Stories by Acacia Hernandez

The Obama Presidential Center has been the source of excitement and anxiety for residents in the South Side Woodlawn community, who are eager to benefit from the major development but are concerned about being priced out. The’re also raising concerns about the difficulty of getting around the massive construction site. 

Fourteen people, ten of whom from the same family, were shot in East Garfield Park on Oct. 31. The victims had been holding a vigil for a relative who’d recently passed away when a car drove by and opened fire. We visit the community dealing with the aftermath. 

A building explosion on Sept. 20 left one person dead and several injured in the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side. With help from neighbors, residents are slowly starting to rebuild. 

A new high school is slated to be built at 24th and State streets, with the recent blessing of the Chicago Board of Education. It was a tight 4-3 vote, an indication of how controversial the plan is considering that residents of Chinatown, the South Loop and surrounding communities have been asking for a new school for decades.

Since she took office in 2019, Loevy & Loevy has filed 104 lawsuits against the administration for denying access to documents requested through Freedom of Information Act filings, according to Matt Topic, an attorney at the firm. 

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month — a time professionals and community voices raise awareness of this stigmatized, and often taboo, topic. A new film explores powerful stories of those impacted by suicide and takes viewers to the front lines of research with scientists whose work is leading to better prevention and treatment. 

The neighborhood is an industrial corridor. It has a long history that dates back decades with the arrival of steel mills that drove hundreds of immigrants to move to the area to work and build. We started by talking to a long-time resident who tells us more about the economic impact of the steel mills' shutdown.

Chicago’s North Center neighborhood is a community where many city dwellers raise a family with lots of schools, parks, and public space. Many residents and community leaders have worked for years to create a community feel and, to address infrastructure needs to improve transportation safety.

Chicago is waiting to see whether Democrats will choose it above Atlanta, Houston and New York as the host city for the party's 2024 convention. But Republicans have already made their selection: Milwaukee.

The Southeast Side community is home to about 9,500 people, according to U.S. census data. Local hotspots include a nostalgic roller rink and a series of murals by local artists.

More and more communities are turning to private security to help combat higher crime. In the Morgan Park community on the city's far south side, a new pilot program employs private security guards to watch over local businesses. Morgan Park is located just south of Beverly and just north of suburbs like Blue Island on the southern edge of the city.