Laura Turbay

Laura Turbay is a bilingual journalist (English and Spanish) covering immigration and emerging news in the Chicago community. She previously covered business at Crain’s Chicago Business, and immigration for PublicSource in Pittsburgh. She graduated from Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism in New York and specialized in business and economics reporting.

A woman wears a jean jacket adorned with the image of former President Barack Obama inside Home Court at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Saturday, March 7, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Obamas announce June dedication, opening of Jackson Park presidential center

March 8, 2026 at 4:19 p.m.

On the heels of his speech at funeral services for the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., former President Barack Obama announced plans for him and former First Lady Michelle Obama to...

Traffic backs up as a train moves across Touhy Avenue on March 5, 2026, in Des Plaines. An overpass is planned as part of the Touhy Avenue improvement project for the busy area around O’Hare International Airport. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

$100 million Touhy Avenue improvement project breaks ground in Des Plaines

March 5, 2026 at 3:40 p.m.

A $100 million project to fully reconstruct Touhy Avenue between Elmhurst Road and Mount Prospect Road broke ground in Des Plaines.

People gather in downtown Chicago on Jan. 17, 2026, to protest the Iranian government's killing of protesters and general crackdown. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Air strikes, death of Ayatollah Khamenei, celebrated by many in Chicago Iranian community

March 1, 2026 at 6:58 p.m.

Many in Chicago's Iranian community are in high spirits after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was reported dead following a major attack Saturday by the United States and Israel.

Area resident and restaurateur David Bonomi stands near a platform that once displayed a statue of Christopher Columbus at the west end of Arrigo Park in Chicago on Feb. 25, 2026. The platform will hold a statue of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American saint. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

St. Cabrini statue in place of ousted Columbus brings mixed reactions from neighbors, local Italian Americans

February 28, 2026 at 7:20 p.m.

The choice to replace an ousted Columbus statue in Chicago's Little Italy with a new statue of Italian-born St. Cabrini is a complicated outcome for some Little Italy residents and...

People dance in the middle of the street ahead of a balloon release on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in honor of two dancers from South Shore-based Empiire Dance Company who died Thursday morning in a car crash on the Bishop Ford Expressway. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)

Dozens attend dance-filled celebration for young dancer killed in Bishop Ford crash

February 22, 2026 at 4:13 p.m.

Friends, teachers, dancers and relatives of Boaz Flemister gathered at Warren School in the Calumet Heights neighborhood days after his death in a fatal crash.

A woman drinks a beer in a packed taproom at Alarmist Brewing, in Chicago’s Sauganash neighborhood on Jan. 31, 2026. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Breweries in Chicago adapt to changing drinking and health habits or face closures

February 21, 2026 at 8:37 a.m.

In Illinois and across the country, breweries have been struggling as consumers seek healthier drinking habits or have a wider range of options, such as THC-infused drinks

Cops: Boy, 17, killed in Logan Square home

February 14, 2026 at 4:25 p.m.

The victim, whose identity wasn't released, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Senn High School student Kristina Williams, 16, cries during the walkout and protest against federal immigration enforcement, Feb. 13, 2026, in Chicago’s Daley Plaza. (Josh Boland/Chicago Tribune)

Hundreds of Chicago students join national school walkout at Federal Plaza

February 14, 2026 at 12:21 p.m.

Hundreds of Chicago students left their classrooms Friday afternoon to gather in Federal Plaza to protest recent immigration enforcement actions.

Seamstress Maria Estela Parra displays an oversized Blackhawks banner she is working on at W.G.N. Flag and Decorating Co. in Chicago, Jan. 29, 2026. Parra has handcrafted banners and flags for Chicago’s leading sports teams for 40 years. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Meet the Mexican immigrant who made retirement banners for Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Derrick Rose

February 6, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Maria Estela Parra didn’t know how to sew and knew even less about sports when W.G.N. Flag and Decorating Co. hired her as a seamstress in 1986.

Cops: Two teens shot on a CTA bus in Humboldt Park following quarrel

January 31, 2026 at 8:16 p.m.

The teens were shot after a verbal dispute between a male of unknown age and a group of males, police said.

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