Aldermen on Tuesday advanced a scaled-back effort to test whether Chicago’s affordable housing crisis could be eased by permitting basement, attic and coach house dwellings in five areas of the city.

A new generation of activists and organizers are working to build on past coalitions and bring Chicago’s Black and Brown communities together to end the systemic inequities that have persisted in our city for decades.

This summer, tensions between Black and Latino Chicagoans threatened to explode into violence before activists restored peace, but the incident underlined the sometimes uneasy history between our city’s Black and Latino communities.

New data shows Chicagoans took approximately 640,000 rides on electric scooters during a four-month second trial run. That represents a significant decline from the initial test of the scooters in Chicago between June and July 2019.

Area businesses along commercial corridors like 63rd Street and Ashland Avenue experienced extensive damage in late May and early June. Business owners and community organizers talk about what’s next. 

Efforts to boost the number of affordable housing units in three red-hot Chicago neighborhoods will continue through June, even as city leaders weigh a broader overhaul of the city’s rules to help low- and moderate-income residents find a place to live.

The Chicago Transit Authority hopes to learn in the coming weeks whether it’s received federal approval to move into the next phase of its massive Red Line Extension project, which would extend the city’s busiest train line to Chicago’s southern border.

Commercial Avenue has long been the main business corridor in South Chicago, but in recent years the strip has struggled to fill vacant storefronts – a trend that was seriously exacerbated by civil unrest and looting this summer.

Six new works on display as part of the Chicago Sculpture Exhibit aim to get community members outside to explore the area and support local businesses as winter sets in amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 500 volunteers participated in the kickoff event for My Block My Hood My City’s third annual Be Part of the Light event, which aims to decorate a 12-mile stretch of King Drive on the city’s South Side.

The mayor was asked about her stance on the practice of claiming a shoveled-out parking space. And her answer managed to thread a political needle.

Mail service has been sporadic at best in many parts of Chicago this holiday season. We visit two areas that have been hit hard to find out what’s going on, and what can be done to fix it.

Eleven firms are interested in building or operating a casino in Chicago — and eight told Mayor Lori Lightfoot that it should be downtown, according to a limited summary of the proposals submitted by firms released by the mayor’s office.

A rancorous debate that stretched for more than 18 months ended Tuesday with a unanimous vote of the City Council’s Zoning Committee to reject an effort to landmark more than 900 buildings and murals in Pilsen.

Every year, the start of the snow route ban catches hundreds of drivers unaware, forcing them to travel to the city’s auto pound — and pay at least $235 — to retrieve their cars, officials said.

“Feeding hunger is also feeding the spirit, that’s what events like this do,” said Ron Manderschied, president of Northwestern Settlement. “It provides the food for sustenance but also feeds the soul.”