¡Buenos días!

There are 803,000 Latinos in Chicago; 2,099,428 Latinos in the Chicagoland area. The 2.2 million Hispanics in Illinois are 4% of all Hispanics in the United States. The state’s population is 17% Hispanic.

In 2017, Chicago’s Latino population surpassed its Black population for the first time. ‘Hispanics’ as defined by the Census – including Latinos and descendants of Latin Americans – comprise just shy of a third of the city’s total population of 2.7 million.

By every measure, the political scene is reflecting the way our city and state are changing. There are more Latino elected officials in Illinois than ever and we are sending more to Washington than ever. Our growing numbers and increasing power are being wielded and reflected in media and in City Hall. It’s a time of great promise.

But also great peril.

We all know what’s happening nationally.

But what about here in Illinois? And in Chicago? There’s never been a Latino governor. There’s never been a Latino mayor. And our cultural needs are too often unaddressed or invisible.

We started this site because Latinos in Chicago and throughout Illinois are a critical part of the political dynamic. We believe that Latinos need a site to see their power and their policies chronicled by a fair and objective and truth-digging and engaged media.

So that’s why we started Chicago Mundo Hoy. But there’s a reason for when we started Chicago Mundo Hoy.

Last week, the Chicago Tribune announced it was shutting down Hoy, the largest Spanish-language site in the area. What’s up with that?

Chicago Mundo Hoy will chronicle the players, power, politics and policies who animate Latin life in Springfield and Chicago. Sometimes in Spanish, sometimes in English. Always with heart, never with fear or favor. We look forward to hearing from you.