Stories by Eunice Alpasan

The belugas are the latest to be rescued from Marineland, a shuttered theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, which closed to the public in 2024. Last month, a first group of four beluga whales arrived at Shedd Aquarium.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said that it does not recommend adjustments to the childhood immunization schedule based on the recent federal executive order and that the department continues to endorse the immunization schedule put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Chicago Humanities announced its full fall festival schedule, featuring standalone programs and festival days in select neighborhoods, the festival announced Tuesday. The festival runs from September through November.

John Ballantine served as a trustee at Window to the World Communications, the parent organization of WTTW and WFMT, for 34 years and served as a vice chair during his tenure.

The upgraded station is part of a broader CTA initiative to make all rail stations fully accessible by 2038. Upgrades to the Austin Green Line station include a new elevator and escalator, reconstructed stairs, a new ramp, an extended platform and a monitor that displays real-time elevator status information.

Head Start began in the 1960s as part of former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. The federal early childcare and education program aims to support the poorest and most vulnerable children — including those who are homeless, in foster care or have disabilities.

A singer and longtime patron of Chicago’s jazz music scene, Geraldine de Haas helped start what would later be known as the Chicago Jazz Festival. She died last week at 91, her family announced.

In Illinois, there have been no deaths related to the cyclospora outbreak, the Illinois Department of Public Health reported Tuesday.

The Printers Row Lit Fest will be held Sept. 12-13. The free event brings together more than 200 nationally and locally acclaimed authors, journalists, poets, screenwriters, booksellers and storytellers.

The $70 million program can support up to 175,000 Illinoisans who lost or received reduced SNAP benefits due to changes in eligibility. No paperwork or application is required; the one-time benefits are issued automatically.

Emmett Till was a Black teenager from Chicago who was abducted, tortured and killed in 1955 after he was accused of whistling at a White woman in Mississippi. Till was 14 years old. Following Till’s murder, his mother insisted on an open casket funeral to show his mutilated body.

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office will provide blue envelopes free of charge at DMV facilities and participating law enforcement agencies across the state, according to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. The statewide blue envelope program officially launches January 1, 2027.

State and local health officials have still not identified a cause or source behind the higher number of cyclosporiasis cases the state and the city is seeing compared to previous years. The disease, which can cause frequent and watery diarrhea, is spread by consuming contaminated food or water.

Mobile vaccination clinics will be held at community events and back-to-school fairs throughout suburban Cook County through mid-October. Vaccines for those ages 6 months to 18 years old will be provided at no cost, regardless of immigration or insurance status.

An outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasitic infection has hit more than half of U.S. states, including in Illinois, which has 194 confirmed and probable cases as of Monday.

Advocates gathered in the Back of the Yards to sound the alarm over an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity on the Southwest Side, including in the nearby neighborhoods of Gage Park and Brighton Park.

The memorial aims to honor the more than 125 Black men, women and children who were tortured by disgraced former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, and the officers under his command, on Chicago’s South Side from the 1970s to 1990s.

Johnson Products Company became the first Black-owned business listed on the American Stock Exchange in 1971 and was a national sponsor of the hit television show “Soul Train.”

Nee began her career as a nurse, and later became an interventional cardiologist, treating complex and high-risk heart conditions, according to a biography. While working at Hines VA Hospital, Nee spoke out about failures in patient care that put veterans at risk.

O’Hare’s busiest day of the six-day holiday travel period is expected to be Sunday, when more than 300,000 passengers are expected to pass through the airport.

Pavement failures, buckling and blowouts can occur with little warning during periods of prolonged heat and humidity, resulting in uneven driving surfaces, according to IDOT.

A divided Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship in a 6-3 ruling Tuesday, striking down President Donald Trump’s executive order that claimed children born in the U.S. to people who are in the country illegally or temporarily are not U.S. citizens.

“We encourage you to review your paycheck to ensure you’re being paid the appropriate wage,” Cook County Department of Human Rights and Ethics Executive Director Jennifer King said.

Dangerous heat and humidity are expected this week, particularly Monday through Wednesday with high temperatures in the mid-90s and heat index values – what temperatures will feel like when also factoring in humidity — reaching above 105 degrees.

The executive order that first establishes an Office of Gun Violence Reduction comes in the aftermath of weekend violence that led advocates to renew calls for the city to establish a Department of Gun Violence Reduction.

The announcement comes just months after Mayor Brandon Johnon moved to oust Brewer when he served as chair of the Chicago Housing Authority.