Learn about the new transparency law's impact on democracy and accountability.

How trusted local organizations are connecting marginalized residents, including immigrants, to vital health and mental health services in the county.

Trump's interest in Venezuela is American greed dressed up as liberation.

A complicated chapter for Venezuela and the hemisphere. If Washington acts like this is a victory lap, it’s already missing the point.

Maduro’s capture marks a turning point for Venezuela — and sets up major political, security, and diplomatic challenges for the United States.

Latinos brace for a turbulent 2026: economic strain, immigration fears, and major clean‑energy job losses. The stakes have never been higher.

Since September, housekeepers at Bucktown’s Midtown Athletic Club have been advocating for better working conditions. They claim they were understaffed, overworked, and operating in dangerous conditions, resulting in injuries for some. However, their pleas went unanswered after the luxury fitness center and hotel abruptly fired them on April 13.  Vanessa Vasquez (right) stands with ex-staffer during a press conference on April 20, 2023. (Photo by Brenda Ordoñez) Ex-staffer Vanessa Vasquez, 30, says she feels humiliated and useless. Vasquez worked at Midtown Athletic Club for two years and says that she was shocked when she learned she was fired through an email. According to the email, Midtown decided to “expedite the previously-communicated transition to a third party housekeeping team” meaning workers’ positions were terminated effective immediately. This email followed another sent on March 23 in which the club first notified housekeeping that their positions would be eliminated on May 1, [...]

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has created extensive and profound negative impacts on populations across the US. COVID-19 has not only devastated the health landscape in many ways, but at the same time, the pandemic has created a socioeconomic crisis that will likely negatively impact many Latinos for decades to come. In a recent report, the Latino Policy Forum and Brookings find that this toxic constellation of complex COVID-related conditions requires significant attention and resource allocations. To ensure Illinois is reaching the businesses hit hardest by the pandemic in underserved communities, the NCRC Community Development Fund (NCRC CDF) is partnering with Governor J.B. Pritzker's office to distribute $175 million to small businesses through the Back to Business (B2B) grant program. The program will provide recovery grants to small businesses still grappling with the lingering impacts of the pandemic in the restaurant, hotel, and creative arts industries. “Since the [...]

JAMAICA PLAIN—It was a busy day in Yely’s Restaurant. The lunch rush had just started and the long line of customers was growing fast.  Customers shook off the rain from their umbrellas and peered over the foggy glass, lifting a finger to point at the food selection available that day. Edwin Anderson Medina, the 45-year-old owner, worked the register, moving seamlessly around his coworkers as he collected payment from customers.  Despite the long line, Medina paused to greet and shake hands with longtime patrons and friends.  “Getting a taste of our food no matter who you are or where you’re from is the most important thing for me,” said Medina in an interview after the lunch rush. Yely’s Coffee Shop—a Dominican eatery commonly known as Yely’s Restaurant—is a staple in Jamaica Plain, offering home-cooked Dominican food and an authentic feel of the homeland.  The kitchen prepares food from its 6 [...]

CT Latino News produces stories focused on the responses to the social determinants of health. Economic Stability is vital to affording lifestyle choices and paying for quality medical care that keeps people healthy. A well-paying, steady job is critical for food security and housing stability. Savings are essential for managing chronic conditions or emergencies. Three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Connecticut small businesses and nonprofits continue to recover—with a disproportionate impact on organizations in historically underserved communities that tend to face more barriers in accessing federal resources. CT Latino News partnered with the CT Small Business Boost Fund to produce an informational presentation on free resources available to small businesses and nonprofits across the state. The virtual event was released on Facebook and Youtube Wednesday evening. https://youtu.be/qRrwYbgGECo Originally planned as a hybrid event at the Hartford Public Library's Park Street Branch, CTLN transitioned the event to be completely online to accommodate [...]

IL Latino News covers the social determinants of health and democracy. Collaborations like the partnership with is integral to the health of news and the health of democracy.  Economic stability means that people have the resources essential to a healthy life. Factors affecting economic stability include affordable housing; employment that provides a living wage; things that support employment, like worker protections, paid sick leave, and child care; and access to reliable transportation. For husband and wife Angelo Villagomez and Edith Galvan, opening up La Michoacana Plus in Little Village brings them a sense of joy because it became a place where youth can laugh with friends, do homework or enjoy some ice cream.  “Some kids come in here for half an hour, eat one thing and then just hang out…It’s turned into a way of giving back to the community,” Villagomez said.  La Michoacana Plus franchise opened this month and [...]

WALLINGFORD — Growing up in Wallingford in the late-1990s through the early 2000s, there weren’t a lot of Latinos like Octavio Dominguez, who’s of Mexican origin. However, it wasn’t until Dominguez started attending the Spanish Community of Wallingford’s programs that he was able to find his community and build a foundation for his future career endeavors such as his own home inspection business, Grizzly Home Inspections, and his record label, Resalta Records, at only 25 years old. “Growing up in Wallingford as a Latino, there weren’t a lot of Latinos there,” Domingez said. “All the Latinos that were there, we were pretty united … SCOW helped form the big part of that because there were a lot of people from our same town (in Mexico) that we wouldn’t know and wouldn’t hang out with until SCOW. We started building friendships through them.” Read the full story by the Record-Journal’s [...]

Silvia Davila works to ensure that Latino students and families have equal access to the school’s resources.

All applications will be accepted until May 12, 2023

A community leveraged their diversity and lived experiences in responding to persistent language barriers in education.

