Stories by Aida Mogos

According to the FBI’s latest annual report, there were 8,263 hate crime incidents in the U.S. in 2020. That’s up from 7,314 in 2019 when the country experienced the highest number of hate crimes since 2008. Now the Illinois Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes is set to examine how to prevent and address hate crimes across the state.

Raquel Graham started her company, Roq Innovation, in 2014 when she was looking for a scarf her kids would wear. What started out as a fix to a problem is now a booming business operating out of a West Town warehouse.

Despite the city’s stated plans to do more to protect cyclists, transit advocates say there is a long way to go to make the streets welcoming for bikes.

The 442-acre Lake Calumet is perhaps the most visible remnant of the rise and fall of industry on Chicago’s Southeast Side. Earlier this year, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning issued its master plan for Lake Calumet, which it says creates a place where industry, nature, and recreation can coexist.

Festival season is in full swing, and two upcoming fiestas are back in full force next weekend.

Increasing safety and preventing injuries for Chicago’s bicyclists. Can industry and nature coexist at Lake Calumet? A new master plan hopes so. And alebrijes come to life at a local park.

The art of alebrijes started with a dream. In 1936, a feverishly ill Mexico City paper artist, or cartonero, named Pedro Linares said he dreamt of magically mishmashed creatures exclaiming “alebrije!” When he recovered, he began making and selling colorful papier mache versions of the beasts.

Republican gubernatorial candidates go on the attack. Two more candidates for Chicago mayor. And the U.S. Senate debates gun policy amid Uvalde and another violent memorial day weekend in Chicago.

Power operators in the Central US, in their summer readiness report, have already predicted “insufficient firm resources to cover summer peak forecasts.” That assessment accounted for historical weather and the latest NOAA outlook that projects for more extreme weather this summer.

“By signing this bill, law enforcement agencies will have the tools to respond to criminal activity in a timely and efficient manner — ensuring the safety and security of our residents, while holding perpetrators accountable,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said.

The California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans recommended a long list of actions the state can take to address the racial wealth gap.

Last month’s gain reflects a resilient job market that has so far shrugged off concerns that the economy will weaken in the coming months as the Federal Reserve steadily raises interest rates to fight inflation.

On the Southwest side, a small community with a population of about 20,000 people offers a suburban feel and is home to many families. And it’s promoting education as the foundation of its hopes and dreams.

The price at the pump keeps soaring, is any relief in sight? Vaccine approval could come soon for kids under 5. Unveiling the city’s new AIDS garden. And we’re live from West Elsdon.

Medical advances made while fighting the COVID-19 pandemic may have valuable applications in fighting another epidemic. 

White House COVID-19 coordinator Ashish Jha outlined the administration’s planning for the last remaining ineligible age group to get shots. He said the Food and Drug Administration’s outside panel of advisers will meet on June 14-15 to evaluate the Pfizer and Moderna shots for younger kids.

According to AAA, the current price of a gallon of regular gas in the Chicago Metro area is now $5.56, up from $3.37 one year ago. The price of premium is well over $6.00.

“Birdsongs: Sounds of the Mississippi Flyway” is a newly released compilation of original instrumental songs inspired by, as the title suggests, the sounds of birds commonly found in northern Illinois.

Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward) became the fifth candidate to challenge Lightfoot’s expected bid to be the first woman to be re-elected as Chicago mayor on Thursday, slamming Lightfoot as “mean-spirited” and blasting what he called her “uncollaborative” style of governing in a series of interviews.

Michelle Renee Bester’s 90-minute show is a quasi-autobiographical story that pays homage to her late grandmother. It spins an intriguing psychological family drama that homes in on the particular fears, frustrations and needs of each of that woman’s four rather different and troubled grandchildren. 

Greek eats, music fests, hot dogs and German beers usher in the weekend. Here are 10 things to do in Chicago this weekend.

Legislation signed Thursday by Gov. J.B. Pritzker now mandates the placement of rescue equipment along Lake Michigan access points, including piers.

The AIDS Garden Chicago, a project many years in the making, is now open to the public. Located just south of Belmont Harbor, the garden’s location has a meaningful place in the history of the city’s queer community.

The first probable case of the rare disease was discovered on Wednesday in a man who recently returned to Chicago from Europe, according to a statement from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Chicago Department of Public Health.

Tyshon Brownlee, 19, has been charged with one count each of attempted first-degree murder and attempted robbery involving the discharge of a firearm stemming from the non-fatal May 6 shooting of 23-year-old culinary student Dakotah Earley in Lincoln Park.

“Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of The Temptations” is an exhilarating, at times heartbreaking, and superbly executed musical now in an all too brief run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago.