Stories by Acacia Hernandez

“This year we’re on the precipice of something fairly special,” said Chicago White Sox General Manager Rick Hahn, who was the chief architect of the team’s five-yearlong rebuild that saw dozens of strategic trades, draft choices and free agent signings. 

The violent shootout and the lack of felony charges appeared to exacerbate the increasing pressure on Mayor Lightfoot and members of the Chicago City Council to reduce violent crime which has soared to levels last seen in the 1990s.

The president's criticism comes as Congress faces an Oct 18 deadline to allow for more borrowing to keep the government operating after having accrued a total public debt of $28.4 trillion.

The new system for tracking gang members in Chicago was supposed to be up and running last month, but it remains stalled.

Nearly 70,000 Illinoisans said they’re “very likely” to leave their home due to eviction within the next two months, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey.

The Biden administration on Monday reversed a ban on abortion referrals by family planning clinics, lifting a Trump-era restriction as political and legal battles over abortion grow sharper from Texas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves, founded in 2020 to rally support for the state’s protected natural areas, is now launching a major recruitment effort to grow its ranks and muster a corps of volunteers to steward the sites in a race against invasive species and climate change.

The University of Illinois posts its largest-ever endowment return. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer has details on that story and more.

What’s next for renters and landlords as the eviction moratorium comes to an end. The Supreme Court begins its next term. Talking with a local “genius.” And the White Sox are heading to the playoffs.

The shooting happened Monday morning in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood, according to Chicago Police Department Deputy Chief of Detectives Rahman Muhammad. 

The victims included a 17-year-old boy, who was killed inside a South Side home Saturday evening, according to Chicago police.

A data scientist who was revealed Sunday as the Facebook whistleblower says that whenever there was a conflict between the public good and what benefited the company, the social media giant would choose its own interests.

In a single three-month summer period in Chicago, 1,606 people were shot. That’s the population equivalent to many American small towns. They are numbers — and more significantly, lives — that have become part of a grimly familiar dynamic in the city.

The biggest lottery prize in months grew larger after no ticket matched all five numbers and the Powerball drawn on Saturday night. The estimated jackpot for the next drawing on Monday is $670 million.

The first Women’s March of the Biden administration headed straight for the steps of the Supreme Court on Saturday, part of nationwide protests that drew thousands to Washington to demand continued access to abortion.

For women in the U.S., breast cancer is devastatingly common, with one in eight expected to develop the disease over the course of their lifetimes. And for Black women in the U.S., what comes after the diagnosis is especially worrying.

Chicago restaurants will offer special deals on some of their cultures’ most beloved dishes during the two-week celebration starting Oct. 4.

The Humboldt Park native and author of “The Taste of Sugar” gives us the last word on giving Puerto Rico a brighter future.

Worker walkouts amid calls for improved conditions continue at the El Milagro tortilla plant in Little Village. We get an update on the situation from Jorge Mújica, a strategic organizer for the community labor advocate organization Arise Chicago.

The Chicago organization Mujeres Latinas En Accion is launching a new program aimed at providing survivors of domestic abuse the financial literacy tools they may need to achieve economic stability. We speak with Lupe Ceniceros about the initiative.

The Obamas break ground, literally. What’s behind the disparities in breast cancer outcomes for Black women? Meet a Chicago-bred “genius.” And bringing clean energy to the West Side.

Mike Moreno Jr. is the third generation to set up shop in the Little Village community. His grandfather, Jose, owned two grocery stores in the neighborhood, and his father, Mike Sr., opened the first Moreno’s Liquors in 1977.

Calls for better working conditions at El Milagro tortilla factory. Plus, boosting financial stability for domestic violence survivors. And what’s on the plate for Latin Restaurant Weeks.

In a bellwether federal trial starting Monday in Cleveland, two Ohio counties will try to convince a jury that retail pharmacy companies played an outsized role in creating a public nuisance in the way they dispensed pain medication into their communities.

President Joe Biden on Saturday acknowledged frustrations as Democrats strain to rescue a scaled-back version of his $3.5 trillion government-overhaul plan and salvage a related public works bill after frantic negotiations failed to produce a deal.

Are the Chicago Bears bound for Arlington Heights? The Obamas finally break ground in Jackson Park. Chicago R&B singer R. Kelly is convicted for sex trafficking. And two local media giants plan to merge.