Stories by Eunice Alpasan

The donation will help expand the work of UChicago’s Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, which launched last year. The forum aims to promote the understanding, practice and advancement of open dialogue at the school and beyond.

The number of women in construction industry apprenticeship programs has remained mostly steady in the state, going from 3% to 5% since 2009, according to Illinois Department of Labor data. While there has been some progress in more women going into the trades, there’s more work to be done to help women stay in the trades, according to leaders in the industry.

The 60th annual Chicago International Film Festival runs Oct. 16-27. Screenings and programs are set to take place at the festival’s hub theater in AMC NEWCITY 14 in addition to the Music Box Theatre, the Gene Siskel Film Center and more.

The Smithsonian is hosting the event series in collaboration with Chicago’s Center for Native Futures, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the National Public Housing Museum and the South Side Community Art Center. Events are set to take place Sept. 20-28. All events are free and open to the public.

Chicago architect John Ronan, who leads the local design firm John Ronan Architects, was chosen earlier this year to design the memorial in Washington, D.C.

Elected officials, community members and partners gathered Monday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony for Sankofa Wellness Center, at the corner of West Madison Street and South Kildare Avenue.

The nonprofit Remember Him Remember Her has partnered with Nave Wellness Center to provide free monthly grief support groups to people navigating parental loss.

Chance the Rapper’s charity SocialWorks, founded in 2016, aims to empower youth through the arts, education and civic engagement.

The Little Village Arch was built in 1990 by Mexican American Vietnam War veterans Ronald Baltierra and David Ramirez and was designed by Mexican architect Adrián Lozan. The Chicago Department of Transportation undertook a $1.25 million project to restore the archway following its designation as an official city landmark.

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.

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

Drivers began a work stoppage on Aug. 16 over low wages and unfair labor practices by employer SCR Medical Transportation. Roughly half of the 600 drivers on strike serve CPS students, including students with special needs.

The NASCAR Chicago Street Race will return to the city next summer for the third year in a row. The Chicago Street Race Weekend will take place July 5-6, 2025.

Human cases of the West Nile virus, spread by a bite from an infected mosquito, is typically at its highest in August and September, according to Rebecca Lee Smith, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

A man whose body was discovered in Wisconsin near the Illinois border in 1993 was known only as John Doe for more than three decades. He is now confirmed to be Ronald Louis Dodge following nearly a decade of renewed DNA testing and analysis.

As the Democratic National Convention continues for a fourth and final day, there have been a total of 72 arrests related to First Amendment activities since Monday, according to the DNC 2024 Joint Information Center.

Young voters gathered in the West Loop at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. The event included speakers and a series of voter engagement workshops. Trainings were on topics such as building inclusive voting coalitions on college campuses, messaging during polarized times and running high school voter drives.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois were among the elected officials who attended the AAPI caucus meeting on the first day of the Democratic National Convention.

Organizers said 17,000 people have applied to volunteer at the Democratic National Convention, with an additional 15,000 people on the waitlist.

The Chicago 2024 Host Committee and the Illinois Journalism Education Association worked to identify student journalists across the state to join the Illinois Youth Press Corps, providing them with opportunities to cover the convention.

The Damen ‘L’ station, located at North Damen Avenue and West Lake Street, connects a 1.5-mile gap of service that existed between the California and Ashland stations on the Green Line. The station restores rail service in the area for the first time in 76 years.

Community organizations in Chicago are underlining the importance of free and easily available access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone, as it nears the one-year mark since the drug Narcan hit store shelves nationwide for over-the-counter sale.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and civil rights attorney Ben Crump joined the family of Sonya Massey in West Garfield Park on Tuesday, demanding justice for the woman who was shot and killed by police in her Springfield home earlier this month.

The free Saturday events are part of the “Arts for Everybody” campaign led by One Nation/One Project, which brings people together at 18 sites across the country to put a spotlight on the role of arts in the healing and health of communities.

The privately funded plan would redevelop more than 55 acres of land surrounding the United Center. If approved by the city, the first phase of construction could begin as soon as spring 2025.

Ahead of Fourth of July celebrations, local first responders and health care workers are reminding residents to practice firework safety by leaving fireworks to the professionals.