Stories by Joanna Hernandez

A group of police officers and community leaders are using their time off to give back to underserved communities by getting young kids to play sports. We head to Columbus Park on the West Side to learn more.  

We talk with Chicago Public Schools parents ahead of the return to in-person learning. How renters are faring as financial assistance has been slow to arrive. And getting in the game at Columbus Park.

The founder and executive director of Dion’s Chicago Dream talks about the importance of providing fresh, quality produce to fight food insecurity — and the lessons nonprofits should be learning from the pandemic.

Law enforcement agencies are struggling nationwide with increasing violent crime as calls mount for changing how police interact with citizens, especially those with mental health issues.

A business school dean gives us the last word on supporting Latino entrepreneurs — and how that can benefit all Americans.

Chicago Public Schools students are scheduled to return for in-person classes Monday. But what will that return look like amid an ongoing pandemic? CPS parents join “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” for a panel discussion.

According to a new report from the city’s inspector general, alerts by the gunshot detection system ShotSpotter used by the Chicago Police Department “rarely” lead to evidence of a gun crime. 

Chicago Public School students return to in-person learning — some parents share their thoughts. We discuss controversial gunshot detection technology. And the last word on Latino entrepreneurs.

President Joe Biden vowed Saturday to keep up airstrikes against the Islamic extremist group whose suicide bombing at the Kabul airport killed scores of Afghans and 13 American service members. Another terror attack, he said, is “highly likely” this weekend as the U.S. winds down its evacuation.

The second week of the R. Kelly sex-trafficking trial proved to be an exercise by prosecutors to paint the R&B star as a man-child control freak and a compulsive sex offender who exploited vulnerable victims way less than half his age while ordering them to call him “Daddy.”

The latest surge in coronavirus cases is overwhelming many intensive care units, causing hospitals and states to run out of ICU beds in some locations. A maxed-out ICU can become a staffing and logistical nightmare.

American forces working under heightened security and threats of another attack pressed ahead in the closing days of the U.S.-led evacuation from Afghanistan after a devastating suicide bombing.

A statewide indoor mask mandate. A city worker vaccine mandate and police union pushback. Two Republican congressmen in jeopardy as remapping begins. And the country reels from an Afghanistan terror attack.

Tenant advocates and court officials were gearing up Friday for what some fear will be a wave of evictions and others predict will be just a growing trickle after a U.S. Supreme Court action allowing lockouts to resume.

Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan announced that a juvenile has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Yvonne Ruzich, who was killed as she sat in her car outside her work in the early morning hours of Aug. 16.

The 4,942 new confirmed and probable cases of the virus reported Friday mark the highest single-day total since Jan. 23, when the state reported 5,152 cases.

The requests were issued to technology giants, including Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok, and also to Reddit, Parler, Telegram, 4chan, 8kun and other platforms.

Monty arrived in Texas a week ago, and now members of Audubon Florida have confirmed that Rose has been spotted at her winter home. 

The lawsuit accuses both DoorDash and Grubhub of advertising delivery services from restaurants without their consent, damaging the restaurants’ reputations and forcing them to scramble to resolve complaints.

The Chicago rapper performed beneath a replica of his South Shore home to thousands Thursday night at Soldier Field.

The governor issues a statewide indoor mask mandate. Why COVID-19 breakthrough cases are being undercounted. Live from Garfield Ridge. And new research on what brain functions improve with age.

As the delta variant continues to drive a spike in COVID-19 cases, two recent reports outline the challenges of tracking so-called breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated people. We discuss the importance — and limitations — of disease surveillance.

Palos Preserves has been named an Urban Night Sky Place by the International Dark-Sky Association. The site emits nearly 1,000 times less light than downtown Chicago, with four times as many stars visible in the night sky than can be seen in the city.

A pair of bills signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker provides not only legal counsel, but also public information campaigns so immigrants and refugees will know their rights.

On Chicago’s Southwest Side, Garfield Ridge is home to Midway Airport. It has a significant first responder population and many senior citizens. We talked with community leaders about the pandemic’s continuing health and economic impact — and one organization using wrestling to empower youth.

Babbling baby bats. Simulated rats. The impressive memory of cuttlefish. And why, counter to popular belief, some key mental abilities appear to actually improve with aging. University of Chicago paleontologist Neil Shubin returns to help us understand some of the latest science stories making headlines.