Stories by Erica Gunderson

In honor of National Coming Out Day, we speak with a group that’s making sure young LGBTQ Latinos have role models in their communities.

About 10%-15% of Chicago voters cast their ballots for the GOP. Republicans are even harder to find in the Black community, but they do exist — and they say they’d like to see more Black support for President Donald Trump.

Amid the chaos of Tuesday’s debate, the presidential candidates discussed COVID-19, health care, the economy and white supremacy, but neither spoke directly about how these issues affect the Latino community.

Setting Chicagoans up for a safe and secure election is a tall order in a year beset by a pandemic, post office woes and concerns about voter intimidation. 

Educator Ray Salazar has the last word on the unprecedented challenges facing Chicago teachers and students during the coronavirus pandemic.

Rendel Solomon tells us about his nonprofit initiative One Stock One Future, which aims to turn one million youth into public company shareholders via workshops and donated funds. 

A task force released recommendations this week to help Chicago increase its affordable housing stock. We ask two housing activists to share their thoughts on that guidance.

Since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, the U.S. territory has suffered greatly. Hundreds of Puerto Ricans who made the wrenching decision to move to Chicago after the hurricane have also struggled to recover.

Chicago Public Schools students talk about their first week of virtual classes. We explore the history of police in schools, and the local connections of the NFL’s first Black team president.

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.

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? 

This weekend, we’re premiering two new shows focused on amplifying the voices of Chicago’s Black and Latino communities. We talk with the hosts of our new shows “Black Voices” and “Latino Voices.”

According to census data, women in the workplace, especially Black women, make far less than white men on average. Cherita Ellens, president and CEO of Women Employed, talks about how to close the pay gap.

Geoffrey Baer shares the history of Chicago’s original tiny houses – coach houses – in this installment of Ask Geoffrey. 

Is it time to abolish, or radically alter the way history is taught in Illinois schools? A debate over how the subject is taught.

Their size and reach allow them to get assistance quickly and efficiently to people in need, but nonprofits with more than 500 employees cannot apply for forgivable loans under the CARES Act.

Chicago artist Matt Bergstrom wants kids across the city to get to know the homes that make up their neighborhood blocks by building them with their own hands, one free printable model at a time. 

Nearly 400 people in 34 states, including 10 in Illinois, have become ill with a strain of the bacterial disease linked to red onions from a major California producer, according to a food safety alert from the CDC.

Ready to hit the open road? You might want to rethink those travel plans. Even a simple day trip to Wisconsin could cost you two weeks at home — or a possible fine.

For about 70 years, Chicago boys who were chronic school-skippers were sent to a residential facility in a bucolic setting that was once WTTW’s neighbor. Our own history teacher Geoffrey Baer explains.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the temporary removal of two Christopher Columbus statues in Chicago last week following protests that turned violent. Now, activists are hoping to make their removal permanent — but the debate isn’t over.

In any other year, a parking spot near Wrigley Field on a game day would be a mirage or a miracle. But on the third day of the 2020 baseball season, parking spots were easy to find, and the cheek-to-jowl lines were nonexistent.

For cyclists, there’s never a good time for a slipped chain or flat tire, but there might be a good neighborhood for running into those hiccups: Portage Park. Here’s why.