Stories by erica gunderson

In addition to a new rule requiring minors visiting Millennium Park to be accompanied by a “responsible adult” after 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is asking for an expanded curfew to begin at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights. 

Chicago City Council members voted 43 to 7 to approve a new ward map this week. The approval came after a monthslong tug-of-war between the council’s Latino and Black Caucuses over the balance of wards. The approved map has 14 wards with a majority of Latino voters — one short of the 15 wards the Latino Caucus had demanded.

Dr. Alejandro Lugo has taught anthropology and Latinx studies at several colleges, including the University of Illinois. As part of our Last Word series, he gives La Ultima Palabra on the change he says needs to happen to better serve all students.

The Defenders for All Act took effect at the beginning of this year. Since then, the Cook County Public Defenders’ immigration unit says it’s taken on over a dozen cases free of charge — the largest county in the nation to do so.

As the American population ages and needs more healthcare — and as the American demographic continues to become increasingly Latino — finding ways to draw more people, especially Latinos, into nursing is crucial to providing effective health care.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated housing insecurity, substance abuse, human trafficking, and domestic violence, often leaving women struggling with those issues with virtually no resources to move forward. But the pandemic also sparked an idea for local woman Maria Castro. She found a way to get everyday necessities — plus a touch of inspiration — to women in need.

In Illinois, Gov. J. B. Pritzker says no matter how the Supreme Court eventually rules, abortion is still safe and legal in the state. But that’s not the case everywhere in the Midwest.

The 1913 Consumers Building at 202 South State St., and its neighbor, the 1915 Century Building, were designed by two of Chicago’s most storied architecture firms. But multiple federal agencies have concluded the towers’ locations just east of the Dirksen Federal Building render the country’s largest federal courthouse vulnerable to attack and pose too much of a security risk to keep.

Cook County Health recently unveiled The Change Institute, a think tank they say will bring the urgency and focus of the COVID-19 pandemic response to addressing these other health issues.

The Chicago Teachers Union and advocacy groups are protesting the budget cuts they say their schools are facing. This is after Chicago Public Schools released individual school budgets with more than 40% of schools expected to see fewer dollars.

When it comes to the stories told about Black people in theater, 18th century London might not be the first time and place that comes to mind. But composer Errollyn Wallen is hoping to change that with “Quamino’s Map,” a new opera being staged at Chicago Opera Theatre.