Elvia Malagón
@elviamalagon.bsky.social
Chicago-based writer reporting on health issues for the Chicago Sun-Times. Proud member of the Chicago Sun-Times Guild. https://chicago.suntimes.com/authors/elvia-malagon
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Millions of Americans are confronting the highest health insurance costs in years. For those enrolling in Obamacare for next year, the plans will cover a considerably smaller fraction of their medical bills and they will face higher deductibles and premiums.
Obamacare Users Will Be Asked to Pay More for Plans That Cover Less
People who have health insurance under the Affordable Care Act will face higher deductibles and higher premiums.
nyti.ms
December 8, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Millions of Americans are confronting the highest health insurance costs in years. For those enrolling in Obamacare for next year, the plans will cover a considerably smaller fraction of their medical bills and they will face higher deductibles and premiums.
Really interesting story from @ericathompson.bsky.social - Black Chicagoans embrace the quarter-zip trend while discussing its meaning chicago.suntimes.com/entertainmen...
Black Chicagoans embrace the quarter-zip trend while discussing its meaning
Critics say participants of the trend are making themselves more acceptable for white, mainstream society. But quarter-zip enthusiasts say their intention is to be fashionable, build self-confidence a...
chicago.suntimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Really interesting story from @ericathompson.bsky.social - Black Chicagoans embrace the quarter-zip trend while discussing its meaning chicago.suntimes.com/entertainmen...
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Nayra Guzmán was arrested 15 days after her daughter’s difficult birth. Before Trump took office, postpartum immigrants were rarely detained by ICE.
A Cicero woman’s baby was in the NICU. She was in ICE detention.
www.wbez.org
December 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
Nayra Guzmán was arrested 15 days after her daughter’s difficult birth. Before Trump took office, postpartum immigrants were rarely detained by ICE.
Illinois officials will still recommend hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, despite new CDC guidance. The state's new advisory committee plans to meet later this month to discuss the new recommendations from CDC: chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...
Illinois officials will still recommend hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, despite new CDC guidance
The vote Friday by a CDC panel that upends a longstanding recommendation was decried by a Illinois leaders and a broad range of medical and public health leaders.
chicago.suntimes.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Illinois officials will still recommend hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, despite new CDC guidance. The state's new advisory committee plans to meet later this month to discuss the new recommendations from CDC: chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Asked if he’s looking at a guaranteed income program, Pritzker says ‘No’
Asked if he’s looking at a guaranteed income program, Pritzker says ‘No’
* Let’s start with some background. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Cook County had about 663,000 people living at or below the poverty line at the beginning of 2023. That’s way down from its peak of 927,000 in 2012, but it’s still a lot.
From a press release…
The Cook County [...]
dlvr.it
December 5, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Asked if he’s looking at a guaranteed income program, Pritzker says ‘No’
“Groups are the most powerful tool, clinically speaking, for most people because they kind of reinstate a sense of community. So when you are in a state of terror, the goal of the one inflicting the pain is to separate...” Here's how folks are trying to meet the mental health needs of immigrants:
Panic attacks, anxiety high among immigrants, with capacity to help limited
Amid the federal deportation campaign, Spanish-speaking mental health providers are creating therapy groups and community workshops, while others offer yoga, meditation and other support.
chicago.suntimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 5:40 PM
“Groups are the most powerful tool, clinically speaking, for most people because they kind of reinstate a sense of community. So when you are in a state of terror, the goal of the one inflicting the pain is to separate...” Here's how folks are trying to meet the mental health needs of immigrants:
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Amid the federal deportation campaign, Spanish-speaking mental health providers are creating therapy groups and community workshops while others offer yoga, meditation and other support.
Panic attacks, anxiety high among immigrants as capacity to help is limited
www.wbez.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Amid the federal deportation campaign, Spanish-speaking mental health providers are creating therapy groups and community workshops while others offer yoga, meditation and other support.
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
The trauma stemming from the arrests and deportations could impact immigrant communities for generations, said Lu Rocha, the owner of a private counseling practice in Chicago. She explains that trauma alters not just a person’s emotions but also the psychological state and body.
Panic attacks, anxiety high among immigrants as capacity to help is limited
chicago.suntimes.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:41 PM
The trauma stemming from the arrests and deportations could impact immigrant communities for generations, said Lu Rocha, the owner of a private counseling practice in Chicago. She explains that trauma alters not just a person’s emotions but also the psychological state and body.
