Stories by Erica Gunderson

Five local Latino-led startups received some welcome news this week. Each of their businesses was awarded $100,000 from Google’s Startups Latino Founders Fund. 

Highland Park city council member Andres Tapia was present at the parade, and posted his personal account of the events on LinkedIn. Tapia said that publicly sharing his experience and talking about seeking help for the trauma he endured was important for him to do as a community leader.

Wicker Park Fest returns to Milwaukee Avenue next weekend, and among the musical attractions is Y La Bamba, a West Coast band led by singer, songwriter and guitarist Luz Elena Mendoza.

This simple act of monitoring the presence of breeding birds at specified sites across the Chicago region is how the Bird Conservation Network has, over the course of more than 20 years, methodically amassed a data set that would be the envy of any research institution.

The City of Broad Shoulders flexed its muscles in terms of fitness. In a newly released list of the 100 fittest cities in America, Chicago came in at No. 10.

“There’s no new evidence to open the case back up,” Michelle Williams, chief of staff for Attorney General Lynn Fitch, told The Associated Press.

Rock singer Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins a 20-year resident of Highland Park, where the shooting happened, said the show will be at the city’s plant-based tea house Madame Zuzu’s, which he owns with his partner Chloe Mendel.

The prospect of cracking down on assault-grade guns. Hyper-contagious COVID-19. The governor’s race heats up. And City Council changeover.

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee unanimously endorsed the reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith (43rd Ward), the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. A final vote by the full City Council is set for Wednesday. 

A summary of the results of the probe conducted by former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson was released in January, as required by city law. However, Lightfoot has rejected calls from Little Village residents and environmental justice organizations to release the full results of the investigation into the implosion at the former Crawford coal power plant, which sent a plume of dust over six blocks of homes in April 2020.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has tapped former alderperson Michael Scott Jr. as a new member of the Chicago Board of Education, barely a month after the former Committee on Education and Child Development chair stepped down from the City Council.

Ald. Harry Osterman (48th Ward) announced Friday that he will not run for re-election to represent Edgewater on the Chicago City Council in 2023. Osterman is the third member of the Chicago City Council to announce they will not run for re-election next year, joining Ald. James Cappleman (46th Ward) and Ald. Carrie Austin (34th Ward). 

In an unpublished memoir obtained by The Associated Press, Carolyn Bryant Donham says she was unaware of what would happen to the 14-year-old Till, who lived in Chicago and was visiting relatives in Mississippi when he was abducted, killed and tossed in a river. 

The Museum of Ice Cream hosts the grand opening for its Chicago location this weekend bringing 14 dessert-inspired installations and a playground of creativity — just in time for National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 17.

One-on-one with U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth on the Wrigley Field lawsuit and more. Economic recovery in the Pullman neighborhood. And the history of state's rights amid recent Supreme Court decisions.

Chicago’s Pullman and West Pullman areas were once industrial communities where workers lived and worked. The neighborhoods on the Far South Side have since experienced an economic downfall, but over the years people have pushed for growth to improve the quality of life. 

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, alongside Sen. Dick Durbin, met with residents and members of March Fourth, a gun safety advocacy group, Tuesday to hear more about their experiences as well as discuss policy solutions.

The concept of federalism — the idea that the federal government’s authority is limited, and other powers retained for the states — is a cornerstone of modern conservatism. But historically, states’ rights have also been used as cover to allow southern states in particular to discriminate against African Americans and other marginalized groups.

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Friday to consider a reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith, the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. With the committee’s endorsement, a final vote could come on Wednesday.

Chicago Department of Public Health officials 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.

Some laws prohibit abortion at the point of the “first detectable heartbeat” while others restrict abortion at 15, 22 or 24 weeks of pregnancy. This means determining how far along someone is in pregnancy — gestational age — has become more important, because there is a smaller window of time to secure the procedure in about half of the states in the U.S.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois filed a civil suit against the Cubs, alleging the team discriminated against people with disabilities in renovating Wrigley Field under its extensive reconstruction endeavor known as “the 1060 Project.”

From cash payouts to issuing extensive reports and building a bureaucratic system to examine what reparations could look like, here is what some local and state governments have done so far.

A slate of progressive candidates prevailed in Democratic primary contests across the Chicago area, despite facing concerted criticism for backing criminal justice reform efforts. Their success has the potential to reshape the 2023 Chicago municipal elections.

A live report from the Highland Park vigil honoring the victims of last week's mass shooting. Plus, record high inflation. An increase in domestic violence. And "Native Truths" at the Field Museum. 

During the height of the pandemic in 2021, domestic violence cases saw a sharp increase in Illinois. The numbers come from a new report released earlier this week by The Network an advocacy group against domestic violence.