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Nowhere in northern Illinois has a lower COVID-19 vaccination rate than Kankakee County, where not even four of every 10 people have gotten vaccinated.
Will and Kankakee counties became the latest part of the state to allow for indoor service at restaurants and bars, after the state loosened COVID-19 restrictions on Thursday.
Indoor dining may be back in some Chicago suburbs as Will and Kankakee counties are expected to move to Tier 1.
Friday was the first day of no indoor dining in the Chicago suburbs as COVID-19 restrictions are rolled back out, and some businesses are defying the governor's orders.
Now, tables are socially distanced. Masks are over familiar faces that finally returned. People are now spending money amid dropping sales. Many just took their business across the county border.
Bars and restaurants in Will and Kankakee counties will be able to resume serving customers indoors at 5 p.m. on Friday, as Gov. JB Pritzker lifts tougher COVID-19 mitigations that were imposed on that region of Illinois last month, due to rising virus cases.
"I'm hopeful that Region 7 might become a testament to the community's ability to turn the ship around in the right direction," Pritzker said.
Starting Wednesday, all customers at restaurants and bars in Illinois must wear a mask covering their mouth and nose whenever they are interacting with waitstaff and other employees; including when placing orders, when food or drinks are brought to their table, or when picking up a carryout order.
Meetings along with social gatherings must be limited to 25 people or 25% capacity.
A gold coin worth over $1,000 was dropped into one of The Salvation Army red kettles in Kankakee County.
Police in Kankakee County didn't have to stage a raid to find one wanted fugitive – it just so happens that all it took for him to surrender was a PhotoShop request.
The posts, which have since been removed from Twitter and Facebook, featured a picture of the "Make America Great Again" slogan imposed onto a red Ku Klux Klan mask, along with the words "What's the difference between a Klan hood and a MAGA hat? The Klan hood was made in America."
Mussman's Back Acres egg farm, located in Kankakee County, reported a chicken coop fire around 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Mussman's is a wholesale egg distribution facility.
The sudden disappearance of retired high school teacher Daniel Jarski last weekend has sparked massive search efforts.
Jeremy Boshears, 32, has been charged with a felony count of concealing a homicidal death in the shooting death of 24-year-old Kaitlyn Kearns.
Kaitlyn Kearns, of Mokena, was reported missing Tuesday. She was last seen alive leaving her job tending bar in Joliet early Monday.
Kankakee sculptor George Grey Barnard had formed the 10-pound plaster hand from a picture of Lincoln before crafting a statue.
Four men are dead at two different crime scenes. But police now think they're related.
Detectives in Kankakee County were investigating four homicides over the weekend in rural Pembroke Township, including a triple homicide Sunday afternoon.
On April 1, Kamron Taylor escaped from the Jerome Combs Detention Center after attacking a guard who was making rounds.
The Kankakee County State's Attorney's office was reviewing mountains of evidence, as authorities try to piece together exactly how a convicted killer escaped the county jail, and made it to Chicago before he was captured.
Authorities have increased the reward for information leading to the arrest of a convicted killer who escaped from a Kankakee jail earlier this week.
A massive manhunt continued early Thursday in central Illinois, a day after a 23-year-old convicted killer escaped from a Kankakee County jail by overpowering a guard and donning his uniform.
A manhunt was underway in Kankakee County on Wednesday, after a convicted killer escaped from the county jail.
Illinois and Chicago communities are reacting after the United States and Israel announced a major military operation against Iran early Saturday.
A teen was shot during a robbery on Chicago's West Side early Saturday morning.
Rev. Jesse Jackson's casket will head to South Carolina on Saturday and then Washington D.C. for more memorial services.
A man was killed in a drive-by shooting in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said the operation would be "violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful."
Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said the operation would be "violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful."
President Trump says his objective in attacking Iran "is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from the regime in Tehran. Read his full statement and watch the video here.
The U.S. and Israel are attacking Iran, which is responding with attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as President Trump confirms "major combat operations."
A federal judge on Friday ordered the release of dozens of people detained by federal immigration enforcement agents without warrants or probable cause amid 'Operation Midway Blitz' last fall.
A judge has sentenced a Wisconsin man who forged threats against President Donald Trump as part of a deportation scheme to 16½ years in prison.