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Hey all, please join us for an AMA on Reddit this Friday about federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area! Sun-Times reporters Cindy Hernandez, Tina Sfondeles and Jon Seidel — who have covered ICE and DHS operations, court proceedings, and more — are here to answer your questions!
December 4, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Hey all, please join us for an AMA on Reddit this Friday about federal immigration enforcement in the Chicago area! Sun-Times reporters Cindy Hernandez, Tina Sfondeles and Jon Seidel — who have covered ICE and DHS operations, court proceedings, and more — are here to answer your questions!
From group therapy to yoga in Spanish, this is how people are meeting the pressing mental health need for immigrant and Latino communities following intense immigration raids in Chicago www.wbez.org/immigration/... Photos by @tylerplariviere.bsky.social @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com
Panic attacks, anxiety high among immigrants, with capacity to help limited
Amid the federal deportation campaign, Spanish-speaking mental health providers are creating therapy groups and community workshops, while others offer yoga, meditation and other support.
www.wbez.org
December 5, 2025 at 5:10 AM
From group therapy to yoga in Spanish, this is how people are meeting the pressing mental health need for immigrant and Latino communities following intense immigration raids in Chicago www.wbez.org/immigration/... Photos by @tylerplariviere.bsky.social @wbez.org @chicago.suntimes.com
Days before ACIP meets and is supposed to take up delaying the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, Illinois signs new law to set its own vaccine guidelines, w/ @mitchtrout.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...
Pritzker signs law for Illinois to set its own vaccine guidelines in response to Trump skeptics
An independent state committee will be responsible for setting vaccine guidelines that Illinois officials previously had relied on the federal government to provide.
chicago.suntimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Days before ACIP meets and is supposed to take up delaying the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, Illinois signs new law to set its own vaccine guidelines, w/ @mitchtrout.bsky.social chicago.suntimes.com/health/2025/...
DuSable Black History Museum, CEO misused public funds, whistleblower alleges, @medicenambi.bsky.social reports chicago.suntimes.com/museums-zoos...
DuSable Black History Museum, CEO misused public funds, whistleblower alleges
A lawsuit, which also alleges bullying, was filed in Cook County by Kim Dulaney, a former director and vice president at the museum.
chicago.suntimes.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:39 PM
DuSable Black History Museum, CEO misused public funds, whistleblower alleges, @medicenambi.bsky.social reports chicago.suntimes.com/museums-zoos...
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
A Little Village chamber leader thanked Border Patrol agents as they arrested neighbors, new video shows. blockclubchi.co/4iFYuQM
December 3, 2025 at 2:50 PM
A Little Village chamber leader thanked Border Patrol agents as they arrested neighbors, new video shows. blockclubchi.co/4iFYuQM
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
“After Ferreira was detained, Dos Santos Rodrigues said Michael Leavitt Sr. and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out to her.”
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
‘Brazil is not her home.’ Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, brought to US as child, detained by ICE. - The Boston Globe
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was brought to the United States as a child in 1998. She is now in removal proceedings in Louisiana.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:12 PM
“After Ferreira was detained, Dos Santos Rodrigues said Michael Leavitt Sr. and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out to her.”
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
“‘They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” she recalled. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home.’” www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/m...
Dolton mom turned away from hospital during labor calls for changes to maternal health chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/11...
Dolton mom turned away from hospital during labor calls for changes to maternal health
The mother, Mercedes Wells, spoke with reporters on Tuesday with U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, who plans to introduce a bill to make sure what happened to Wells never happens again.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Dolton mom turned away from hospital during labor calls for changes to maternal health chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/11...
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
A new day, a new @chicago.suntimes.com morning news roundup. ☕
Today's lead: The Sausage King's squalid South Side complex chicago.suntimes.com/morning-edit...
Today's lead: The Sausage King's squalid South Side complex chicago.suntimes.com/morning-edit...
The Sausage King's squalid South Side complex
Plus: A mom inspires a congressional bill on maternal health care, a snowy owl surprise and more.
chicago.suntimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
A new day, a new @chicago.suntimes.com morning news roundup. ☕
Today's lead: The Sausage King's squalid South Side complex chicago.suntimes.com/morning-edit...
Today's lead: The Sausage King's squalid South Side complex chicago.suntimes.com/morning-edit...
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a Tribune investigation has found, sometimes to the dismay of family members or friends who did not want people they loved to be placed under someone else’s control.
