Stories by Eunice Alpasan

Starting this school year, every public elementary school and high school in Illinois must include a unit of instruction on Asian American history. Illinois became the first state to implement the requirement when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act into law last summer. 

Ford announces it’s cutting thousands of jobs, two local hotel sales mark some of the biggest in the hospitality market since the start of the pandemic and a new app helps homeowners rent individual rooms.

A new study suggests ant colonies work like a collective brain to make decisions. How racial discrimination could negatively impact brain structure. A surgical implant that could provide pain relief without drugs. And how a quirk of evolution gave humans our voice.

Illinois officials are about to release a draft of the first comprehensive overhaul of the State Water Plan in 40 years, with climate change among the critical issues the document is set to address.

Dr. Anthony Fauci directs the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden and also leads a lab studying the immune system. He has served in federal government for more than five decades.

The single-vehicle crash happened around 1:30 a.m. Sunday when the vehicle went off a state highway and struck a tree in the small town of Riley, about 10 miles from the university’s Terre Haute campus.

School, city and state leaders celebrated Sunday with the Catholic nun who became something of a folk hero as chaplain for the Loyola men’s basketball team that reached the NCAA Final Four in 2018.

After a week that saw multiple people dead from drownings in Lake Michigan off Chicago’s shoreline, Mayor Lori Lightfoot had words of caution for the city’s residents and visitors.

Monday marks the first day of the 2022-23 school year, as some 300,000-plus students head back to class on one of the earliest start dates in recent memory.

According to Chicago Police Department data, 37 people were shot in 26 separate shootings between 6 p.m. Friday evening and 11:59 p.m. Sunday night. That included a drive-by shooting in Homan Square that left four people injured and one dead Friday.

In Georgia’s May primaries, a notable number of Democratic-leaning voters cast Republican ballots to help Gov. Brian Kemp trounce his Trump-endorsed challenger. Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams needs those voters in her column.

The lack of Republican presidential hopefuls at the Iowa State Fair speaks to the careful dance that potential candidates are attempting as many Republicans avoid taking on former President Donald Trump.

Advice on staying healthy in the new school year. The history and future of the labor movement in Chicago. A Pilsen block party. And local band Así Así.

As school starts back up, students especially rely on the internet for everything from research to turning in their homework. But for some of those students, reliable internet access is still tough to come by. A few area programs are looking to change that. 

The state of digital equity as kids head back to school. Plus, local Amazon workers allege a hostile work environment. And a homegrown music festival comes to Garfield Park. 

An end of summer celebration is coming soon to the West Side in Garfield Park with the “Purple Block Party” at the Garfield Park Music Circle Center. 

“The science is pretty much supporting all the changes that CDC is doing,” said Dr. Geraldine Luna, medical director at the Chicago Department of Public Health. “The reports of cases at school have been lower and we expect them to continue to be the lowest as we vaccinate children and send them protected to school.”

Chicago union organizing has played a big role in everyday life ranging from Labor Day to the eight-hour workday. But it’s not all history, with workers in a variety of fields trying to unionize and change labor laws in the state.

The Thalia Hall Block Party will bring live music and food vendors to Allport Street directly in front of the historic music hall. Organizers are hoping it will become an annual tradition.

Chicago band Así Así layers psychedelic, electronic, and surf sounds to create a moody blend of indie rock on their debut album “Mal de Otros,” released Aug. 18.

Despite its many virtues and ambitious grand-scale staging, strong voices, daring swordplay, flamenco gypsy dances, lavish costumes, a tale of bitter sibling rivalry, political oppression and romance, plus the rousing music of the Gipsy Kings (including the irresistible “Bamboleo”) this take on the “Zorro” story needs work.

Optimism and discord for both parties at the state fair. Jurors view notorious video in R. Kelly’s Chicago trial. Deaths and injuries in Chicago’s playpen. And CPS prepares to go back to school.

The results of the election were released by organizers after a National Labor Relations Board vote count Friday morning. The Devon and Broadway Starbucks joins two others in Edgewater, and one each in Bucktown, Hyde Park, North Park and northwest suburban Cary.

When attempting to access any of the specific courtrooms, users will now find live videos replaced with the following message from YouTube: “This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube's policy against spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content or other Terms of Service violations.”

In Illinois, where Democrats hold both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats, all statewide executive offices and super-majorities in both chambers of the state legislature, GOP nominee for governor, state Senator and farmer Darren Bailey is hoping to ride in on a tractor.

North Park was originally a Swedish community and over the years it’s become more diverse, with a blend of different cultures and backgrounds.