Stories by Erica Demarest

With winter fast approaching, the city of Chicago is reminding people that asylum seekers and homeless residents are in need of clothing, toiletries and other items.

Retailers say theft is exploding, and some data from retailers along with numerous videos of violent store robberies and looting seem to support the claim. But some retail analysts and researchers say stores may be over-stating the extent and impact of theft.

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is setting the price for a five-day treatment of Paxlovid at $1,390, but Americans can still access the pills at no cost — for now. The less commonly used COVID-19 treatment Lagevrio, manufactured by Merck, also will hit the market next week.

The city moves forward on plans to build a tent base camp in Brighton Park despite pushback. And Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling vows to remove extremists from the department.

If the measure is approved, Chicago workers would be entitled to more time off than workers in New York City and Los Angeles, and would be the first to earn time off for any reason, not just if they or a family member falls ill.

Officials approved updated shots that have a single target, an omicron descendant named XBB.1.5. Last month, the CDC recommended the new shots for everyone 6 months and older.

The number of migrants sent to Chicago in the last 30 days has grown 30%, with the number of migrants at police stations and O’Hare growing by more than 50%, even as the mayor’s office opened several new shelters in recent weeks.

It’s going to be a colorful day in Pilsen on Saturday. More than 6,000 people are expected to come together to honor and remember their late loved ones in a sold-out race ahead of Dia de los Muertos, a well-known Mexican holiday dating back to precolonial times.

A delegation of local leaders and community groups from Chicago who recently visited the southern border and Texas cities discuss their trip and the lessons they brought home. 

The National Weather Service isn’t even trying to sugarcoat the forecast for Halloween. It’s all downhill from here.

“It is hard to imagine a more serious issue in police oversight right now,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “Chicago has to get this right.”

Chicago’s delegation to the border is back — what they learned. Inequities in the effects of climate change in Lake County. And Carrera de los Muertos kicks off this weekend.

Survivors of a Category 5 storm that killed at least 27 people as it devastated Mexico’s resort city of Acapulco spent Thursday searching for acquaintances and necessities and hoping that aid would come quickly in the wake of Hurricane Otis.

A new report from the Brushwood Center found Lake County residents face significant race-based disparities in health outcomes, environmental quality and access to nature.

The probe by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability concluded that two Chicago Police lieutenants “may have directed an improper campaign of harassment” against Pete Czosnyka “in retaliation for the exercise of his First Amendment rights.”

More than 19,000 people have been sent to Chicago from the southern border in the past 15 months. The city is awaiting test results before finalizing a decision to build a massive “winterized base camp” in Brighton Park.

The fall foliage season got off to a slow start in the Chicago region but is making up for lost time. We’ve rounded up some resources to help you make the most of Mother Nature’s spectacular, but short-lived, autumnal display.

The eight-count indictment against Joseph Czuba, 71, tracks the charges that were filed soon after the fatal stabbing of Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, and the wounding of Hanaan Shahin on Oct. 14. Authorities said the victims were targeted because of their Muslim faith.

Spooky music, pet costume contests and a deli exhibit usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in and around Chicago.

A Chicago auction house is offering an astonishing archive of vaudeville posters, sideshow ephemera, and what is called magicana. All of it was collected by magician Ricky Jay, who died in 2018 at age 72.

The Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations saw increases in reported instances, many involving violence or threats against protesters at rallies in support of Israel or in support of Palestinians over the last two weeks as war broke out between Israel and Hamas.

Former NFL player Sergio Brown, charged with killing his mother, bought a one-way ticket to Cancun, Mexico, after being the last person seen with the woman before her slaying last month, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Chicago Police Department say they’re moving into a “new age of policing” while rebuilding the department. They are also asking for more money, patience and time.

The death rate for breast cancer in the United States dropped 43% between 1989 and 2020, according to the American Cancer Society. Despite this hopeful news, breast cancer mortality rates still remain 40% higher for Black women than White women. 

A group of individuals working for the office of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has been exploring forming a union. Welch is now the sponsor of a bill creating the Legislative Employee Labor Relations Act.

The working group formed by Mayor Brandon Johnson in June to tackle Chicago’s acutely underfunded pensions has yet to craft a comprehensive plan to address one of the major fiscal challenges facing the city.