Stories by Erica Gunderson

Five local Latino-led startups received some welcome news this week. Each of their businesses was awarded $100,000 from Google’s Startups Latino Founders Fund. 

Wicker Park Fest returns to Milwaukee Avenue next weekend, and among the musical attractions is Y La Bamba, a West Coast band led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Luz Elena Mendoza.

Healing in the aftermath of the Highland Park mass shooting. Plus, the demand local food pantries are seeing. The push for transit-accessible housing. And a psychedelic soul band. 

In the basement of a Mississippi courthouse in late June members of the Minnesota-based Emmett Till Legacy Foundation discovered an unserved warrant. Now the foundation, which includes members of Till’s family, is demanding that the warrant be served.

A new ballet production made its debut at the Navy Pier Lake Stage. “Rita Finds Home” is a family-friendly production resulting from a collaboration between the Joffrey and Miami City Ballet telling the story of a young artist who is swept from her tropical island home by a hurricane and must make a new life for herself.

As anyone who’s gone grocery shopping recently knows, food prices are on the rise. In Chicago, 28% of Latino families with kids are facing food insecurity according to a study done in 2020. And, families that rely on schools to provide meals for their children are feeling an extra pinch with kids at home during the summer break.

In Chicago, many of the areas with the most public transportation options are also the most expensive to live in. The proposed Connected Communities Ordinance introduced to City Council aims to make public transit options more accessible to all. 

Local band Late Nite Laundry’s uniquely intimate sound combines dreamy vocals with elements of pop and Latin jazz. At a recording session in Belmont Cragin’s Bim Bom Studios, the foursome explained how for them, delivering that intimate feeling to a live audience starts with taking one deep breath.

The Sones de Mexico Ensemble wants your children to learn all about the richness of Mexico’s musical traditions.Through a partnership, the Grammy-nominated musicians are offering an immersive music and cultural experience for children in their week-long Fiesta Mexicana camp next month.

The policy prohibits officers from pursuing people for only running from police nor can they pursue people for parking and ordinance violations and certain traffic offenses. The finalized version comes a year after officers shot and killed 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez and 13-year-old Adam Toledo in separate shootings that followed foot pursuits.

The Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade raises the question of whether the constitutionality of gay marriage could soon be on the table. Also, activists are mobilizing as about 12 states are proposing legislation affecting LGBTQ Americans. So, what’s next for LGBTQ rights? 

For lovers of a craft brew, Chicago’s beer steins overflow with options, you can belly up to more than 160 craft breweries in the city. But even here, it’s rare to find a microbrew crafted by Latinos. Lucky for Chicagoans, there’s a spot that offers brews with all the flavors of Mexico, created by a pair of hermanos from Hermosa.

Not many muralists can say their work is seen by hundreds of thousands of people every day, but Chicago artist Asend can make that claim. His towering work on the side of Carnivale Restaurant in the West Loop is hard to miss at its site overlooking the Kennedy Expressway.

Preventing health issues in Latino men. A look at upcoming changes for the city's workforce. A taste of Chilean music. And Class of 2022 high school graduates reflect and look ahead.

Former U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez and Senator Dick Durbin announced the formation of a new immigration reform organization called “Our Nation’s Future.” 

This weekend, many Latinos will come together to celebrate the men who hold a cherished place in their families. It may be a good opportunity to give them a nudge to see their doctor. 

Some changes are coming soon for Chicago’s workers. July 1, a scheduled increase to the minimum wage takes effect, as well as enhancements to the Fair Workweek Ordinance.

Composer, singer, accordionist and pianist Pascuala Ilabaca and her band Fauna are playing in Chicago for the first time next week. The band’s music blends traditional instruments and rhythms with lyrics reflecting a feminist perspective.

Like all of the nation’s high school graduates, the Chicago Public Schools class of 2022 has spent more than half of their high school experience navigating the pandemic. But CPS students also had to contend with contention between the Chicago Teachers Union and CPS administration, including two strikes.

The nature conservation group Openlands and search engine Ecosia are hoping to boost the number of trees in underserved areas through their TreePlanters Grant Program. 

The Lucy Gonzalez Parsons apartments opened in May near the Logan Square Blue Line station. The seven-story complex, which features retail space and 100 affordable units. In Pilsen, the Pilsen Housing Cooperative offers a blueprint for community-led affordable housing. 

The Lake Michigan Rescue Equipment Act, signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday, means lifesaving equipment like life rings are mandated at all access points to the lake, as well as warning signs in more dangerous areas. 

Despite the city’s stated plans to do more to protect cyclists, transit advocates say there is a long way to go to make the streets welcoming for bikes.

Festival season is in full swing, and two upcoming fiestas are back in full force next weekend.

The 442-acre Lake Calumet is perhaps the most visible remnant of the rise and fall of industry on Chicago’s Southeast Side. Earlier this year, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning issued its master plan for Lake Calumet, which it says creates a place where industry, nature, and recreation can coexist.

The art of alebrijes started with a dream. In 1936, a feverishly ill Mexico City paper artist, or cartonero, named Pedro Linares said he dreamt of magically mishmashed creatures exclaiming “alebrije!” When he recovered, he began making and selling colorful papier mache versions of the beasts.