Brighton Park

Jose Mathias Estrada (left to right), Mariser Fernandez and Reeshell Parra Fernandez walk down the street recently near their home in Brighton Park.

Venezuelan matriarch ‘catches a break’ in complicated search for housing for migrants

Turned away from a shelter, the mother and grandmother happened to find a benefactor in a former spice merchant. They’re just one of the hundreds of families who have begun to call Chicago home.

By Michael Loria

These two girls hang the birdhouses made as part of a two-week environmental club sponsored by the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council and funded by Chicago Public Schools.

Back to School

Chicago public schools help students build mental health coping skills

Support groups and counseling help students overcome social and emotional struggles after COVID-19.

By Kathleen Hayes

Los robos ocurrieron entre las 7:20 y las 8:20 a.m. el jueves, según la policía. | Archivos Sun-Times

Crime

Boy, 17, shot, wounded in Brighton Park

The boy was in the 4600 block of South Albany Avenue when he was shot in the shin, police said. He’s hospitalized in good condition.

By Sun-Times Wire

Crime

Man shot, killed outside Brighton Park Walgreens

The man was shot in the 4700 block of South Western Avenue, police said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later died. No one is in custody.

By Sun-Times Wire

The Watchdogs

10 years after mass CPS school closings, enrollment is even worse. What can be done?

Mayor Brandon Johnson says he opposes closing schools and our investigation shows they didn’t help students or communities. We explore the alternatives.

By Nader Issa, Lauren FitzPatrick, and 1 more

Adam Gray (center) with his lawyer Jon Loevy (left) at a 2018 news conference.

City Hall

Man awarded $27 million for wrongful murder, arson conviction

Adam Gray was arrested at 14 and spent 24 years behind bars. He filed a federal lawsuit against the city and the cops he said framed him and coerced his confession.

By Catherine Odom

Jorge Agustin and Heidi Januszewski, of La Casa Norte, knock on doors and hand out flyers Friday afternoon near 35th Street and California Avenue as part of a “get out the vote” campaign targeting Latino voters in Chicago.

Elections

Getting out the Hispanic vote: Volunteers plan to knock on 10,000 doors

Casa Norte and Puerto Rican Cultural Center launch effort this weekend canvassing Northwest and Southwest sides.

By Michael Loria

Candidates in the 14th Ward (top and bottom left) Jeylú Gutiérrez and Raul Reyes; in the 13th Ward (top and bottom center) incumbent Marty Quinn and challenger Paul Bruton; and in the 23rd Ward (top and bottom right) incumbent Silvana Tabares and Eddie Guillen.

Elections

Burke ‘cloud’ hangs over 14th Ward, as Madigan casts shadow in 13th and 23rd

In the two-candidate contest to succeed Ald. Ed Burke in the 14th Ward, Jeylú Gutiérrez faces Raul Reyes. And in the nearby 13th and 23rd Wards, two incumbents — one who broke with former House Speaker Mike Madigan and the other a longtime ally — are seeking reelection.

By Tina Sfondeles

Ana Guajardo (from left), Peter Chico and Óscar Sanchez are among five candidates running for the Chicago City Council in the 10th ward.

Elections

Pollution, public safety drive ward races in Southeast Side’s 10th, Southwest Side’s 12th

In the 10th, Yessenia Carreón, Peter Chico, Ana Guajardo, Óscar Sanchez and Jessica Venegas are running to succeed Ald. Susan Sadlowski Garza. And in the 12th, newly appointed Ald. Anabel Abarca is challenged by Julia Ramirez.

By Brett Chase

City Hall

Lightfoot appoints Cardenas’ former chief of staff to replace him as 12th Ward alderperson

Attorney Anabel Abarca, a McKinley Park resident, is the mayor’s fourth appointment to fill an aldermanic vacancy.

By Fran Spielman

News

15-year-old boy wounded in Brighton Park shooting

A teen was driving in the 2700 block of West Pope John Paul II Drive when he was shot, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

Crime

2 teenagers shot walking in Brighton Park

The teens, both 17, were walking down the street Saturday morning in the 3800 block of South Archer Avenue when they were shot, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

A teenage boy was shot Oct. 20, 2020, in East Garfield Park.

Crime

14-year-old boy wounded in Brighton Park shooting

The teen was shot about 4:55 p.m. Tuesday and was hospitalized in good condition, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

Brighton Park

Health center on Southwest Side will feature first-of-its kind geriatric program in Illinois

Construction has begun on the Esperanza Health Center in Brighton Park that will host one of Illinois’ first federally qualified all-inclusive care programs to help seniors stay in their own homes longer.

