Stories by Erica Gunderson

A new documentary explores inequities through the experiences of four Latino Chicagoans who identify as LGBTQ-plus as they navigate the COVID-19 pandemic in their personal and professional lives.

In Chicago, summer is synonymous with festival season. This year, with Chicagoans hungrier than ever for summer food and festivities, two signature Latino festivals are set to stage their comebacks.

A rapidly growing wildfire south of Lake Tahoe forced the evacuation of a mountain town and the cancellation of an extreme bike ride through the Sierra Nevada, leaving thousands of riders and spectators stranded Saturday and rushing to flee the area.

Republican leaders believe the party is on the precipice of a political realignment among Hispanic voters in communities along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Less than a week after a rare series of antigovernment protests were broken up by police and government sympathizers, and elicited self-criticism from President Miguel Díaz-Canel, things appear calm in Cuba. But many wonder for how much longer.

Immigrants and advocates are urging Democrats and President Joe Biden to quickly act on legislation to protect young immigrants after a federal judge in Texas on Friday ruled illegal an Obama-era program that prevents the deportation of thousands of them brought into the U.S. as children.

A possible compromise on civilian police oversight. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg takes a Chicago infrastructure tour. And legislators whiff on ethics. 

The former 1st Ward alderman pleaded guilty to multiple charges Friday, but will avoid jail time, following a highly publicized 2019 incident in which he loaned his vehicle to a woman and then falsely claimed it had been stolen.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says he’s confident the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill will pass Congress, touting on Friday its bipartisan support and saying both the president and the public are impatient to see the deal finalized.

Supporters of a long-stalled plan that would put an elected board of Chicago residents in charge of the Chicago Police Department said Friday they are close to an agreement with Mayor Lori Lightfoot that could pave the way for a final vote next week.

Recipients of money from the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund include a consortium of civil rights sites and Black churches in Alabama; work to establish an African American heritage trail in Colorado; and preservation of the church where Emmett Till's funeral was held in Chicago after his lynching in Mississippi in 1955.

President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. Census Bureau told a Senate committee on Thursday that he would bring transparency and independence to the nation’s largest statistical agency, which was challenged by the pandemic, natural disasters and attempts at political interference while carrying out the 2020 census.

The Biden administration on Thursday convened the first meeting of its community violence intervention collaborative, a group of mayors and administration officials that will share best practices and work closely with the federal government to reduce gun violence.

Frank Harris will remain in jail following his arrest on charges of murder and aggravated vehicular hijacking, stemming from the death of Keith Cooper, 73, who was struck in the head during an attempted carjacking.

A coalition of 16 Chicago museums and cultural institutions has weighed in on the ongoing battle over the Obama Presidential Center, coming down firmly on the side of the center versus those who would block its construction in historic Jackson Park.

Eight people have been infected with salmonella typhimurium, with illness starting on dates ranging from June 10 to June 15, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The full-length documentary captures the story of Monty and Rose from their hatching in 2017 to their status as standard bearers for piping plover conservation efforts. 

The state’s efforts to expand the marijuana industry. Child tax credit payments arriving. A little-known Frank Lloyd Wright apartment building. And Ravenswood is tonight’s In Your Neighborhood stop.

Eight miles north from the Loop, manufacturing buildings, Victorian homes and small businesses line Ravenswood’s streets. The community is neighbored by North Center and Lincoln Square, and there’s much disagreement over where the three neighborhoods’ borders end and begin.

Today we know Frank Lloyd Wright as one of the most influential American architects, but early in his career he designed projects you might have trouble recognizing as his — even if you lived in the building.

Chicago generates more than 4 million tons of material waste annually. A new, highly anticipated report recommends a number of strategies aimed at keeping more of that trash out of landfills.

The Biden administration is beginning to distribute expanded child tax credit payments, giving parents on average $423 this month, with payments continuing through the end of the year.

Three lotteries have been set where successful applicants will win coveted licenses to collectively open another 185 cannabis dispensaries throughout Illinois.

The Chicago region is warming faster than the globe, says the newly sworn-in administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. How a new plan aims to take on the root cause of climate change: greenhouse gas emissions.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly cannot solicit campaign funds for candidates running in state contests as the head of the Democratic Party of Illinois, the Federal Election Commission ruled Thursday. Instead, the party can create a separate committee to seek campaign cash.

Aldermen should have input on who gets hired as their ward superintendents — but cannot have the final say, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson determined.