Latino Voices

Latino Voices

Spanish Is Fading Across Generations. These Latino Parents Are Working to Keep It Alive

(WTTW News) 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

Antonio Santos and Katia Martinez founded the Gage Park Latinx Council. (WTTW News) 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

FILE - Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Lonnie Bunch speaks at an event, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo / Allison Robbert, File) 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

The Chicago State University football team at practice. (WTTW News) 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

With Private Housing in Uptown, Migrants Build Community While Learning to Navigate Life in New Country

Casa Monarca in Uptown offers housing and support services to asylum seekers. (WTTW News) Chicago’s 60-day shelter-stay limit has asylum seekers looking to find permanent housing in the area. A new privately funded apartment-style living arrangement has been in the works since October and could offer a solution. Read more >

Latino Voices

Several Chicago Suburbs Take Steps to Prevent More Unannounced Migrant Drop-Offs From Texas

In Rockford, Ill., 355 migrants recently arrived by plane. The Chicago City Council passed an ordinance allowing officials to impound buses bringing migrants to the city outside official hours and landing zones. It’s led multiple suburbs to follow in Chicago’s footsteps by passing similar emergency policies. Read more >

Latino Voices

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, Dec. 28, 2023 - Full Show

Pushback to a second waste facility in West Chicago. How educators and alumni are coming together to help migrant students. And what’s behind an unseasonably warm December. Read more >

Latino Voices

At Albany Park Elementary School, Community Rallies Behind Migrant Students and Their Families

Haugan Elementary School principal Heather Yutzy and students. (WTTW News) “We’re trying to put ourselves in the place of these families,” Haugan Elementary School principal Heather Yutzy said. “If we were in this situation, what would we need for our kids?” Read more >

Black Voices

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, April 24, 2024 - Full Show

Plans for a new Bears stadium on the lakefront. What’s behind changes at Rainbow PUSH. And we look back at the very first “Chicago Tonight” — which aired 40 years ago tonight! Read more >

Black Voices

Rainbow PUSH Coalition Searching for New Leader After CEO Steps Down Just Months After Taking the Job

The Rev. Frederick Haynes III (at podium) and the Rev. Jesse Jackson (seated, right) at a news conference for Rainbow PUSH on July 18, 2023. (WTTW News) The Rev. Frederick Haynes III announced last week he would step down as president and CEO after just months on the job. It has raised questions about the future of the historic civil rights organization. Read more >

Black Voices

James ‘Big Cat’ Williams on the Bears’ Stadium Plans and 2024 NFL Draft

James “Big Cat” Williams appears on “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” on April 24, 2024. (WTTW News) For the Chicago Bears, this week may just turn out to be one of the most significant in the history of the franchise. Read more >

Black Voices

‘Chicago Tonight’ Celebrates 40th Anniversary. See How It All Began With Harold Washington Interview

John Callaway interviews then Mayor Harold Washington on “Chicago Tonight” on April 24, 1984. (WTTW News) Forty years ago, John Callaway went on the air with the very first edition of “Chicago Tonight.” Watch him interview then Mayor Harold Washington on April 24, 1984. 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

(WTTW News) 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

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Aug. 13, 2025 - Full Show

Brandis Friedman (WTTW News) A charging decision is made in the shooting death of Dexter Reed. And Chicago Public Schools’ latest effort to close its budget gap. Read more >

Latino Voices

Grassroots Effort Grows Into Queer-Led Community Hub in Gage Park

Antonio Santos and Katia Martinez founded the Gage Park Latinx Council. (WTTW News) 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

The Chicago State University football team at practice. (WTTW News) 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

The city of Gary, Ind., is pictured in a file photo. (WTTW News) 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

The case and crew of the short film “Mataron A Pedro” at a screening in Chicago. (Carmona Rivera / National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and Culture) 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 >