By Michael Loria

Crime

18-year-old dies after being shot in neck in Brighton Park: police

A 19-year-old was also shot and taken to Mount Sinai in good condition.

By Sun-Times Wire

News

17-year-old boy shot while driving in Back of the Yards neighborhood

He was driving in the 4300 block of South Western Boulevard when he heard gunshots and felt pain, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire

Kara Crutcher, with Good Kids Mad City, speaks at a protest near the entrance for Lollapalooza to demand Mayor Lori Lightfoot direct investments to the community and alter the youth curfew.

News

As Lollapalooza begins, organizations protest ‘unconstitutional’ curfew

Good Kids Mad City and Brighton Park Neighborhood Council protested outside a festival entrance, saying the curfew is enforced against the city’s young Black and Brown population, while Lollapalooza attendees get a pass.

By Mariah Rush

Nicole Lee was introduced Thursday as Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s pick to be the new 11th Ward alderperson on the Chicago City Council.

City Hall

Newest City Council member chooses sides in ward remap battle, but what difference will it make?

Ald. Nicole Lee (11th) is the 34th alderperson to back a map drafted for the Rules Committee and the Black Caucus. Both it and a map proposed by the Latino Caucus turn her ward into Chicago’s first with an Asian American majority.

By Fran Spielman

Maria Julia Peña of Brighton Park, standing in her dining room looking at her gas bills, says she is trying to chip away at her balance after an expensive winter. “I don’t like to be behind on my bills,” she says.

Gas bills hit Chicagoans hard

By Stephanie Zimmermann

Crime

8-year-old boy wounded in drive-by shooting in Brighton Park

The boy and a 19-year-old man were traveling in a car when a dark-colored SUV pulled alongside them in the 2600 block of West 39th Place and someone fired shots Friday morning.

By Sun-Times Wire

“I don’t want to get sick because the school is not getting cleaned,” 8-year-old Xochitl Frausto Morales, a third grader at Eberhart Elementary School, complained to the Local School Council at a meeting this past week about the filth — and the absence of custodians to keep the school clean. “I know it is not clean because I found a living cockroach on the toilet seat in the Eberhart bathroom.”

The Watchdogs

Illinois OSHA to CPS: Investigate and show you’ve cleaned up filthy Southwest Side school

Eberhart Elementary reported ‘deplorable conditions, especially the bathrooms and classrooms since there is no or very little janitorial staff,’ the Sun-Times has learned.

By Lauren FitzPatrick and Nader Issa

Bridgeport

Chicago’s Asian population, fastest growing in city, is booming south of Chinatown — especially in former Daley stronghold

The 2020 census shows Asian Americans for the first time are the biggest ethnic or racial group in Bridgeport and are seeing big gains in many areas along Archer Avenue.

By Manny Ramos

Seven people were killed including five children in a crash July 31, 2022 in McHenry County.

Crime

Two men, 79 and 80, fatally shot inside Brighton Park apartment

An 80-year-old man was found in the hallway of an apartment building in the 4400 block of South Campbell Avenue, a second man was found inside an apartment.

By Sun-Times Wire

Chicago police displayed these illegal firearms that were confiscated in 2014.

City Hall

Lightfoot creates million-dollar fund to reward tips leading to seizure of illegal firearms

“We need everyone’s help to make sure that we are doing everything that we can to address this horrible plague of illegal firearms.” the mayor said at the groundbreaking for the Park District’s new headquarters in Brighton Park.

By Fran Spielman

News

Teen girl missing from Brighton Park located safely

Police cancelled a missing person alert about 10:25 a.m. Thursday.

By Sun-Times Wire

News

Man missing from Brighton Park: police

Joseph “JJ” Johnson was last seen Tuesday near the 4000 block of South Western Avenue.

By Sun-Times Wire

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Crime

15-year-old boy, two men charged in separate carjackings in Chicago

The attacks occurred in the Archer Heights, Back of the Yards and Brighton Park neighborhoods.

By Grace Asiegbu

Crime

Homes burglarized in Gage Park, Brighton Park

In each incident, someone broke into the residences or garages and took property.

By Sun-Times Wire

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Chicago

13-year-old girl missing from Brighton Park found safe

Madison Ferguson was last seen Monday near 4500 South Fairfield Avenue.

By Sun-Times Wire

A Chicago police officer died of an apparent suicide July 2, 2022.

Crime

Police search for woman who tried to take child from mother in Brighton Park

The woman asked the mother if she could hold the girl, and when the mother refused, the woman grabbed the girl’s arm and tried to pull her away, police said.

By Sun-Times Wire