Monica Eng

The pandemic and protests have altered life for many in Chicago's downtown. Some are leaving protest-targeted areas, while others are embracing the change and even finding ways to address inequality.

While most restaurants were hurt by the pandemic, certain types are going strong. It's not just drive-through fast food joints, but longtime stalwarts serving comfort foods people are craving.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise across the country, and that's prompting city leaders in some of the hardest hit places — Seattle, Chicago and Atlanta — to consider closing down again.

With limits on social gatherings, Americans have to mourn their dead through online memorials and virtual funerals.

The nation's trivia geeks will descend on Chicago this weekend to compete in the "Oscars of trivia." Teams are now gearing up for the big game called The Geek Bowl.

Some cash-strapped Midwest cities are removing aging lead water pipes. Chicago, which has the largest inventory of lead pipes, hasn't tackled the problem. What can it learn from the cities that have?

Chicago's fire department gets 20 times more medical calls than fire calls, but it has twice as many firetrucks as ambulances. Other cities also face this disparity and there are calls for change.

Aspiring doctors at the University of Chicago are learning how to teach patients about healthy eating. Nutrition advocates say this kind of training is critical to fighting obesity and diabetes.

Flamin' Hot Cheetos might conjure a lot of descriptors: spicy, crunchy, unnaturally fiery red. But it's a good bet that "healthy" didn't exactly spring to mind.

Yet it turns out that those fiery Cheetos beloved by school children (some kids even made an epic rap paean to Hot Cheetos ...

The Scene: ChicagoFrom WBEZ — Monica Eng is also co-host of the food podcast Chewing the Fat. Millions of Americans will sit down to Thanksgiving dinners of unevenly cooked turkey ...