Elyssa Cherney

A University of Illinois student walks through the quad in Urbana on Sept. 4, 2020.

New project seeks to improve retention and graduation rates for students of color at University of Illinois: ‘They have a platform, they have the resources.’

June 23, 2021 at 7:27 p.m.

On the heels of a statewide action plan that calls for greater investment in Black college students, a new coalition will examine racial equity at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign...

Ebonie Davis drops off her 6-year-old daughter, Layla Scott, who has her temperature taken, before boarding a school bus for in-person learning in Chicago, Jan. 11, 2021. At right is her twin daughter, Leah Scott.

A strange and challenging year of pandemic learning is almost over as CPS breaks for summer: ‘I don’t take things for granted anymore.’

June 21, 2021 at 9:00 p.m.

A grueling pandemic-altered school year that pushed parents, students and educators to the brink is finally coming to an end Tuesday, when Chicago Public Schools adjourns for a much-needed summer...

In-person students at the University of Illinois will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Students who continue studying remotely and those with medical conditions will be exempt from the vaccine requirement.

University of Illinois campuses to require COVID-19 vaccine this fall

June 21, 2021 at 7:07 p.m.

The University of Illinois will require students who plan to study in person at any of its three campuses this fall to get the COVID-19 vaccine. "This requirement is consistent...

MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist known for her impromptu multibillion dollar donations to charities and racial equity causes, announced June 15, 2021, that she has given $2.7 billion to 286 organizations. In Chicago, the University of Illinois at Chicago has received $40 million and Kennedy-King college received $5 million.

How MacKenzie Scott’s mega donation will support Chicago’s low-income and 1st-generation college students

June 16, 2021 at 8:06 p.m.

Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott's latest blitz of charitable giving will benefit two institutions in the city's higher education scene: the University of Illinois at Chicago and Kennedy-King College. Scott, the...

Looking at new ways of funding state schools such as the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is part of a new, 10-year strategic plan for Illinois.

Once-in-a-decade plan aims to tackle equity gaps and reverse ‘financial trauma’ at Illinois colleges and universities

June 15, 2021 at 11:02 p.m.

Faced with lingering effects of the pandemic and years of financial disinvestment, the Illinois Board of Higher Education released an ambitious plan Tuesday outlining its goals for the next decade:...

The parents of detained journalist Danny Fenster, Buddy and Rose Fenster, with Danny's brother Bryan, in Huntington Woods, Michigan, on June 4. Danny was trying to catch a flight home to Michigan from Myanmar to see his parents when he was taken into custody.

A journalist with ties to Chicago was detained in Myanmar on May 24. His family hasn’t heard from him since.

June 12, 2021 at 2:36 a.m.

Years before Danny Fenster worked in Myanmar as a magazine editor, his most personal exposure to tumult in the Southeast Asian country happened in Chicago, where he was studying journalism...

Mourners depart after a vigil on the University of Chicago campus in memory of Yiran Fan on Jan. 14. Fan was one of seven people shot, five fatally, by a single gunman during a spree on Jan. 9 that stretched from the South Side of Chicago to Evanston.

Student killed in Chicago-to-Evanston shooting spree will receive posthumous Ph.D. from University of Chicago: ‘Loss of a truly gifted young scholar’

June 9, 2021 at 6:31 p.m.

The life of Yiran Fan, a promising graduate student at the University of Chicago, tragically ended during a random shooting spree in January, but his legacy in the fields of...

Princess Diana receives a flower from an admirer in Evanston on June 4, 1996, after leaving the home of Henry Bienen, the president of Northwestern University.

New royal baby Lilibet born on 25th anniversary of Princess Diana’s visit to Northwestern University, Meghan Markle’s alma mater

June 7, 2021 at 10:10 p.m.

The newest addition to the royal family, Lilibet "Lili" Diana, has more in common with her late grandmother than just a middle name. Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle welcomed...

Gladys Thomas ties the shoes of her son Michael in their Chicago home. They are among the families who will be affected by the closure of an adult day skills program offered by the nonprofit The Chicago Lighthouse. Michael Thomas, who is legally blind and has autism, has attended the program for more than two decades.

For 50 years, it provided a lifeline to blind adults with developmental disabilities in Chicago. COVID-19 led to its demise.

June 3, 2021 at 1:25 p.m.

Perched between his bed and a dresser, Michael Thomas sits on the floor of his Morgan Park home and tries to pass the time, stringing beads along a lanyard and...

Chicago police examine a car with a bullet hole in the front window near where a person was shot May 30, 2021, in the 600 block of South Wabash Avenue.

At least 3 dead, 34 wounded in Chicago’s Memorial Day weekend violence

June 1, 2021 at 9:56 p.m.

Three people were shot early Tuesday in the Back of the Yards, leaving one person in critical condition and bringing the total number of gun violence victims over Memorial Day...

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