Stories by Paris Schutz

The COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown has hit hard in Chicago communities that have historically suffered from disinvestment and crime, including the Far South Side communities of Roseland and Pullman.

One of the new COVID-19 testing sites Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday will be in some of Chicago’s hardest-hit neighborhoods, including this largely Latino neighborhood on the city’s Northwest Side.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently highlighted the high rate of COVID-19 in Latino communities. As part of our reporting series, we spent the day in a predominantly Latino neighborhood on the city’s Near West Side.

The Hyde Park-Kenwood area is the home of former President Barack Obama, and in many ways it is the intellectual and academic heart of the city, with the University of Chicago laid out along the midway. 

The community is marked by waterfront apartment buildings, Loyola University and a racially and economically diverse population. We see how the pandemic is changing daily life in Rogers Park.

The city of Gary has struggled mightily, even in economic good times. The COVID-19 pandemic and statewide shutdown have only exacerbated existing problems. 

O’Hare International Airport is one of the engines of Chicago’s economy. But what happens when that engine is operating at about 5%? We check out the scene at one of the world’s busiest airports.

The South Side community forms the bulk of a zip code that has seen 664 cases of COVID-19. Yet there are no public testing sites within the area, and few health centers equipped to administer them.

In a part of the Chicago region that has seen disproportionately high numbers of COVID-19 cases, the near west suburb of Cicero has been hit especially hard.

As part of our series on the local impact of the coronavirus, a report from the Southwest Side, where a troubling situation has gotten worse as the pandemic has intensified.

Things were starting to look up in Hegewisch when the pandemic hit. The community spent years trying to recover from a massive loss of manufacturing, and has regularly dealt with pollution from nearby industry. 

In the Northwest Side neighborhood of Montclare, residents are quietly on edge, worried about the coronavirus and the prolonged economic shutdown it prompted, which has ravaged the hundreds of small businesses in the area.

The global health crisis has ravaged communities around the world — and locally. But in the city of Aurora, local officials have sounded an optimistic tone. We visited the far western suburb as part of our reporting series, COVID-19 Across Chicago.

The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting new challenges to communities across Chicago that are already struggling. We visit Albany Park as part of our reporting series.

The West Side neighborhood of Austin has become a hot spot for COVID-19 cases. According to the city, it falls into a zip code that has recorded a COVID-19 case rate of between 431-720 people per 100,000. 

The Little Village community has already been hit disproportionately hard by COVID-19. Now, residents are fuming about the demolition of a smokestack that gave rise to a plume of dust and particulate matter that wafted through the neighborhood.

The coronavirus has effectively shut down what locals describe as the world’s largest contiguous LGBTQ neighborhood. How businesses, social service agencies and others are dealing with the pandemic.

While most Chicago residents are staying home to avoid contracting or spreading COVID-19, the city’s first responders are as busy as ever – and they’ve been hit hard. 

The pandemic is causing extreme distress in communities all across Chicago. Chatham, on the city’s South Side, is home to a high population of African American senior citizens – a group that is doubly vulnerable to severe complications from the disease. 

Coronavirus-related shutdowns have had a dramatic impact on communities all across Chicago, but north suburban Highwood has felt the squeeze on two fronts.

All Chicago neighborhoods have been hit hard by shutdowns related to the coronavirus, but lower-income communities that rely on social service organizations are facing a unique set of challenges.

With the announcement of an extended stay-at-home order, an already difficult situation becomes more challenging. We report from Uptown, one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods, both by income and ethnicity. 

Beverly and surrounding communities have been hit hard with business closures and worker furloughs. But the area is infused with a spirit of collaboration, especially when it comes to helping those most vulnerable to the virus.

Coronavirus-related city and state shutdowns have had an impact across Chicago, but neighborhoods like Little Village on the city’s Southwest Side are feeling them a littler harder. 

From small businesses to health care facilities to residents, the coronavirus shutdown is impacting neighborhoods across the city. We visit the South Shore community to find out how area residents and businesses are handling the crisis.

Along a 2-mile stretch of Devon Avenue in Chicago’s West Ridge community, you’ll find one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country – and one dominated by small businesses, many of which are now closed.