Riley A Sommers

An AI data center set to open by the end of the year in Chicago’s South Loop is shrouded in mystery, and the developers aren’t talking. The DePaul University’s Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence investigated the story and reports for NBC Chicago.By DePaul University’s Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence. This story was reported by Riley Sommers, Anna Barth, Jeremy Battle, Lindsay Freiberger, Sarah Hendry, Peyton Hopp, Peter Jurich, Marie Kane, Isabella Russomanno, and Laine Wy...

In 2024, Kit Kresky was a teacher for the sixth grade at an alternative school for children who had previously exhibited behavioral issues. This school was a standard, licensed public school in the state of Ohio, but mostly taught kids with “high behavioral needs.”
During the school year, a student who was struggling was outside the classroom, screaming in the hallway. 
“When I went to grab her hand so she would go take a walk with me, she took my hand, she bit my thumb, and now I have nerve dam...

Online sports gambling is an increasingly lucrative industry, and the state of Illinois is cashing in, but the cost to play is quietly increasing. DePaul’s Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence investigated the issue.Story Reported By DePaul University’s Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence

Online sports gambling is an increasingly lucrative industry, and the state of Illinois is cashing in, but the cost to play is quietly increasing.
With a vote in the General Assembly just hour...

Tetiana Tymkiv of the Ukrainian Catholic University’s counseling center painted a scene for attendees at DePaul’s Ukrainian-American Cultural Association’s global conference on Friday, Feb. 21.
“Let’s imagine you waking up at 5 a.m. to an air raid alarm. You spend the next two or three hours in the shelter or hallway scrolling through the newspapers trying to stay informed on if everything is okay,” Tymkiv said, describing what daily life is like for workers at the university’s counseling center...

Lily Baker traveled with her family from Illinois to Texas for the first time last fall, not to visit the beach, sample some Tex-Mex or remember the Alamo. She headed to Austin for three days for the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix. 
Baker, a DePaul senior, started watching Formula 1 as a freshman.
“When I started watching F1, I felt like I never heard anyone talk about it, and now everyone talks about it,” Baker said. “So it’s been very interesting to watch that happen.” 
In fact, since Libe...

Rubén Garza, who considers himself a certified metalhead, leads a crowd of rock fans and fellow musicians in a unifying chant: “Abolish ICE!” His band’s song, “I.C.E. Breaker,” which  aims at the federal immigration agency, is just one of the tracks that embodies the group’s self-appointed label – they call themselves “Mexican Metal Maniacs.”
 Garza’s band, Through N Through, was one of a few groups that rocked the house Feb. 22 at the Work26 Skate Shop’s Metal Matinee, a heavy metal showcase in...

In a shelter in Nogales, México, Wendy López Aguilar couldn’t sleep one night. Concerned with her young son in the hospital, she directed her emotional turmoil into stitching mermaid scales onto a manta, a decorative serving napkin. 
Four years later, her mantas are on display at Chicago’s Casa de Cultura in their “Bordando Esperanza” exhibit, featuring mantas created by migrants in the U.S.-Mexico border. The exhibit is curated by Artisans Beyond Borders, an organization providing resources to...