Latino Voices
Latino Voices
Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive
Nationally, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home declined from 78% in 2000 to 68% in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. The decline has been particularly pronounced among U.S.-born Latinos, as English becomes increasingly dominant across generations.
Read more >Latino Voices
Grassroots Effort Grows Into Queer-Led Community Hub in Gage Park
In a neighborhood where nearly 90% of residents identify as Latino and many families are rooted in Catholic traditions, the queer-led Gage Park Latinx Council has grown into a hub for families.
Read more >Black Voices
Black Voices
Smithsonian Head Lonnie Bunch on Preserving History, Retirement and Trump Administration Threats
Lonnie Bunch was named secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in 2019. He began his career at the Smithsonian at the National Air and Space Museum in 1978 and took on a new role in 2005 to lead the development of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago State University Gears Up for First-Ever Football Game
For Chicago State University, the first game will be about more than football. The university is hoping the new program can help build a new sports identity on Chicago’s South Side.
Read more >Latino Voices
‘You Know You’re Innocent, Yet Nobody’s Hearing You.’ Jimmy Soto Looks to Future After Serving 42 Years for Wrongful Conviction
In December, Jimmy Soto saw the sunrise over Lake Michigan for the first time in 42 years. He is now discovering a completely different world from the one he left.
Read more >Latino Voices
Rogers Park Resident Collects 1,800 Handmade Hats to Help Migrants Keep Warm
One Rogers Park resident is making it her mission to help migrants by giving them knitted and crocheted winter hats. She reached out to local and online crafting groups asking if others wanted to do the same.
Read more >Latino Voices
As Migrants Sit for Hours on Buses at City Landing Zone, Volunteers Call for More Communication
Of the more than 30,000 migrants that have been sent to Chicago from the southern border, more than 200 were living at the city’s landing zone in the West Loop as of Thursday — using CTA buses as temporary shelters.
Read more >Latino Voices
Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Jan. 11, 2024 - Full Show
Hundreds of migrants are using CTA buses as shelters at the city’s landing zone. Should citizenship be reserved for only those born here? And a community business hub is coming to Little Village.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Journalists Say Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporting on City’s Communities is a ‘Paradigm Shift’
“We are looking at issues that have been covered for a long time, but we’re looking at them at the root. We’re seeing people as complex people that control their own stories, and that’s really important,” City Bureau senior reporter Sarah Conway said.
Read more >Black Voices
Fair’s Fight: Former Marine Still Proclaims Innocence, Despite Legal Setbacks and 25 Years in Prison
In the last 20 years, Illinois has released a spate of inmates who were wrongfully convicted, some after it was determined they were tortured into giving confessions. In fact, the state was faced with so many claims of torture that it created the Torture Relief and Inquiry Commission in 2009.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, May 8, 2024 - Full Show
One on one with the new leader of the state’s embattled Department of Children and Family Services. And uncovering the little-known history of Black ballerinas.
Read more >Black Voices
New DCFS Director Shares Vision for Troubled Agency: ‘It Requires Collaboration’
Heidi Mueller was appointed director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February. She is the 13th director in 14 years.
Read more >
Join WTTW News every weekend for analysis and features on a wide range of topics, including arts and life, entrepreneurship and innovation, and equity and justice across the sectors of our society and in the Black and Latino communities in Chicago. Make the VOICES series your definitive source for real conversation and a platform for different voices and perspectives.
Latino Voices
Black Voices
Latino Voices
Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive
Nationally, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home declined from 78% in 2000 to 68% in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. The decline has been particularly pronounced among U.S.-born Latinos, as English becomes increasingly dominant across generations.
Read more >Black Voices
CTU President Rejects Pritzker’s Assertion No More Money to Be Found in Springfield for Schools
CPS is facing a $734 million shortfall with a deadline to pass a balanced budget coming next Friday, but the options facing CPS board members and the interim CEO appear to be narrowing.
Read more >Latino Voices
Grassroots Effort Grows Into Queer-Led Community Hub in Gage Park
In a neighborhood where nearly 90% of residents identify as Latino and many families are rooted in Catholic traditions, the queer-led Gage Park Latinx Council has grown into a hub for families.
Read more >Black Voices
Chicago State University Gears Up for First-Ever Football Game
For Chicago State University, the first game will be about more than football. The university is hoping the new program can help build a new sports identity on Chicago’s South Side.
Read more >
Black Voices
Storm Recovery Continues in Gary, as Thousands Still Without Power
Tuesday will mark two weeks since a derecho swept through Illinois and northwest Indiana, with winds damaging homes, uprooting trees and knocking out power for hundreds of thousands.
Read more >Latino Voices
New Short Film Showcases Life, Work of Puerto Rican Activist
Members of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community recently took park in a special screening of a new short film based on the life of Pedro Albizu Campos.
Read more >