Stephanie Banchero

While Alma Jiminez's friends spent the summer tanning themselves on the beach and shopping for the newest fashions, the West Side 8th grader sat in a classroom studying vocabulary lists...

A Domestic Violence Court judge on Monday ordered Ald. Jesse Granato (1st) to stay away from his wife and 8-year-old daughter after the alderman was accused of abusing his wife....

The city's proposal to spend $3.2 million to promote a gay pride theme along a portion of North Halsted Street received mixed reviews Sunday during a festival in that neighborhood,...

Tucked in the shadows of one of America's bleakest public-housing developments sits a tiny red brick building that is more than a firehouse. Though nothing on the outside announces it,...

For years, local governments and school districts across Cook County fed their needs with the funding equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet: property taxes. But the days of double-digit increases in...

The moment Karl Gorecki first struck a drum with a pair of sticks, he was hooked. For the next six years, Mr. Gorecki rose early every morning and stayed after...

Diane Draper knows how to scrounge. The Chicago Public Schools teacher roots through garbage bins behind mega-stores. She picks through overloaded tables at garage sales. She prowls discount stores in...

Angela Bernice Glover, 39, a physician recruiter, spent most of her free time tutoring kids, organizing church events and tending to a host of godchildren. She was a voracious reader,...

Sixty-five years ago Annabelle Sweeney and Virginia Jacoby were dubbed the "Whealan Pool Mermaids" when their swimsuit-clad bodies appeared in a newspaper announcing the pool's grand opening. The mermaids returned--...

Angela Cundari, 104, shunned red meats and high-fat foods, opting instead for fruits and vegetables. She never smoked a cigarette, never drank socially, and she always kept her mind and...