Stories by Joanna Hernandez

At a cosmetology academy in Back of the Yards, Jaime Romero is using his entrepreneurial spirit to guide his students through the beauty industry. He also knows what it’s like to face obstacles because of undocumented status. 

For first-generation individuals, building wealth can be intimidating. And while learning how to navigate finances can be challenging, it is possible. Giovanna González has made it her life’s mission to teach others how to tackle their finances while unpacking cultural and systemic barriers.

Comfortable flexing his muscles on the big screen in “Action Jackson” as he was joking around on the small screen in such shows as “Arrested Development,” Carl Weathers was perhaps most closely associated with Creed, who made his first appearance as the cocky, undisputed heavyweight world champion in 1976’s “Rocky,” starring Sylvester Stallone.

With its theme of immigrant life in the largely Latino Washington Heights neighborhood in the 1980s, this show’s uncanny relevance to the immigration controversy now underway in this country could not be more ideal, writes WTTW News theater critic Hedy Weiss.

According to the Chicago Police Department, there were 31 homicides recorded through the first month of 2024. That’s the lowest total for any January since 2019 (23 homicides) and the third-fewest in the last decade.

Mayor Brandon Johnson suspended the 60-day shelter limit for migrants for the third time since November this week, saying in a news conference that the city’s plan for temporary emergency shelter “was never meant as a long-term housing solution.”

February marks Black History Month and cultural institutions around Chicago are hosting events celebrating the city’s art and culture scene. Here are a few events you should check out.

Neither groundhog saw its shadow, indicating an early spring.

“The City Council, if they’re going to talk about the challenge of war in the Middle East, you’ve got to make sure that you include all the perspectives,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said. “They did not do that.”

The Scaling Community Violence Intervention for a Safer Chicago initiative aims to link local community groups. The goal is to coordinate care and spending between the city, county and state governments, community organizations and the business community.

Chicago won’t evict migrants until at least mid-March — a look at the possible impact. A new book teaches first-generation Latinos about navigating money and culture. And how a beauty salon is giving new arrivals opportunities.

The zoo’s seven bottlenose dolphins will spend the next six weeks getting used to their new and improved digs.

Perhaps the most anticipated show in Chicago this winter, “Illinoise” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater promises “a new kind of musical.” Dance and stories are woven into songs written by Sufjan Stevens from his beloved 2005 album “Illinois.”

The Police Board is blocked from holding any hearings until Feb. 24, with the next hearing in the lawsuit brought by the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 7, set for Feb. 26, according to the Cook County judge's order.

It is the latest recent strike in the U.S. news industry. The striking workers are employees of Alden Global Capital, a New York hedge fund that has been buying up newspapers across the country and facing criticism for slashing budgets and cutting jobs.

CPS on Thursday released its proposed calendars for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years, which included a start date of Aug. 26 for the upcoming year due to the “estimated influx of 75,000 visitors: coming to Chicago for the convention.

Cook County Jail provides medications for opioid use disorder to incarcerated people. Where frustration comes from advocates — and local officials — is the limitations of the Illinois Department of Corrections’ medication programming in prisons.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling confirmed the shooting occurred just after 3:30 p.m. in the 1200 block of West Thorndale Avenue, just blocks away from Senn’s campus.

Chicago becomes the largest American city to adopt a cease-fire resolution. Reminding Black men to check their prostate health. And talking self-care with Chicago native Common.

Rapper, actor and activist Common was in Chicago this week to talk about his latest book, “And Then We Rise: A Guide to Loving and Taking Care of Self.” The Chicago native sat down with WTTW News to talk about the book and some of his activism.

One in six Black men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime, according to the advocacy organization ZERO Prostate Cancer. Research from the American Cancer Society shows Black men are more than twice as likely to die from the disease than their White counterparts.

Chicago is now the largest American city to adopt a cease-fire resolution, joining Minneapolis, San Francisco, Oakland, Atlanta and Detroit.

According to a copy of the Jan. 26 police report obtained by WTTW News, William Hozian, principal of Stevenson Elementary School reported that Stacy Davis-Gates spoke to attendees at a union meeting and said, “In talking to my Stevenson brothers and sisters, I told them they should punch their principal in the face.” 

Journalists at the Chicago Tribune are among more than 200 journalists, designers, and production workers at seven newsrooms across the country owned by Tribune Publishing who will be participating in the one-day walkout.

The alignment of sun, earth and moon will plunge the city into darkness, and as long as the maddeningly unpredictable Northeast Ohio weather cooperates, people will view a spectacle that lasts just under four minutes but occurs only three times in a 638-year span above the city.

Speaking Wednesday before the Economic Club of Chicago, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said police officers will always have some role in school safety, even if they’re no longer working inside schools.