Palatine, Illinois-based Weber has issued a recall of more than 3.2 million metal wire bristle grill brushes because you could ingest the bristles.
This is after Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed an ordinance that would have banned most hemp-derived products this weekend.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
Not one, but two hotels are now planned or proposed for Chicago's Northalsted LGBTQ+ nightlife district.
After the Double Door closed in Wicker Park, there was reassurance that the Double Door would return, at a new location in the city's Uptown neighborhood. Now that is not happening anymore.
Barnes & Noble was set to reopen in Skokie on Wednesday, just weeks after it closed.
Trader Joe's is opening a new location in Chicago's Logan Square neighborhood.
The district laid out a $630 million plan to remake Soldier Field into a major concert venue and events space.
Singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka, known for his hits like "Laughter in the Rain," "Breaking Up is Hard to Do" and "Calendar Girl," has died.
A 19th-century George Méliès film, thought to be long lost, has been found among a box of brittle movie reels that a Michigan donor brought to the Library of Congress, officials said.
Streaming giant Netflix declined to match Paramount Skydance's $31 per share offer for Warner Bros. Discovery.
After the Double Door closed in Wicker Park, there was reassurance that the Double Door would return, at a new location in the city's Uptown neighborhood. Now that is not happening anymore.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2026 list of nominees, including Phil Collins, Mariah Carey, Wu-Tang Clan and more.
World leaders are reacting to the strike on Iran carried out by the U.S. and Israel.
University of Chicago professor of political science Paul Poast joins CBS News Chicago.
Zuni is looking for a forever home and would thrive in a house with another dog.
Snow is on the way for areas near Chicago as a temperatures drop takes effect.
Chicago police are investigating a deadly shooting in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood.
Illinois and Chicago communities are reacting after the United States and Israel announced a major military operation against Iran early Saturday.
The U.S. and Israel are attacking Iran, which is responding with attacks on U.S. bases in the region, as President Trump confirms "major combat operations."
President Trump says his objective in attacking Iran "is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats" from the regime in Tehran. Read his full statement and watch the video here.
Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham said the operation would be "violent, extensive and I believe, at the end of the day, successful."
Rev. Jesse Jackson's casket will head to South Carolina on Saturday and then Washington D.C. for more memorial services.
If you feel like you're drowning in a sea of text alerts and desperate email pleas for "just $5" this election season, you are far from alone.
A north suburban school bus driver became a victim of sophisticated scammers who are targeting more people and more vulnerable populations to make more money.
Both couples are still actively fighting for their kids, knowing it will be a long and complicated road.
The mother of an 8-year-old boy who was allegedly put in a chokehold and dragged by the neck by a Chicago Public Schools employee hopes her lawsuit and choice to speak out will help protect students in the future.
A jury on Wednesday awarded $5.74 million in damages to a Chicago family who accused police of violating their civil rights in a botched raid of their home in 2018.
Morez Johnson Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds against his former team as No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 10 Illinois 84-70 and clinched Big Ten regular-season title.
It's already been a historic season for the University of Chicago men's basketball team, and they still have one big goal out in front of them.
Ryan O'Reilly scored with 3:16 remaining and the Nashville Predators scored three times in the third period in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the teams' first game following the Olympic break.
Jerami Grant scored 27 points and the Portland Trail Blazers held on for a 121-112 victory over Chicago that sent the Bulls to their 11th straight loss.
Nearly five years after the Bears first announced their bid to buy the former Arlington International Racecourse with the aim of turning the site into a new stadium, the Illinois General Assembly will begin considering a bill to push the plan ahead.
A judge has sentenced a Wisconsin man who forged threats against President Donald Trump as part of a deportation scheme to 16½ years in prison.
A man has been charged with shooting and killing a father and son following a jewelry store robbery last November in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.
Two men are charged with filing a false police report, claiming they were robbed of millions of dollars worth of jewelry.
Chicago police issued an alert Thursday about a rash of criminal sexual assaults that have happened on one block on Chicago's West Side, committed by a man who lures his victims by setting up dates through an escort app.
Chicago police issued a community alert Thursday about a string of smash-and-grab burglaries targeting businesses on the city's North and Northwest sides.
