Stories by Joanna Hernandez

Multiple vendors in Little Village say they have been robbed at gunpoint despite efforts to protect them. The latest victims are food truck workers.

Carlos Tortolero, founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art, is retiring after more than four decades with the museum and Pilsen community hub. 

Former Ald. Ed Burke found guilty in landmark corruption trial. Discussing what needs to happen amid health concerns at migrant shelters. And efforts to combat crimes against street vendors.

When former Chicago alderperson Ed Burke was convicted on racketeering, bribery and extortion charges, he became the latest Illinois politician and powerbroker to face accusations of corruption — but he’s far from the first in recent years.

Former Ald. Ed Burke (14th Ward) was convicted Thursday of 13 of 14 counts of racketeering, bribery and extortion, bringing his landmark corruption trial to an end with a verdict that delivered a searing indictment of Chicago’s political system, which Burke used to amass power for half a century.

Charles Collins, 49, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in relation to a 2010 charge for cocaine possession with intent to sell. It was his third felony, making him eligible for an enhanced sentence under the state’s habitual criminal, or “three-strikes,” law.

The Columbia College Faculty Union (CFAC), which represents nearly 600 part-time faculty members, announced Thursday its members had officially approved the contract, which put an end to a record-long 49-day strike.

Darien Harris had served more than 12 years of his 76-year sentence before prosecutors decided not to move forward with their case and dropped the charges against him on Tuesday.

As the Senate broke for the holidays, due back Jan. 8, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in a rare joint statement indicated negotiations are progressing. 

Jean Carlos Martinez was a resident at a warehouse retrofitted as a shelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood when he suffered a medical emergency, the city said. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a hospital Sunday afternoon.

“We looked at the map and we knew that it was the best possible town in southern Illinois to serve the whole southern Illinois community, and it also is a great location for the surrounding states — none of which have access to abortion,” said Planned Parenthood of Illinois CEO Jennifer Welch.

We sit down with Mayor Brandon Johnson to talk community safety, migrants and more. And Chicago Public Schools’ plan to move away from school choice.

In a major departure from past policy, the Chicago Board of Education has announced it intends to move away from a system built on school choice.

Two people, identified as “handlers” in the police log, fled the private plane transporting migrants Tuesday evening and “jumped into an Uber” before they could be questioned by officers, according to police.

The jury asked two questions on Tuesday and none on Wednesday. In all, they have deliberated for approximately 18 hours across three days and are set to resume Thursday morning.

The Colorado decision marked the first time in history the provision has been used to prohibit someone from running for the presidency, and the U..S. Supreme Court is likely to have the final say over whether the ruling will stand.

The holiday celebration hosted by New Life Centers involved a gift and free jacket giveaway, food, music and children’s character mascots.

Although the common cold doesn’t get as many names – at least not the ones that make headlines – the specificity with which scientists talk about SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, matters because it is still such a problem.

In fact, Dec. 25 isn’t going to feel particularly wintry at all.

The case pertained to a section of the Tort Immunity Act, which states local public entities have a duty to maintain property in a safe condition for “people whom the entity intended and permitted to use the property.” 

Remote working. A four-day workweek. Quiet quitting. A resurgent labor movement. These are just a few of the changes workers and employers have been grappling with over the last few years.

Fireworks will launch from six bridges, with a countdown to midnight projected on the Merchandise Mart. 

A data analysis by WTTW News and the Hyde Park Herald/South Side Weekly found the disparity between access to quality nursing home care for Black and White Chicagoans is stark, with highly rated homes concentrated on the city’s North Side and housing majority White residents.

Day 2 of jury deliberations in the Ed Burke corruption trial. What trends in a changing labor landscape could mean for workers. And a local man creates the Cinnamon Bear’s miniature world of Maybeland.

The first communication from the jury came approximately an hour into deliberations on Tuesday and focused on one of the charges facing one of Ed Burke’s codefendants, businessman Charles Cui.

In suburban St. Charles, a whimsical Christmas fantasy of lollipop forests, root-beer oceans and glittering ice castles lies hidden away. The fanciful landscapes of “Maybeland” were handcrafted in intricate miniature by a Chicago father who made it all to display every Christmas season.