KCUR spent several months conducting listening sessions and interviews in various neighborhoods across Kansas City, Missouri, and Johnson County, Kansas. Throughout this process, they heard stories of how Latinos are introducing unique cultural elements while also expressing shared concerns.

Educators say increased funding is needed to sustain and expand dual language programs providing students the opportunity to learn core subjects in English and a second language.

After-school programs offer mentoring and positive role models for youth. Besides academic support, after-school programs offer a wide range of enrichment activities that promote the holistic development of youth. From sports and arts to music and drama, these programs allow young people to explore their interests and talents outside the traditional classroom setting.  Exposure to different activities can broaden their perspectives, improve their social skills, and foster a sense of belonging within a community. Carlos Matallana, the Founder and Developer Blok by Blok Podcast, Club Chicago, a youth-led podcast club, was a guest on the program “3 Questions With…” hosted by Hugo Balta, publisher of IL Latino News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbnEygmo4fY Programs like Blok by Blok play a crucial role in providing youth with a safe and supportive environment to express their views about the world -perspectives often discounted by adults. “We are teaching them and giving them the tools to develop their own stories,” said Matallana. [...]

Many Hispanics-Latinos view mental illness as a sign of weakness. Shying away from addressing mental illness for fear of being labeled “loco,” Spanish for “crazy,” only makes matters worse. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and in recognition of that observance, it was the subject of this month's Latinx Talks (LT). WATCH: Latinx Talks: Mental Health Wellness Hugo Balta, Publisher of Illinois Latino News (ILLN) and moderator for LT, led a panel discussion on the stigma associated with mental illness within the Hispanic-Latino culture. Hispanic-Latino adolescents’ mental health and academic performance declined during the COVID-19 pandemic as parents’ job loss forced many teenagers’ to take over childcare responsibilities for their younger siblings and for others to get a job to help make ends meet. Pamela Fullerton, a bilingual and bicultural Latina Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and professor at Northeastern University, believes most schools do not have the resources to support [...]

Dilliner Jordan works 62 hours a week taking care of two people who are too medically fragile to take care of themselves. But she has no health insurance and often sleeps in her car because she can’t afford rent and a security deposit, even though she has been saving for months. She is fearful of staying at a shelter, which she believes will increase her chances of contracting COVID-19 for a second time. “It does bother me,” the 63-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native said. “It bothers me a lot. I don’t understand how I could work two jobs and still can’t afford an apartment. I either make too much money for help or not enough.” At 61, Lucía Nunez, who also works as a personal care assistant, commonly known as a home care worker, is in the same position. Nunez, of East Hartford, works 70 hours a week, taking care [...]

City officials made the right decision by denying General Iron’s permit, but something is clearly wrong when it takes four excruciating years – for everyone involved – to settle a permit dispute. The fight was so intense that it even led to an intervention from federal agencies. Ultimately, it demonstrated the glaring flaws and systemic racism embedded in the permitting process for industry and the urgent need to reform zoning and land-use laws in Chicago.  From the first day that we heard about the proposed move of General Iron from Lincoln Park to our neighborhood, Southeast Siders didn’t want a facility with a history of fires, explosions, and all the other problems that made residents of Lincoln Park call for it to be shut down for years. We knew that if this facility received a permit, it would be shredding entire cars down the street from George Washington High School for years to come. As a lifelong Southeast Sider, I’ve lost [...]

More than 1,000 Connecticut children under age 6 were reported poisoned by lead in 2020, according to a report released this month by the state Department of Public Health (DPH). Of the children tested that year, 649 were new cases. As has been the case for many years, nearly half of the 1,024 lead-poisoned children lived in the state’s cities. New Haven had the highest number of lead-poisoned children, with 171, followed by Bridgeport, 148; Waterbury, 81; Hartford, 71; and Meriden, 35. These five cities had 49% of all lead-poisoned children in Connecticut in 2020. Following suit, health disparities also continued. Black and Hispanic-Latino children continued to have higher rates of lead poisoning than non-Hispanic white children. Non-Hispanic Black children were 2.6 times more likely to be poisoned than white children, according to a report on the 2020 lead poisoning numbers on the state’s Open Data website. DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani, M.D., said, [...]

It has been a very difficult two years for so many; nearly 8,000 Chicagoans and more than 33,000 Illinoisans have died from COVID-related causes. The pandemic revealed inequities in healthcare, and other determinants of health among Hispanics-Latinos. While government leaders celebrate dropping masking requirements and other mitigations, many of the most vulnerable say that for them, the emergency continues. “I have had students tell me, ‘I’m not gonna get vaccinated now and I never will.’ … I’m really concerned that they could be hospitalized or end up dying,” Dr. Jesu Estrada told the Chicago Sun-Times. Estrada is the mother of two Chicago Public Schools students, ages 6 and 12. She works at Harold Washington College and serves as chapter chair for Local 1600 of the Cook County College Teachers Union. Estrada argued a majority of the unvaccinated are the Black and Brown students that she serves. “Our communities, our [...]

I remember back in 2020, as the year was about to end, I professed my belief in 2021 being a better year. Unfortunately, 2021 brought a lot more suffering in many ways. We saw and felt the effects of inequitable health disparities, social unrest, and increased mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. 2021 events really highlighted the need for increased access to mental health awareness and wellness-based resources, particularly for Latinx communities.  We who identify as Latinx tend to belong to collectivist societies. We honor family and community, value social interest, and feel empowered from belonging to our family and community. The pandemic, however, took much of that away from us. Family get-togethers, holiday feasts, church events, local social activities, and practically all of our in-person engagements were ended. With that, our ability to connect with our loved ones, peers, and community members were cut off too. The [...]