Stories by Erica Gunderson

In the wake of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist’s decision to reject a tenure offer from the University of North Carolina, we talk with local scholars about their experiences in higher education as Black women.

Over the past year, about one-third of U.S. states have used federal COVID-19 relief aid to reward workers considered essential who dutifully reported to jobs during the pandemic. But who qualified for those bonuses — and how much they received — varied widely.

Swashbuckling billionaire Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship Sunday, bringing astro-tourism a step closer to reality and beating out his exceedingly richer rival Jeff Bezos.

The degenerative brain disease, for which there currently is no cure, takes a terrible toll on both patients and caregivers. By the year 2060, some 3.5 million Latinos are expected to be afflicted with the disease.

Over the past year, a small group of people who are homeless have established a tent encampment in a small Avondale park. Similar encampments are all over Chicago, and as Illinois’ eviction moratorium nears its end, the number of unhoused people is expected to grow.

For many people, the idea of gelatin desserts conjures up images of the jiggly retro novelty that appears at church potlucks and in school lunchboxes. But in Mexican culture, gelatins are not just a sweet treat, but an art form. 

Concerns over a homeless encampment clean out in Avondale. Why Latinos are 50% more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. And jiggly gelatin art you have to see to believe. 

U.S. immigration authorities will no longer routinely jail migrants facing deportation if they are pregnant or recently gave birth, reversing a Trump-era immigration policy.

Two days after welcoming three healthy chicks, Chicago’s beloved piping plovers added a fourth hatchling to their growing family, thanks to a little help from wildlife officials.

Twice a day, every day, for more than two weeks, relatives of those who perished or who are still missing have huddled in the Seaview Hotel ballroom, a new daily routine thrust upon them by an unfathomable disaster.

A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was hoisted away from its place of prominence and carted off to storage, years after its threatened removal became a rallying point for white supremacists and inspired their violent 2017 rally that left a woman dead and dozens injured.

Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from Harvey, Louisiana is a basketball prodigy who owns three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously and hopes to one day play in the WNBA or even coach in the NBA. 

A photo snapped by a Field Museum anthropologist in 1947 was labeled “schoolgirl” for 72 years. That student now has a name, and her story is part of a new exhibit about the Marshall Islands. 

A war of words ensues as the mayor and police chief blame the courts for the city’s violence. Joe Biden’s first stop in Illinois as president. The list of alderpeople under indictment grows. And the city pension debt swells.

President Joe Biden told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Friday phone call that he must “take action” against cybercriminals acting in his country and that the U.S. reserves the right to “defend its people and its critical infrastructure,” the White House said.

The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration on Friday called for a government investigation into highly unusual contacts between some of her agency’s drug reviewers and the maker of a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug.

The Biden administration is erasing more than $55 million in debt for former students of Westwood College, the Marinello Schools of Beauty and the Court Reporting Institute. All three chains have been closed for years after facing accusations of fraud and deception in their advertising.

President Joe Biden met with civil rights leaders Thursday in the West Wing, while Vice President Kamala Harris announced $25 million in new spending by the Democratic National Committee on actions to protect voting access ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

Three Chicago Police Department officers and the marshal opened fire on the man after he refused to exit a vehicle in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick, according to police Superintendent David Brown.

The city is conducting additional environmental studies after the head of the Environmental Protection Agency said the proposal raises “significant civil rights concerns.”

Bird monitors said the gull colony is probably stressed in some way, either from lack of food, not enough room on the roof or extreme heat.

When a Chicago artist decided to strengthen his craft creating sculptures, he took on an unlikely job to help him refine the lines. Nearly a decade later, he's using the skills he picked up as a mill worker to create custom wooden furniture.

Chicago’s Office of Inspector General found that while Black candidates make up 37% of the initial officer applicant pool, they comprised just 18% of the candidates who were ultimately invited to the CPD’s Police Academy.

Two men believed to be Haitian Americans — one of them purportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port au Prince — have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, a senior Haitian official said Thursday.

Are the courts to blame for a spike in crime? Chief Judge Timothy Evans responds to the repeated accusations from Mayor Lori Lightfoot and police Superintendent David Brown. 

It’s another sign that Chicago is returning to normal: Conventions are beginning to return to the city, including the Chicago Auto Show, which is set for mid-July at McCormick Place in the South Loop. We hit the streets as part of our community reporting series.