Stories by Andrea Flores

A decade ago, thousands of young immigrants showed up to Navy Pier for a chance to meet with immigration experts and submit their application for a new program: the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA. 

Ald. Derrick Curtis (18th Ward), a Lightfoot ally, sent an email on June 2 to residents of his Far South Side ward that included an advertisement for the mayor’s re-election kickoff event at the Starlight Restaurant on June 8. 

The car involved in the crash has been recovered. Now the search is on for the driver in what appears to be an intentional act that took place Sunday outside South Shore’s Jeffery Pub, police said.

Jury selection in R. Kelly’s trial began Monday inside a 25th-floor courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building, where the 55-year-old Chicago native stands accused of multiple child pornography-related charges, as well as conspiracy to obstruct justice and enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 44 people were shot in 35 separate incidents between 6 p.m. Friday and 11:59 p.m. Sunday.

Jury selection begins Monday morning at the Dirksen Federal Building downtown, where the 55-year-old Chicago native will stand trial, nearly a year after a New York jury convicted him of sex trafficking and other charges.

Websites and crowdfunding platforms have been set up to collect donations for Capitol riot defendants who try to portray them as mistreated patriots or even political prisoners.

New research on civic engagement, and how the work in Black communities isn’t always counted. The head of Chicago’s FBI office retires. Bud Billiken expands. And remembering Albert Woodfox.

Census data says volunteering has declined in Chicago, while new research says previously collected data doesn’t include the wide range of community organizing in the city, oftentimes leaving out the work of Black, Latino and working-class people.

The lone Latino lawmaker in Indiana and his thoughts on political representation. Plus, pharmacy deserts on the city’s west side. And Discount Mall vendors searching for answers. 

According to the Indiana Latino Institute, undocumented immigrants contribute nearly $100 million to the state’s economy. Yet when it comes to their representation in the general assembly the state has a single Latino representative.

R. Kelly goes into Chicago federal court already sentenced by a New York federal judge to 30-year prison term for a 2021 conviction on charges he parlayed his fame to sexually abuse other young fans.

The FBI vs. former President Trump. A scaled-back property tax increase. And tension at the CPD over the firing of the officer in charge of reform.

The FBI recovered “top secret” and even more sensitive documents from former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The seized records include some marked not only top secret but also “sensitive compartmented information,” a special category meant to protect the nation's most important secrets that if revealed publicly could cause “exceptionally grave” damage to U.S. interests.

Federal investigators are examining social media accounts they believe are tied to the gunman, 42-year-old Ricky Shiffer, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Chicago is waiting to see whether Democrats will choose it above Atlanta, Houston and New York as the host city for the party's 2024 convention. But Republicans have already made their selection: Milwaukee.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed two years ago Friday to confront the “the hard truths of Chicago’s racial history” by using the city’s public spaces to memorialize the “city’s true and complete history.” That promise remains unfulfilled, 729 days later.

The U.S. Attorney General addresses the Trump search warrant. Live from Milwaukee ahead of the RNC. One-on-one with the latest candidate for Chicago Mayor. And a prairie school architectural master.

CTA President Dorval Carter on Thursday outlined a strategic plan to overhaul the transit agency’s service and bolster its role in the Chicago area’s transportation network. The CTA’s new “Meeting the Moment” initiative is aimed at moving the much-used and much-critiqued transit service into a “post-pandemic” future.

The artistry of Frank Lloyd Wright is front and center when it comes to Prairie School architecture. But other architects made enduring impacts. A new group turns the spotlight on George Washington Maher, an under-recognized designer of buildings throughout the Midwest. 

Hyde Park Ald. Sophia King (4th Ward) announced she will run for mayor, promising to lead Chicago through collaboration — not confrontation — in an attempt to draw a clear distinction with Mayor Lori Lightfoot who has touted her combative approach while in office.

The law, which Biden described as long overdue, caps a years-long battle to ensure treatment for chronic illnesses that veterans have blamed on burn pits, which were used to dispose of chemicals, tires, plastics, medical equipment and human waste on military bases. Estimates of affected troops run to 3.5 million.

The request is striking because such documents traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the Justice Department appeared to recognize that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies.

Chicago Department of Public Health officials continue to recommend that residents wear masks indoors and on public transportation to reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19 and ensure they are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

The changes, which come more than 2 1/2 years after the start of the pandemic, are driven by a recognition that an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected, agency officials said.

Sebastian Aguilar, 37, has been charged with first-degree murder stemming from the fatal June 30 shooting of 39-year-old Mario Leyva.