Illinois Latino News (ILLN) has been selected by the Field Foundation of Illinois for its Journalism & Storytelling Capacity Grant—an investment that strengthens the newsroom’s mission to deliver trusted, community‑centered reporting for Latino audiences across the state.
The grant will help ILLN expand its digital‑first newsroom and deepen its commitment to meeting Illinois Latinos where they already get their news: on social platforms. As more young Latinos turn to Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube for timely updates, ILLN is building a model designed for those spaces—one that prioritizes culturally fluent storytelling, accessibility, and community trust.
A key part of this growth is ILLN’s expanded focus on platform‑native journalism, including short‑form video, explainers, live interactions, and community‑driven storytelling. By producing news optimized for social platforms, ILLN is elevating Latino voices, strengthening trust with younger audiences, and meeting Illinois residents where they already consume information. This shift reflects a newsroom adapting to how communities seek and share news today.
The Field Foundation’s support also fuels the launch of Neighborhood Navigators, a social‑media‑video‑first series developed in partnership with Northwestern University’s Medill Local News Initiative through the Medill News Accelerator. ILLN was selected for the Accelerator because of its commitment to community‑powered journalism, its solutions‑oriented coverage, and its potential to model new approaches for serving Latino audiences statewide. Through the Accelerator, newsrooms work with Medill faculty, researchers, and students to strengthen audience engagement, refine editorial strategy, and build sustainable local news practices.
As part of the program, Medill conducted research with more than 700 Hispanics and Latinos across Illinois to better understand their information needs. Respondents said they want local news that reflects their lived experiences and provides relevant information about the social determinants of health. While no single topic dominated, health emerged as the top priority. At the same time, the research revealed widespread dissatisfaction with how economic issues are covered by existing news outlets. In response to this clear gap, Neighborhood Navigators will launch in October 2026 with a focus on economy‑centered topics—stories that help communities make sense of the financial pressures shaping their daily lives. This approach aligns with ILLN’s newsroom culture, which views the public as more than an audience; community members are collaborators who shape coverage and will be instrumental in guiding the direction and impact of Neighborhood Navigators.
Medill has assigned two students to work directly on the project, including Jimena Díaz Padilla, who emphasized the importance of grounding the work in community experience. “Neighborhood Navigators is an opportunity to start at the community level and build outward through storytelling,” she said. “I’m excited to collaborate with communities in shaping this series and helping create conversations around the economy that feel accessible, human, and rooted in local voices.”
Another Medill student, Margaret Gonzalez, added: “I’m excited to join the Neighborhood Navigators project and collaborate on developing a social media strategy that helps these stories reach and engage the communities they serve. I look forward to experimenting with content that aligns with today’s digital landscape while making local journalism more accessible, relevant, and impactful.”
ILLN Publisher Hugo Balta underscored the significance of this moment for local journalism in Illinois, noting that the partnership and capacity support strengthen the newsroom’s ability to serve as a bridge between communities and the information they need. “This investment affirms the importance of journalism that is created with, not just for, the communities we serve,” Balta said. “It allows us to deepen our commitment to community‑powered storytelling and ensure that Latino voices across Illinois are seen, heard, and reflected in the news that shapes their daily lives.”
Neighborhood Navigators will train community members to identify information gaps, surface underreported issues, and collaborate with ILLN journalists to produce stories rooted in lived experience. The model strengthens civic participation, builds media literacy, and deepens ILLN’s connection to the communities it serves. The Accelerator’s support helps ILLN refine this approach, ensuring the series is both community‑driven and strategically aligned with how audiences consume news today.
With this investment, ILLN is enhancing its digital production workflow, expanding community‑powered reporting, and increasing the newsroom’s overall effectiveness. The result is a more responsive and innovative news outlet—one that reflects the diversity of Latino communities in Illinois and delivers journalism that informs, empowers, and strengthens civic engagement.