Stories by Leslie Hurtado

In March, a task force was formed by the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, and others to try and put the brakes on carjackings.

One of Chicago’s most notable residents, and one of the country’s most visible and iconic civil rights leaders for the last 60 years, turns 80 on Friday. The Rev. Jesse Jackson stood with Martin Luther King Jr. and has been carrying the mantle of fighting for racial and economic equality ever since.

The Chicago organization Mujeres Latinas En Accion is launching a new program aimed at providing survivors of domestic abuse the financial literacy tools they may need to achieve economic stability. We speak with Lupe Ceniceros about the initiative.

Flu season is right around the corner and new COVID-19 variants are expected to emerge in the coming months. Dr. Ngozi Ezike joins us to discuss the latest COVID-19 developments in Illinois as cases continue to climb due to the highly contagious delta variant. 

Chicago’s homeless population would receive significant funding and support from the city under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget proposal. As part of our “Firsthand: Living in Poverty” series, we take a look at how that money would be allocated.

Thousands of immigrant-rights advocates, including some with Illinois organizations, marched in Washington on Thursday to demand congressional leaders create a legal pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. 

Just a few weeks after a Texas law took effect that bans most abortions in that state, Mexico’s Supreme Court has decided that women should not be criminalized for having an abortion. Both decisions have reignited protests over reproductive rights.

As some parents return to in-person work, many are struggling to find child care for their small children. A shortage of day care workers across Illinois means demand for services is high, leading some centers to pause enrollment.