Stories by Joanna Hernandez

You have probably had these debates before. Is it pop or soda? Fireflies or lightning bugs? Well, just like the English language, in Spanish, people use different words to describe the same thing depending on where they’re from. So we headed out to ask people, “¿Cómo se dice la palabra?”

Chicago is one of the deadliest cities for migrating birds and Thursday’s “insane abundance of migratory action” led to “insane mortality,” birders said. The remedy is as simple as flipping off a light switch.

Officials are still scouting locations for the massive tents, which could shelter, feed and care for as many as 1,000 migrants in a single location.

The move is the latest effort to deal with swelling numbers of migrants as the Biden administration comes under increasing pressure from Republicans and mayors from the president’s own party to do more to slow arrivals.

River tours, home tours and fall festivals usher in the weekend. Here are five things to do in Chicago.

The 45th running of the Chicago Marathon will take place Sunday.

Pat Fitzgerald’s attorney Dan Webb on Thursday announced that the former coach has filed a lawsuit in Cook County court against Northwestern and its president, Michael Schill, alleging the coach was “wrongfully and illegally terminated.”

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith will resign effective Dec. 31, he told colleagues in an all-staff town hall meeting Wednesday morning.

Two former Chicago Police Department employees were suspended from jobs at Lane Tech and Kenwood Academy. Chicago Public Schools says its revamped program is working, but omits key details.

The Bring Chicago Home proposal raises tensions in a City Council hearing. Reaction to a plan to convert a Park District fieldhouse into a migrant shelter. And the Chicago native behind the new series “Young Love.”

It marked the latest in a series of contentious community meetings across the city as officials work to find housing for the influx of thousands of migrants being sent from the southern border.

Chicago native Matthew A. Cherry expanded on his Academy Award-winning short film “Hair Love” by creating “Young Love,” an animated series featuring a family living on the West Side of Chicago.

Supporters say the plan would generate approximately $100 million annually to address the root causes of homelessness by building new permanent housing that offers wraparound services.

Shane Woods, of Auburn, Illinois, took a running start and tackled the Reuters cameraman “like an NFL linebacker hunting a quarterback after an interception,” federal prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

The Forum’s mission of “understanding, practicing and advancing” free inquiry and expression takes form this week with speaker panels as part of the initiative’s official launch.

Through the first three quarters of 2023, homicides and shootings in Chicago are down more than 10% compared to the same time last year, and are each at their lowest totals since at least 2019.

Mayor Brandon Johnson waved the green flag after race officials agreed to “shorten the event’s set up and tear down windows, reducing travel disruption for impacted communities and other residents,” the mayor’s office said in a statement.

It’s race week for more than 47,000 participants in the 2023 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. We’ve compiled tips from one runner who shares what to expect at this year’s race.

By comparison, Lollapalooza generated $422 million, according to a separate report.

Rina Foygel Barber, 40, was announced as one of the newest members of the “genius grant” fellowship, which provides recipients with a $800,000 no-strings-attached award over five years to spend however they want.

Tensions remain as the fight over the building has been seen by some as a symbol of the struggle to maintain Humboldt Park’s longstanding Puerto Rican heritage in the face of gentrification.

Find your own darn pumpkin patches and corn mazes. This is a list for adults who love the spooky season just as much as those costumed kids with their candy bags.

Starting at approximately 1:20 p.m. CT on Wednesday, the federal government will begin conducting a nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. 

Kevin McCarthy is ousted as speaker of the House — a look at what comes next. And an increase in hate crimes in Illinois.

Next steps are uncertain, but there is no obvious successor to lead the House Republican majority.

A report from the Anti-Defamation League finds an increase in antisemitic incidents, hate crimes, white supremacist propaganda and more in Illinois.