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Akilah Townsend for Chalkbeat and courtesy image

Education Top Stories

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The Race in District 8b, the Loop, Brighton Park

Juan Ignacio Gonzalez is the only one on the ballot to represent District 8b on CPS' first fully-elected school board.

Francia Garcia Hernandez, Block Club ChicagoOctober 13, 2026

School board president candidates Victor Henderson, Jessica Biggs and Hilario Dominguez.

Akilah Townsend for Chalkbeat and Victor Hilitski for the Chicago Sun-Times

Education Top Stories

Chicago School Board Election 2026: The Citywide Race for President

Voters across the city will finalize their pick among three candidates to lead the Chicago Board of Education on Nov. 3.

Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat Chicago and Sarah Karp, WBEZOctober 6, 2026

Daniel Ponce lifts a large canvas inside the Ramova Theatre. He is setting up the City Script panels before an event on Sept. 11, 2026.

Araceli Ramirez for Borderless Magazine

Arts & Culture Featured

This Street Art Project is Making Art More Accessible For Chicagoans

Founded by Albany Park artist Daniel Ponce, City Script is giving Chicagoans a chance to create murals alongside local artists.

Araceli RamirezOctober 1, 2026

Mustafa Rfat stands for a photo on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Grace Abbott School of Social Work. Rfat is an assistant professor of social work at the university.

Rebecca Gratz for Borderless Magazine

Environment and Health Labor and Economics Top Stories

Refugees With Disabilities Are About to Lose an Important Lifeline. Here’s What Illinois Advocates Are Doing to Help.

Illinois refugees will lose Medicaid access in October as part of federal funding cuts.

Chelsea VerstegenSeptember 29, 2026

On a rainy day, Lorenzo Espinoza (left) presents the trophy to Omar Ayala (right) after Morelia’s 2-0 win against Atlético Nacional on September 20, 2026.

Photo by Jonathan Torres

Arts & Culture Latest

Some Of Chicago’s Oldest Latino Soccer Clubs Now In A League Of Their Own

CLASA Elite — founded and operated by 10 Latino soccer clubs with Chicago ties going back decades — concluded its inaugural season in Englewood Sunday.

Jonathan TorresSeptember 25, 2026

A middle-aged woman speaks to a judge who puts his hands on his head in frustration as there are no court room interpreters.

Illustration by Grace Herzog for Medill School of Journalism/Borderless Magazine

Enforcement and Courts Immigration Policy Latest

When Immigration Court Interpreters Get It Wrong, Asylum Cases Are At Risk

From mistranslated words to unavailable interpreters, language barriers can undermine immigrants’ cases — affecting whether or not they stay in the U.S.

Grace Herzog and Sarah SerotaSeptember 24, 2026

Dr. Melissa Argüelles (left) and EMT Marta Green (right) look over paperwork inside the CARE (Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement) van before heading out for a shift on Sept. 14, 2026.

Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for America

Environment and Health Resources

More Chicagoans are Getting Mental Health Help Through 911

Borderless sat down with the head of Chicago’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement program to explain the non-police service.

F. Amanda TugadeSeptember 22, 2026

Federal agents wearing masks use pepper spray on protesters outside the Broadview immigration processing facility on Sept. 19, 2026.

Courtesy of Robert Held

Immigration Policy Latest

Agents Pepper Spray Protesters Near Broadview ICE Site On Anniversary Of First Violent Clash

The protest took place on the one-year anniversary of the first violent clash between protesters and agents at the suburban facility during Operation Midway Blitz.

Charles Thrush, Block Club ChicagoSeptember 21, 2026

Brian Nazario, stands on Lawrence avenue, in the neighborhood where he grew up, Albany Park.

Camilla Forte/Borderless Magazine/Catchlight Local/Report for America

Arts & Culture Latest Neighborhood Guide

A Tattoo Artist’s Guide to Albany Park

From a lively pool hall to a bakery selling traditional Mexican sweet breads, tattoo artist Brian Nazario shares the spots that he believes makes Albany Park unique.

Camilla ForteSeptember 18, 2026

Abdinasir Kahim poses for a portrait outside of the Somali restaurant Bismilahi on the near north side.

Photo by Alyssa Schukar

Enforcement and Courts Immigration Policy Latest

Somali Asylum Seekers Face Fast-Tracked Immigration Court Cases in Chicago

A Borderless Magazine investigation found that Somali immigrants’ asylum cases were fast-tracked, making it harder for some of them to gather the corroborating evidence to prepare for their hearings.

Ben LaurenSeptember 17, 2026

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