Zareen Syed

Zareen Syed is an education reporter for the Chicago Tribune, covering issues that touch K-12 schools and colleges and universities. She also writes about campus activism and various student-led movements as well as narratives focusing on underrepresented groups. She joined the Tribune as a suburban reporter and has previously worked for NBC Sports, WGN-TV and Boston 25 News.

Nora Riordan picks up a free hot dog as Bears fans line up, Dec. 2, 2025, at The Wieners Circle in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood after coach Ben Johnson took his shirt off in a postgame celebration for a win over the Eagles. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Bears fans line up again for free Wieners Circle hot dogs, cheering ‘thank you, Ben Johnson’

December 2, 2025 at 5:58 p.m.

The free Wieners Circle hot dogs were courtesy of Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who rose to the hot dog stand’s challenge and took off his shirt after Friday’s...

Adam slides down the stairs as he eats a banana in his host family’s home in Tinley Park on Sept. 4, 2025. Adam's parents and siblings were killed in Gaza last year then he was evacuated with his grandmother by Heal Palestine. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

4-year-old evacuated from Gaza finds sense of normalcy in Tinley Park while being treated for amputation

December 2, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Unlike the thousands of children awaiting medical evacuation from Gaza, Adam was lucky to find a caring host family while getting a prosthetic leg.

Street vendor Francelia Lagunas bags several tamales for a customer in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood on Oct. 15, 2025. Lagunas has stepped in selling tamales for another vendor who was detained by federal agents. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

As ICE detains longtime Chicago street vendors with no criminal history, neighbors rally with emergency funds

November 25, 2025 at 7:07 a.m.

As longtime vendors quietly disappear from the corners they’ve held for years, community organizations and neighbors are scrambling to support those taken, their families and those still working on the...

Feld staff goes over the evening's details before dinner service at the Michelin-starred restaurant, 2018 W. Chicago Ave., Nov. 20, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Feld, Ever and Kasama react to Chicago Michelin awards: ‘I don’t think we ever cooked with a star in mind’

November 21, 2025 at 1:15 p.m.

Jake Potashnick, owner and executive chef of Feld, and Amy Cordell, the chief operating officer of Ever, discuss their big Michelin wins.

Jake Potashnick, owner and chef at Feld restaurant in Chicago, on Dec. 18, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)

Michelin announces 2025 awards, and Chicago has new one-star and two-star restaurants

November 19, 2025 at 11:30 a.m.

The Michelin Guide Northeast ceremony in Philadelphia on Tuesday night saw Chicago add a new one-star restaurant, and a two-star restaurant to its repertoire.

SNAP recipients Elizabeth Avrick, left, and her sister Jennifer Avrick get ready to leave Manny's Deli after eating a free meal at the restaurant on Nov. 4, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

With uncertainty surrounding SNAP, restaurants across Chicago are offering free meals to recipients

November 11, 2025 at 4:29 p.m.

Dozens of restaurants across Chicago are handing out free meals to impacted individuals and families, at a time when many restaurants are struggling to survive amid intense immigration enforcement.

Inocencio Carbajal monitors the entrance to Carnitas Uruapan in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood during business hours on Oct. 25, 2025. Recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in the area have resulted in Carbajal and his son, Marcos, keeping watch for activity by federal agents to protect worried customers and workers. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

ICE pushes Chicago restaurants in immigrant neighborhoods into survival mode: ‘We are dying a slow death’

November 3, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The Tribune spoke to several restaurant owners about the impact of immigration enforcement on their businesses and on diners. The blow to foot traffic is widespread across the city, but...

The front door of Katherine Anne Confections, 3653 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago, on Oct. 10, 2025. The company posted a sign stating immigration agents are not welcome without a warrant. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Cafes, restaurants across Chicago put up signs barring immigration agents

October 15, 2025 at 6:47 a.m.

For restaurant and cafe workers, many of whom are immigrants, the looming threat of unannounced visits by ICE has created anxiety and uncertainty about their future.

Edith Anaya, left, and her daughter, Ariana, both of Oak Forest, receive free snacks and beverages from Metra employee Greg Godfrey, right, after filling out a survey on the Metra’s prototype Café Car as it debut on the Rock Island Line on Oct. 1, 2025, at the LaSalle Street Station in Chicago’s Loop. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Metra debuts Café Car, surveys riders on prototype

October 10, 2025 at 11:41 a.m.

The agency is asking riders to weigh in on whether they'd like to see the concept become a permanent part of their commute.

The new Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood on Sept. 29, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Forty Acres Fresh Market, Chicago’s only Black-owned grocery store, is a new option for fresh food in Austin

October 6, 2025 at 4:33 p.m.

Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood is an expansion of Liz Abunaw's community-focused effort to offer fresh produce via home deliveries and pop-up markets.

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