Stories by Joanna Hernandez

Seena Jacob, the founder of the nonprofit BookWallah, is working to help children heal from trauma using books. She founded the organization in 2009 when she says she began to question her life’s purpose and started to visit orphanages around the world. 

“I’ll take on all comers,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at a news conference Monday afternoon. “I fear no one.”

Donald Trump’s post-presidency enters a new phase this month as voters across the U.S. begin weighing the candidates he elevated to pursue a vision of a Republican Party steeped in hardline populism, culture wars and denial of his loss in the 2020 campaign.

It’s been a long slide for greyhound racing, which reached its peak in the 1980s when there were more than 50 tracks across 19 states. Since then, increased concerns about how the dogs are treated along with an explosion of gambling options have nearly killed a sport that gained widespread appeal about a century ago.

Through the end of April, 178 people have been killed in Chicago this year, according to Chicago Police Department data. That marks a 7% decline over the same time last year, though it’s still a higher total year-over-year compared to the first four months of 2020 and 2019.

April was the rollercoaster ride, weather-wise, Chicagoans have come to expect from spring's most capricious month.

For its spring season at the Lyric Opera House, the Joffrey Ballet has devised a program composed of two dramatically and stylistically different works.

A review of the evidence finds new details about how, long before the attack on the Capitol unfolded, several GOP lawmakers were participating directly in Trump’s campaign to reverse the results of a free and fair election.

An undetermined number of other Americans — many with military backgrounds — are thought to be in the country battling Russian forces beside both Ukrainians and volunteers from other countries even though U.S. forces aren’t directly involved in fighting aside from sending military materiel, humanitarian aid and money. 

The life expectancy gap between Black and white Chicagoans widens again. The city moves forward in testing a guaranteed income program. A former Secret Service agent receives a presidential pardon.

Eligible applicants will be entered into a lottery to determine who will get $500 a month for one year. Ultimately, 5,000 households will receive checks in one of the largest tests of guaranteed income across the country.

For the first time in decades, life expectancy for Black Chicagoans fell below 70 years old. In 2020, the gap in life expectancy between Black and White residents was 10 years, an increase from 8.8 years in 2017. Overall, life expectancy in Chicago dropped almost two years from 2019 to 2020.

A new television series shot on Chicago’s South Side is airing now on AMC. “61st Street” is set in Woodlawn and explores the relationship between community, police and the courts.

Shoppers stepping inside this Michigan Avenue store are swiftly transported from busy urban streets into a vibrant Mexican street market bursting with handcrafted goods.

The Chicago Teachers Union and advocacy groups are protesting the budget cuts they say their schools are facing. This is after Chicago Public Schools released individual school budgets with more than 40% of schools expected to see fewer dollars.

Outcry over CPS budget cuts. A new documentary about the toll of war on a South Side neighborhood. An effort to improve health outcomes. And bringing the color of Mexico to the Mag Mile.

Cook County Health recently unveiled The Change Institute, a think tank they say will bring the urgency and focus of the COVID-19 pandemic response to addressing these other health issues.

Through first-hand accounts and archive footage, “Our Soldiers, Our Lady of Guadalupe” examines a community in turmoil as Chicago’s first and oldest Mexican American parish lost 12 young men in the Vietnam War in a five-year span.

While Musk hasn’t offered specifics about how he would run the platform, his musings are prompting celebrations from some of those muzzled by Twitter, even as they alarm internet safety experts who predict a rise in harassment, hate speech and misinformation about topics like vaccines and elections.

Gas card giveaway a go. A big name bows out of the race for mayor. The Chicago Reader standoff resolves. The bears on the draft clock. And the Bulls bounce out of the playoffs after a successful season.

The agreed upon changes will increase access to Redfin’s real estate services across the country and help counter redlining and residential segregation that NFHA and the other plaintiffs alleged Redfin’s policies perpetuated. 

Jennifer Hamilton, 47, was sitting in her car on a video teleconference with her doctor outside a Target at the mall when her husband, 50-year-old Alphonso Hamilton allegedly approached and shot her five times.

The meeting announcement follows months of frustration from families impatient for a chance to vaccinate their little children, along with complaints from politicians bemoaning the slow pace of the process.

The recent births highlight the success of restoration and conservation efforts in Illinois.

A reprieve from having to pay a hefty tax bill sounds like a gift, but a monthslong delay in Cook County property tax bills could instead cause headaches for taxpayers, governments and elected officials alike.

The South Side neighborhood once had a bustling economy and much larger population. But despite challenges over the decades, local residents and organizations are working to make sure the community has what it needs to thrive.