Chicago hospitals funnel patients into long-lasting guardianships, angering friends and family
Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a Chicago Tribune investigation has found.
trib.al
November 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Chicago-area hospitals recently initiated hundreds of guardianship petitions in just 18 months, a Tribune investigation has found, sometimes to the dismay of family members or friends who did not want people they loved to be placed under someone else’s control.
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Immigration agents had a 12-pack of Modelos in their car while making arrests, Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez told investigators.
ICE video shows officers planned to ‘smash’ into Charlotte man filming Border Patrol
Immigration agents had a 12-pack of Modelos in their car while making arrests, Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez told investigators.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Immigration agents had a 12-pack of Modelos in their car while making arrests, Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez told investigators.
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
A stunning visual of Chicago's 20-year death gap, mapped on the L, via @myersjustinc.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com. Here's what residents & community leaders are doing to close this gap: tinyurl.com/47r2vcj5 @wbez.org @chjreportinghealth.bsky.social @watchdogdiva.bsky.social @kffhealthnews.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:31 PM
A stunning visual of Chicago's 20-year death gap, mapped on the L, via @myersjustinc.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com. Here's what residents & community leaders are doing to close this gap: tinyurl.com/47r2vcj5 @wbez.org @chjreportinghealth.bsky.social @watchdogdiva.bsky.social @kffhealthnews.org
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
West Garfield Park residents are expected to live on average until 67 years old, compared to 87 in the Loop. This is the widest death gap in Chicago.
As they live Chicago’s ‘Death Gap,’ a three-generation West Side family fights to end it
www.wbez.org
November 20, 2025 at 2:01 PM
West Garfield Park residents are expected to live on average until 67 years old, compared to 87 in the Loop. This is the widest death gap in Chicago.
On Trans Day of Remembrance, community reflects on those lost: 'We're gonna be here forever' chicago.suntimes.com/lgbtq/2025/1..., reports @vimiller.bsky.social
On Trans Day of Remembrance, community reflects on those lost: 'We're gonna be here forever'
But even in Illinois — where many trans people have fled as persecution against them ramps up in other states — 29 trans teens have died by suicide this year, according to a count by Trans Up Front Il...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:30 PM
On Trans Day of Remembrance, community reflects on those lost: 'We're gonna be here forever' chicago.suntimes.com/lgbtq/2025/1..., reports @vimiller.bsky.social
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
Feds drop case against woman shot by Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park
DEVELOPING from @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
DEVELOPING from @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
Feds drop case against woman shot by Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park
It's one of the most high-profile prosecutions to result from the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz." Defense attorneys have been aggressively challenging evidence and sought a speedy tri...
chicago.suntimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Feds drop case against woman shot by Border Patrol agent in Brighton Park
DEVELOPING from @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
DEVELOPING from @chicago.suntimes.com: chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...
An important investigation -- The feds used chemical weapons against residents and protesters at least 49 times in Chicago neighborhoods. In one day alone in Brighton Park, feds used tear gas & pepper spray 15 times. More here: www.raceandequityproject.org/blog/feds-us...
Feds used chemical agents dozens of times in Chicago — Investigative Project on Race and Equity
An investigation by reporters from six newsrooms found that agents used chemical irritants nearly 50 times during Operation Midway Blitz.
www.raceandequityproject.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:34 AM
An important investigation -- The feds used chemical weapons against residents and protesters at least 49 times in Chicago neighborhoods. In one day alone in Brighton Park, feds used tear gas & pepper spray 15 times. More here: www.raceandequityproject.org/blog/feds-us...
Nine years later, man sentenced for shooting of Tavon Tanner
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/t...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/t...
Nine years later, man sentenced for shooting of Tavon Tanner
Terrance White, 32, pleaded guilty in June to attempted murder in aid of racketeering activity for the nearly decade-old shooting of then 10-year-old Tavon Tanner.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Nine years later, man sentenced for shooting of Tavon Tanner
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/t...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/t...
Reposted by Elvia Malagón
In the 20,000 pages of documents released by a congressional committee, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Thomas Pritzker connect by email at least 20 times. In one exchange, Epstein writes Pritzker, 'nice to see you, please come more often.'
Newly released cache of Epstein emails reveal deeper ties with Thomas Pritzker, governor's cousin
chicago.suntimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:20 AM
In the 20,000 pages of documents released by a congressional committee, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Thomas Pritzker connect by email at least 20 times. In one exchange, Epstein writes Pritzker, 'nice to see you, please come more often.'