Elvia Malagon

Opal Lang decorates Christmas cookies with her mother, Priscilla Lang, at their Highland Park home. The toddler received a heart transplant earlier this year.

Last Christmas, a Highland Park toddler had machines keeping her alive. Now she’s home for the holidays — with a new heart.

December 25, 2019 at 9:56 p.m.

Opal Lang wanted to cry as she struggled to balance herself. The soon-to-be 3-year-old had already fallen, and her mother, Priscilla Lang, rolled up Opal's green pants so she could...

Former Detective Reynaldo Guevara covers his face as he leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago in June.

Prosecutors drop case against man who said Chicago police detective framed him for 1991 murder. ‘I’m trying to find my mind right now’

December 20, 2019 at 10:15 p.m.

Demetrius Johnson stood in the hallway outside a Cook County courtroom Friday with a look of shock and relief. For more than a month, he faced the prospect of standing...

Pedestrians in downtown Chicago bundle up from the wind and snow during the early morning rush hour as a winter weather advisory is issued for the Chicago area on Nov. 11, 2019.

Chicago-area residents could see snow during Monday commute

December 13, 2019 at 5:42 p.m.

Don't put away your snow shoes just yet, even if it seems like we've gotten almost no snow this December. Snow is expected to move into the Chicago area Sunday...

Marijuana plants in a cultivation center on May 6, 2019, in Elk Grove Village.

Marijuana will be legal in Illinois soon — but immigrants warned to think before they partake

March 11, 2024 at 2:07 p.m.

With much of Illinois anticipating the state's legalization of marijuana in January, activists are urging immigrants not to use or buy cannabis or work in the new industry, as it...

A 2017 view of part of the 18th Street Pink Line "L" station, home to colorful Mexican-themed murals credited to artist Francisco Mendoza, Gallery 37 students and the Mexican Museum of National Art.

Damage of murals depicting Mexican culture in Pilsen sparks outrage, but CTA says it hasn’t painted over them in a year

December 7, 2019 at 2:48 a.m.

An alderman is demanding to know why colorful murals honoring Mexican culture at a Pilsen CTA station were painted over with white paint, but the transit agency Friday said it...

John Schoff, 64, of Barrington, is a volunteer with Exodus World Service who traveled to Lebanon to help Syrian refugees.

As the number of refugees allowed into the U.S. dwindles, Chicago-area volunteers move their work overseas to help displaced people

March 11, 2024 at 2:07 p.m.

For decades, John Schoff has opened up his home, bought groceries and collected linens for refugees resettling in the Chicago area. But as the country continues to cut back drastically...

Kitchen appliances were removed without residents' consent at a shelter owned by Advocate United Church of Christ in Chicago. A turned-off refrigerator sits inside the kitchen in June.

How a Chicago church’s attempt to help the homeless went downhill, leaving residents without heat just before the polar vortex

November 26, 2019 at 1:18 p.m.

Two men dragged a refrigerator across the kitchen, tipping it out the side door of a two-story home on Chicago's Southeast Side. A third man used pliers to snap a...

Alejandra Cano, a single mother who came to the U.S. with her parents as a toddler, is embraced by immigrant rights and addiction recovery advocates who were rallying on her behalf, outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Chicago on Nov. 14. At right is her son Nicolas Ortiz.

Her family fled Pinochet’s Chile. She could be sent back, despite green card, after drug addiction and theft convictions.

November 15, 2019 at 6:23 p.m.

Alejandra Cano walked into the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in Chicago Thursday morning uncertain if she would walk back out. Cano, who arrived in the U.S. as a...

Solorio Academy High School boys cross-country coach Robert Dron, from left, and students Miguel Cordova, Jasmine Reyes and Kaylani Esteban talk Nov. 5, 2019, about their participation in state finals in Chicago.

Appellate court will allow CPS cross-country runners to compete at Saturday’s state championship

November 8, 2019 at 4:04 a.m.

The Illinois Appellate Court will allow Chicago Public Schools cross-country runners to compete at this weekend's state championship meet, according to an order issued Thursday. The Illinois High School Association...

Erika Garcia, a cousin of the 7 yr. old victim talks about the night of the Halloween shooting and the aftermath, Monday, Nov. 4, 2019. (Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)

‘Milagro’: Días después de que la niña de 7 fuera baleada mientras pedía dulces en Halloween, ya se puede levantar y ver ‘Finding Dory’

November 5, 2019 at 7:53 p.m.

Los médicos tenían pocas esperanzas cuando la niña de 7 años, vestida con un disfraz de Minnie Mouse, fue llevada al Hospital Stroger después de recibir un disparo en el...

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