Stories by Erica Gunderson

On Saturday, Sept. 10, sweet and savory empanadas take center stage in a one-day festival at Whiting Lakefront Park along with cultural performances by local music and dance groups

Chicago’s new immigrant arrivals, the president’s partisan calls for saving democracy and the Chicago Police Department gets some civilian oversight and more time off. 

A team of researchers, led by Morton Arboretum, spent the better part of the past five years creating the first-ever standardized checklist and threat assessment of the nearly 900 species native U.S. trees. Their work provides the foundation on which to build awareness, advocacy and future conservation efforts.

Chicago police leaders are adding patrols in neighborhoods, high-traffic areas and along the CTA during the Labor Day weekend, officials announced Friday.

Most recently, his focus has been on purchasing a 326-acre tract of land in suburban Arlington Heights, Illinois, where a new stadium and entertainment complex could be built. 

The ceremony will also mark Michelle Obama’s first visit to the White House since Obama’s presidency ended in January 2017, and only the second visit for Barack Obama. He was at the White House in April to mark the 12th anniversary of the health care law he signed in 2010.

Jehovah’s Witnesses suspended door-knocking in the early days of the pandemic’s onset in the United States, just as much of the rest of society went into lockdown too.

The new boosters are combination or “bivalent” shots that contain half the original vaccine that’s been used since December 2020 and half protection against today’s dominant omicron versions, BA.4 and BA.5.

CPS on Friday announced that 93.4% of its 300,000-plus students were in their classrooms for the start of the new school year on Aug. 22. That’s the highest percentage since the 2019-20 school year, the district said.

The neighborhood is an industrial corridor. It has a long history that dates back decades with the arrival of steel mills that drove hundreds of immigrants to move to the area to work and build. We started by talking to a long-time resident who tells us more about the economic impact of the steel mills' shutdown.

How local leaders are responding to migrants who’ve arrived in Chicago, by bus from Texas. Plus, how the city’s teen curfew is working. And we’re in East Side for our In Your Neighborhood series.

Chicago Police stepped up their use of the city’s overall curfew law this summer recording 141 curfew violations, an increase of approximately 57% as compared with the same period in 2021, according to police department data. 

A Chicagoland artist is making their Wrigley Field debut with a sculpture meant to encourage community. Arts correspondent Angel Idowu introduces us to “Cohere” and the visual artist behind the bronze beast.

A new report shows Gov. J.B. Pritzker's vast investment portfolio includes a dozen companies that earned billions of dollars in state contracts. When he took office, Pritzker promised to shift that portfolio into a blind trust, to eliminate conflicts of interest. But an investigation from the Better Government Association throws into question whether or not the move worked.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office confirmed that the group arrived on Wednesday night and said the city welcomes them. The immigrants are being bused from Texas as part of a strategy launched by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott this year. 

The Chicago Park District is joining a national community science project designed to raise awareness of all the bees, butterflies, beetles, moths and wasps that rely on urban green spaces for food and shelter.

The Bears announced “an informational community meeting” will be held Sept. 8 during which the team’s potential purchase and redevelopment of the former Arlington International Racecourse will be discussed.

Dr. Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, called the vaccines the “best possible match” against strains of the virus now in circulation. They’ve been formulated to provide immunity against the omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which account for nearly all of the cases of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who is running for re-election, relished the chance to welcome the immigrants to Chicago, most of whom arrived in the United States after fleeing Venezuela, where the collapse of the economy has triggered political instability.

To meet the boom in pickleball's popularity, the Chicago Park District announaced a plan to build 50 new pickleball courts by 2025, including three regional centers capable of hosting tournaments.

Kelly told U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber on Thursday that he would not be testifying in his own defense at his second federal trial in as many years. One of his codefendants, however, is planning to take the witness stand.

Sixty-six people were killed across the city in August, new department data shows, which brings the total number of homicides in 2022 up to 448. That’s below the pace set in each of the last two years, but the total is more than 100 homicides higher than the first eight months of 2019.

Icelandic and Polish food, jazz and electronic music and more fun surprises usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in and around Chicago.

Starting Thursday, travelers will be able to check the dashboard and see what kinds of guarantees, refunds or compensation the major domestic airlines offer in case of flight delays or cancellations. It’s designed to allow travelers to shop around and favor those airlines that offer the best compensation.

More people could be getting in line for COVID-19 boosters after the FDA’s latest move. The soaring cost of college. And we break down the latest moves in City Hall with our Spotlight Politics team.

More aldermen join the city hall exodus, CPD announces a new time-off policy, Darren Bailey gets a cash infusion, and Governor Pritzker's investments are under scrutiny, our Spotlight Politics team digs into all that and more.