map
Without a compromise map nailed down, Chicago aldermen have been sitting through a sparsely attended series of public input hearings. But the once-a-decade process appears stalled.
Families are in distress after the first month without the expanded child tax credit
January is the first month since July 2021 that more than 36 million families did not receive money from the expanded child tax credit. For some, the consequences are dire.
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- TRACKING THE VIRUS
COVID-19 in Chicago and Illinois
WBEZ’s news coverage of the coronavirus pandemic focuses on equity, the vaccine rollout in Chicago and the state, and the impact on our daily lives.
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Coronavirus in Illinois: Today’s case count and death toll
See the latest numbers of Illinois COVID-19 cases and deaths.
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A Chicago cop will keep his job after a ‘clearly unreasonable and unnecessary’ shooting
The city’s Police Board rejected a recommendation to fire officer Luigi Sarli despite finding that he wrongly shot at a vehicle.
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A plan to sue gang members could end up costing Chicago taxpayers
The proposal has been beset with criticism, most recently from civil rights attorneys. It gets a City Council hearing Friday.
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Illinois high court hears case over spending campaign money on criminal defense lawyers
Arguments aired Wednesday focused on a $220,000 campaign expenditure by former Ald. Danny Solis, a government mole, for his attorneys.
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Little Calumet River makes the New York Times’ list of ‘Places for a Changed World’
One of the Chicago area’s best-kept secrets has made it out into the world thanks to the New York Times’ list of 52 “Places for a Changed World.”
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Booster longevity: Data reveals how long a third shot protects
Now researchers in the U.K. have the first estimates for how long a third shot of the Pfizer vaccine will last. The findings are mixed.
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Are there fallout shelters left in Chicago?
There are plenty, but let’s just say they’re not ready for a nuclear apocalypse.
The Postal Service is now taking orders for free COVID-19 test kits
The at-home tests are expected to be delivered by USPS later this month. The White House said the site is in “beta testing” and will be launched formally Wednesday.
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Chicago Public Media will acquire the Chicago Sun-Times
The deal was approved by the non-profit board of directors and is expected to close Jan. 31. It will create a new journalistic powerhouse in Chicago and a potential national model.
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Cook County’s top judge nixes Lightfoot’s request for more people to be jailed
Timothy Evans slammed the Chicago mayor’s data and rejected her proposal to halt electronic monitoring for many pretrial defendants.
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Black neighborhoods in Chicago have water debt 10 times higher than white areas
The report found that 20% of customers with delinquent water bills owe more in debt than a year’s worth of water bills.
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Workers are calling out sick in droves, leaving employers scrambling
Employers from Macy’s to United Airlines are having to adjust after skyrocketing omicron COVID cases have led large numbers of workers to call out sick.
