Stories by Erica Gunderson

The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority has fought for voting rights for more than a century. We talk with AKA member Kimberley Egonmwan about what they’re doing to get the vote out today.

“We all want to return to our students. We don’t want to die doing our jobs, and we don’t want to be vectors for spreading illness or death to our students and their families,” CTU Vice President Stacy Davis Gates said.

Senate Republicans voted overwhelmingly Sunday to advance Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett toward final confirmation despite Democratic objections, just over a week before the presidential election. 

A day after reporting a record number of new COVID-19 cases over a 24-hour period in Illinois, state health officials said another 4,000-plus residents had become infected with the virus.

President Donald Trump assured supporters packed shoulder to shoulder at weekend rallies that “we’re rounding the turn” on the coronavirus and mocked challenger Joe Biden for raising alarms about the pandemic.

What you need to know about the so-called fair tax amendment. A win for Southwest Side residents fighting gentrification. Why Dia de los Muertos is a family reunion. And we visit a Peruvian kitchen.

Chicagoans are casting their votes for political candidates and making their voices heard on political ideas. A group of journalists walks us through the referenda on the ballot.

Chef Jesus Delgado talks about making Peruvian plates for Chicago palates.

Scientists in Washington state have discovered the first nest of so-called murder hornets in the United States and plan to wipe it out Saturday to protect native honeybees, officials said.

A suburban Chicago police officer who shot a Black couple inside a vehicle — killing a 19-year-old man and wounding his girlfriend — has been fired, the police chief announced late Friday.

The Senate is poised for a rare weekend session as Republicans race to put Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court  and cement a conservative majority before Election Day.

COVID-19 rollbacks hit Chicago and the collar counties. Tax hikes, borrowing and layoffs are in Mayor Lightfoot’s budget. A state supreme court race gets political. A recap of the final presidential debate.

U.S. Postal Service records show delivery delays have persisted across the country as millions of Americans are voting by mail, raising the possibility of ballots being rejected because they arrive too late. 

“The way we work, the way we live, the way we play have all changed,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike, the state’s top doctor, said Friday. “The harsh reality is that the sacrifices we’ve made and that we continue to make do not have a future expiration date.”

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden fought over how to tame the coronavirus during the campaign's closing debate, largely shelving the rancor that overshadowed their previous face-off.

Located 14 miles from the Loop, the middle-class Ashburn community has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest this summer.

President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden are set to square off in their final debate Thursday, one of the last high-profile opportunities for the trailing incumbent to change the trajectory of an increasingly contentious campaign.

Debating the merits of the Bears 5-1 record is all the rage, but we should know if it’s for real over the next several weeks, as they face some tough teams.

Democratic senators refused to show up in protest of the GOP’s rush to install Trump’s nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

The mother of a Black woman who was injured in a police shooting in suburban Chicago that left a Black man dead said the couple did nothing to provoke the officer.

Mayor Paul Braun said he and the Flossmoor Village Board were “extremely disappointed” that Gyata Kimmons resigned his seat.

Efforts to increase demand for Asian carp as a food are aimed at buying time for development of a long-term solution to the threat posed by the invasive fish.

Speaking on a day when Illinois reported nearly 5,000 new COVID-19 cases, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state will act to punish businesses and establishments that fail to abide by mandated coronavirus mitigation requirements.

“There are points in time when scoop and toss is appropriate” and that is now the case since Chicago is facing a $1.2 billion budget gap, Chief Financial Officer Jennie Huang Bennett said.

Lake Shore Drive is iconic, but with that status comes aging infrastructure. Transportation officials have come up with potential ways to overhaul the Drive and they’re looking for feedback.

“We are taking these measures to avoid potential catastrophic impacts later,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Thursday announcing new restrictions in the wake of an increase coronavirus cases.