Stories by Abena Bediako

From mass deportation to a pathway to citizenship, immigration has been a defining issue in this year’s presidential campaign. 

We explore Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ immigration plans. And amid some major food recalls, a look at what can be done locally to access healthy foods.

For many, navigating how to lead a healthy life can be challenging. Efforts to encourage local food sourcing are creating broader opportunities to address health equity.

The Chicago Fair Trade Museum opened its first permanent location in Uptown this summer with the aim of educating more people about common exploitative and unsustainable trade practices behind the items we use and consume daily.

Democratic legislators sounded the alarm in a letter Thursday to Mayor Brandon Johnson and urged him to “act swiftly.”

Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, agreed with legal advocates who argued that the state still hasn’t met its decade-old promises to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities live outside large institutions.

Large numbers of birds will be passing overhead overnight Thursday and Friday as fall migration heats up.

Republicans filed more than 100 lawsuits challenging various aspects of vote-casting after being chastised repeatedly by judges in 2020 for bringing complaints about how the election was run only after votes were tallied.

Hunter Biden’s stunning decision to plead guilty to misdemeanor and felony charges without the benefits of a deal with prosecutors came hours after jury selection was supposed to begin in the case accusing him of failing to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes.

Everyone in Chicago knows the work of architect Benjamin Marshall, even if his name doesn’t carry the weight of Louis Sullivan or Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s hard to imagine the city without Marshall’s enduring contributions — the South Shore Cultural Center, the Drake Hotel and many other historic buildings.

Though murders were down 12% from August 2023, the number of shootings and shooting victims was slightly higher, according to Chicago Police Department data.

The impact of Stateville’s closure on workers and those incarcerated. How some men in prison are hoping to change the way they can be released. And highlighting the history of Negro League baseball.

Parole Illinois was formed by men who are incarcerated in Illinois prisons. They’re working to reinstate the parole system after it was abolished in the state in 1978.

Both the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and the state’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability released new reports Wednesday.

Advocates are raising concerns about the location of these facilities and the impact they will have on both those behind the prison’s walls and its employees. 

The 12-foot-tall statues — “Maurie” and “Flaurie” — were removed Wednesday, but fear not, it’s just for a little buffing and polishing.

For as long as Taylor Townsend has had a racket in her hand, Donald Young and his family have been in her life. That's why it's so meaningful that she might help the 35-year-old Young end his career on Thursday as a Grand Slam champion by winning the U.S. Open mixed doubles final, his last match before retiring from tennis.

Jim Dreyer, 61, has tried four times since 2023 to swim across Lake Michigan, including an effort just a few weeks ago, but has been unsuccessful due to lake conditions or other factors.

In 2022, most of the world’s nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastics pollution, including in the oceans. Final treaty negotiations take place in South Korea in November.

A 30-year-old Chicago man has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder following a fatal Labor Day shooting on a CTA Blue Line train in suburban Forest Park. At a bond hearing Wednesday, Rhanni Davis was ordered detained pending trial.

The Bears head coach Matt Eberflus does own an apiary on his Lake Bluff property but leaves the beekeeping to others.

Days before a fatal shooting on the CTA Blue Line, a judge rules concealed carry guns should be allowed on public transit. And hopes are high as the Bears kick off their season this weekend.

For football fans, the wait is nearly over. The NFL regular season is set to kick off this week. And after a disappointing last few seasons — arguably decades — there’s excitement brewing once again at Soldier Field.

“The Chicago Police Department is transforming,” said Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, who was present during a majority of the protests and wore a body camera. “This is a transformation.”

The U.S. Department of Education reviewed 139 incidents of discrimination reported to the university from 2015 to 2023.

In a decision released Friday, Judge Iain D. Johnston said under current U.S. Supreme Court standards, the law violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.