Investigations

A well-intentioned mailer designed to remind Illinois voters of their right to apply for mail-in ballots has added fuel to the fire of an already fragile mail-in effort. Letters went out last week from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White’s office to some 5.4 million voters. “Your local election authority had indicated that you have ...

More details are emerging after a student at Western Illinois University allegedly shot his roommate. NBC 5 Investigates’ Phil Rogers has more.

With increasing evidence of raucous behavior and skyrocketing positivity rates on America’s college campuses, there is growing concern over the spillover effect in local campus communities. After all, college towns are just that, host communities that are home to thousands of students, faculty and staff. And many businesses earn their livelih...

NBC 5 Investigates is tracking cases at more than 100 colleges and universities – more than 50 in Illinois and the greater Chicago area, as well as more than 50 schools most attended by Illinois students.

College students who test positive for the coronavirus should quarantine on campus and not be sent to their hometowns, according to one of the country’s leading infectious disease experts. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC’s “TODAY” that colleges should keep the students i...

Sheila Lockwood says she never intended to be an activist. But the suburban Chicago mother was thrust into that role when her son Austin was killed in a drunk driving accident in Wisconsin two years ago. “Your life is turned upside down after a crash like this,” she said. “And the person who murdered your loved one just goes on…

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story did not denote that the coronavirus positivity rates and percentages reflect the zip codes and communities surrounding a college campus, and not the campus itself. This updated version of the story makes that clear. Colleges and universities in the Chicago area continue to scrap and rewrite thei...

On Monday, all of America reeled at the sight of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile being pillaged by roaming bands of thieves, who seemed to move with abandon through the city’s downtown. Just one week prior, news networks spread similar images of a shootout in front of high-end boutiques on Oak Street. To downtown residents like Gary Hebding,...

Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been crystal clear about trying to keep coronavirus rates down in the city. In fact, Chicago is currently imposing travel restrictions on anyone who comes in to the city from 22 other states – plus Puerto Rico. The mayor’s standard is that a state can’t have more than 15 cases per 100,000 people, over the…...

A recent study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association concluded colleges would need to test students for coronavirus every two days in order to reopen safely. But with the costs and number of tests needed for that level of broad, repeated testing, scientists are looking into a cheaper alternative: pool testing. Instead of test...

The U. S. House of Representatives has passed a series of bills to help service members who say they suffered lasting lung injuries after being exposed to burning pits of garbage, metal and ammunition while stationed at military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rep. Raul Ruiz, a Democrat serving California’s 36th District, said the help is “long over...

NBC 5 Investigates has found that coronavirus cases are currently rising — or have recently peaked at their highest rates — in the counties of more than 350 four-year colleges and universities most-attended by Illinois freshmen. Use this chart to find yours.

The 25-year-old man suspected in a violent shootout with Chicago Police Thursday behind the 25th District headquarters was released in April after serving time on a gun offense. But corrections officials say the suspect, Lovelle Jordan, did not leave prison early and received no preferential treatment due to overcrowding concerns during the current...