Stories by Acacia Hernandez

We all know Chicago as the city of neighborhoods, but how exactly are those neighborhoods defined? And do those boundaries last mapped out in the 1920s still hold true? That’s what a group of scholars and researchers from the University of Chicago is venturing to find out.

Most 17-year-olds are excited about finishing high school and possibly thinking about college. But Bronzeville teen Dorothy Jean Tillman is in a class all by herself. A typical teen in some ways, she also happens to have just earned her doctorate degree.

New rules requiring nonprofit organizations to register as lobbyists are set to take effect July 1 after a delay of nearly four years.

Gov. J.B Pritzker proclaimed this week as Dog and Cat Adoption Week in Illinois as animal shelters face increased pressures with overcrowding in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The settlement is the largest police misconduct settlement approved by the City Council in 2023.

The Chicago City Council voted 31-18 to resolve the lawsuit filed by the family of Darius Cole-Garrit, which claimed the officers who shot the 21-year-old threatened him hours before they nearly ran him over and then shot him in the back as he fled.

The Chicago City Council voted to reject an effort to upend the system used to punish officers for 60 years, triggering what is likely to be a fierce legal fight that will determine whether, and how, city officials can hold officers accountable for serious misconduct.

Here in Chicago, a number of reimaginings of the classic story demonstrate how the family tradition can be transformed to fit the interests of modern audiences while also celebrating the Christmas magic that made that original ballet such a success.

The story of one Indiana store demonstrates how the more than 60,000 gun retailers in America have little financial incentive to say no to questionable buyers and face limited penalties for failing to prevent illegal transactions.

The six-month delay means that workers in Illinois outside Chicago will have more flexibility to take paid time off than those in the city until July 1.

The sponsor of a state law intended to stop “deceptive” practices by anti-abortion advocates and centers said she is in “shock and dismay” over a pending legal arrangement agreed to by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul that will effectively nullify the law that he championed.

In what could be a preview of the 2024 Academy Awards, “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer” received top honors from the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Andre Braugher, the Emmy-winning actor who would master gritty drama for seven seasons on “Homicide: Life on The Street” and modern comedy for eight on “Brooklyn 99,” died Monday at 61.

Google intends to bring the Thompson Center’s design into the 21st century “while maintaining its iconic form,” the company said.

Firearm owners in Illinois will have to wait at least another month before knowing exactly what items they must register with the Illinois State Police under the state’s assault weapons ban, even as the deadline for submitting those registrations is less than three weeks away.

Former Ald. Danny Solis takes the stand in the corruption trial of Ed Burke. The Civic Federation taps former city inspector general Joe Ferguson as its next president. And remembering TV pioneer Norman Lear.

Joe Ferguson spent 12 years as the corruption-busting watchdog of Chicago government — proving to be a thorn in the side of both the Emanuel and Lightfoot administrations.

As disgraced former Ald. Danny Solis (25th Ward) took the stand Tuesday afternoon in the landmark corruption trial of his former friend and colleague, who ruled City Hall with an iron fist for decades, Burke’s squad of attorneys will now get their chance to make their case that he is not a criminal, but an “old school, hardworking public servant.” 

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of three minor, unnamed victims, alleged that Federico Garcia Lorca Elementary School teacher Andrew Castro was able to continuously abuse the boys despite prior complaints of similar abuse.

As you travel a ways west from the lake in Chicago, it’s hard not to notice clusters of north-south streets that all start with the same letters – K, L, M, N, O. What gives? WTTW News Explains.

Following a Farragut Academy employee’s arrest, an examination of his criminal history raises questions of whether the district was or should have been aware of his 25 past cases for activity like burglary and aggravated assault.

Mayor Brandon Johnson reversed course Tuesday, averting a showdown at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

The poster features an image of Harry Houdini performing his famous Milk Can Escape, in which the performer was locked into a galvanized iron can filled with water and secured by locks. The image is rich with showmanship and hyperbole, warning: “Failure Means a Drowning Death.”

It might be the “winter blues” for some. For others, it’s more severe and can be clinically diagnosed: seasonal affective disorder, which is a form of depression that often occurs in the fall and winter when there’s less sunlight.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is reporting an intensive 10-day “harvest” operated that netted 750,000 pounds of invasive silver carp, pulled from the Illinois River near Starved Rock.

Noisy, illegal and rarely punished — we dig into the data on early morning garbage pickups. And the debate over whether police should be able to have disciplinary hearings behind closed doors.