Stories by Erica Gunderson

How did the first week of virtual school go at Chicago Public Schools? We speak with a panel of CPS students about their experiences.

From the football field to the front office: We speak with Jason Wright, the NFL’s first Black team president.

More than 1,400 new cases of the coronavirus and 14 deaths were reported Sunday by state health officials, bringing statewide totals to 261,371 cases and 8,309 deaths since the first infection was reported in Illinois in late January.

Jarrett Adams is a criminal defense lawyer who has dedicated his career to bringing justice to those who are underserved. But his first experience with the law came with trying to prove his own innocence.

A 24-year-old letter carrier was “shot multiple times while working” Thursday on the South Side around noon, the Chicago Police Department said in an incident release.

A new school year begins. Is CPS making the grade? Presidential candidates vie for Latino votes. A photography exhibit in the Loop is closing soon — we visit “Temporal: Puerto Rican Resistance.” Watch the full show.

After a long holiday weekend, Chicago Public Schools students logged in Tuesday for their first week of remote learning to open the 2020 school year amid the pandemic. The pluses and minuses of week one.

A record 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2020, making Latinos the largest ethnic or racial group this election. Have the candidates done all they can to garner support from Latino voters? 

Hundreds of nurses at the University of Illinois Hospital took to the picket line Saturday for a weeklong strike amid contract negotiations between their union, the Illinois Nurses Association, and the hospital system.

In times of crisis, effective leaders strike a balance between inspirational rhetoric and leveling with the public about the tough times ahead. Facing the coronavirus, President Donald Trump chose a different path.

Illinois Republicans probe Michael Madigan. U.S. Attorney General Barr touts a drop in Chicago crime. Recordings reveal President Trump knew about COVID-19 dangers while publicly saying the opposite.

Eric Trump, the president’s son, twice texted Mayor Lori Lightfoot to thank her for taking steps to protect Trump Tower in downtown Chicago after violent protests.

Two former Illinois child welfare workers who investigated abuse allegations involving AJ Freund face child endangerment charges accusing them of failing to protect him from harm, according to an indictment filed Friday.

“If you’re talking about getting back to a degree of normality which resembles where we were prior to Covid, it’s going to be well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said Friday.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases remained steady in the two regions of the state where officials have increased restrictions after a surge in infections. The statewide positivity rate is 3.9%, officials said Friday.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is proposing the creation of a modern-day Civilian Conservation Corps as a way to put Americans to work while also directing resources toward the nation’s long neglected conservation projects.

Chicago Public Schools said 84.2% of its students attended remote learning classes Tuesday, the first day of the new year. That figure is down about 10% over each of the past four school years.

“We need help,” CPD Area One Commander Jarrod Smith said Friday. “So whatever you can do … if you have information, give us a call. There’s no such thing as too much information in a criminal investigation.”

A majority of Americans ages 18 through 34 say they've sometimes felt isolated in the past month, compared with about 4 in 10 older Americans, according to a new COVID Response Tracking Study conducted at the University of Chicago.

In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged.

The west suburban community is full of history, with monuments to WWI and WWII veterans, and home to a legendary musician. It has struggled with higher rates of poverty and lack of access to health care, making it particularly susceptible to COVID-19.

Will new EPA regulations allow a Wisconsin power plant to dump more toxic metals into Lake Michigan? Chicago Tribune reporter Michael Hawthorne explains.

Alleys serve many purposes, but they’re not typically used as the backdrop for public art. Enter Teresa Parod, who is using house paint to elevate the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Six state representatives – three Democrats and three Republicans – got to work Thursday tackling whether Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan engaged in conduct “unbecoming” of a legislator. 

The mostly party-line vote capped weeks of wrangling that gave way to election-season political combat and name-calling over a fifth relief bill that all sides say they want but are unable to deliver. 

Two famous Germans take up permanent residence in Chicago, only to witness the evolution of a West Side neighborhood. Geoffrey Baer goes long on two enduring Humboldt Park statues.