Stories by WTTW News

Neutralizing environmental racism in a crossover edition of Voices, on this Earth Day weekend. Diagnosing autism. A story of freedom told through opera. And the city’s oldest Black camera club.

Autism affects about one in 44 children, and while therapists say early intervention is key to treating it effectively, Black children are five times more likely to be misdiagnosed or diagnosed later in life.

Chicago’s environmental justice advocates are working to address the systematic structures that created these inequities. They say a greener future is possible as long as the city and industry are willing to do the work.   

A second five-year term for the centrist Macron spares France and its allies the seismic upheaval of a wartime shift of power to Macron’s populist challenger Marine Le Pen, who quickly acknowledged her defeat Sunday night but still appeared on course for a best-ever showing for her fiercely nationalist far-right policies.

Washington Park Camera Club members are combining their passion for pictures with early Chicago history to celebrate Frederick Law Olmsted. 

When it comes to the stories told about Black people in theater, 18th century London might not be the first time and place that comes to mind. But composer Errollyn Wallen is hoping to change that with “Quamino’s Map,” a new opera being staged at Chicago Opera Theatre.   

A special Voices crossover: we look at the fight against environmental racism in Chicago and the suburbs. Plus, a labor update at a local tortilla factory. And an event by teens, for teens. 

A week’s worth of workshops, programs and events include everything from learning how to make your own zine, to a mystery improv game to conversations with authors, podcasters, and local musicians. Some events require pre-registration.

Workers at El Milagro tortilla factories are declaring some victories. They say they’ve seen wage increases totaling more than $1 million this month — in addition to the installation of air conditioning in lunchrooms.

When it comes to industrial pollution, it’s often Chicago’s Latino and Black communities who bear the brunt. In those communities, past industrial abuses still cast a shadow with the air, water, and soil pollution resulting in higher rates of asthma, cancer, lead poisoning and other health issues.

Golden-Con: Thank You For Being a Fan, which lasts through Sunday, is giving those who adored the NBC sitcom a chance to come together. More than 2,000 attendees are expected to converge. 

Pennsylvania on Saturday becomes the first major fossil fuel-producing state in the U.S. to adopt a carbon pricing policy to address climate change. It joins 11 states where coal, oil and natural gas power plants must buy credits for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit.

Budding plants and blooming trees signal the return of spring, triggering congestion, coughing and sneezing for the millions of seasonal allergy sufferers. With COVID-19 still circulating, how can you tell if your stuffy nose is just a case of hay fever and not something more? Here’s what you need to know.

Lightfoot lays out her case for a possible second term. Gubernatorial candidates spending big before primaries. Mask confusion as the transit mandate goes away. And does Com Ed need that rate hike?

The enthusiasm for the beloved duo is heartwarming but it’s also overwhelming and potentially dangerous for the birds, according to plover monitors. People should keep a distance of at least 30 feet from the plovers. 

The lawsuit filed by 22-year-old Esael Morales claims that he was sitting in his car with his girlfriend watching Netflix and eating takeout wings near her home when Officer Joseph Cabrera pulled up in his personal vehicle and confronted the couple, according to Morales’ lawsuit.

Several dozen more criminal convictions tied to Ronald Watts have been tossed out, bringing the total number of dismissals tied to the disgraced ex-Chicago police sergeant and his team in recent years to more than 200.

The big-ticket items are an entire new “global” terminal, two new satellite concourses for Terminal 1, and a complete makeover of the existing Terminal 5 – but the plan includes almost 100 separate projects, many of which are smaller but functional improvements.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago have charged Michigan brothers Donald Henkel, 61, and Mark Henkel, 66, along with 59-year-old Raymond Paparella, with mail fraud or wire fraud.

They want authorities to launch a kidnapping prosecution against the woman who set off the lynching by accusing the Black Chicago teen of improper advances in 1955.

The maximum fine for violating the city’s ethics ordinance would jump from $5,000 to $20,000 under a proposal set to be unveiled by Ald. Michele Smith that has the support of the Chicago Board of Ethics.

Construction of the Obama Presidential Center is underway in Jackson Park, and residents on the South Side are bracing for what it will mean for their communities — benefits or displacement. 

New questions about Ken Griffin’s connections to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin. The latest on refugee resettlement from Ukraine. And Geoffrey Baer previews the new season of The Great Chicago Quiz Show.

Host Geoffrey Baer tests contestants on all things Chicago. This time around, he’ll be talking to guests like anchorman Bill Curtis, jazz legend Kurt Elling and Tonika Lewis Johnson of the Folded Map Project.

An international art fair with roots in major cities across the country is making its return to Chicago in an effort to support independent artists. The Other Art Fair returns to Chicago for its fourth year. The exhibition will feature 110 artists, roughly half of them Chicago-based. 

The new package includes $800 million in military aid for much-needed heavy artillery, 144,000 rounds of ammunition and drones for the escalating battle in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. It builds on roughly $2.6 billion in military assistance that Biden previously approved.