Baptism
August 28, 2016“Eli Lauger, who is 14, was one of three kids baptized that day by Pastor Randall K. Blakey of the LaSalle Street Church. On the left is the senior pastor, Laura Truax. Eli has been attending the interdenominational Near North Side church his whole life but only became a believer last year. It was really humid that day, and the cool water in Lake Michigan kicked up the fog. I think the cold is what Eli is reacting to.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Quinceañera
May 7, 2016“In the Latino community, this is traditionally a celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday. But in Tatianna Muñoz’s case, her family combined her quinceañera with her Sweet 16. The theme was Night in Paris, which is kind of funny with the U.S. flag and Native American portrait hanging on the wall of the Club Ki-Yowga community center in East Chicago, Indiana. Tatianna told me she felt like a princess in her dress, but she didn’t stay in it for long. After dancing with her father to Bob Carlisle’s ‘Butterfly Kisses,’ she changed into shorts and did a choreographed number with her friends. That’s when the party really got started.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Police Retirement Party
March 10, 2016“Blase Foria retired as a detective at 63, after 22 years with the Chicago Police Department. He could have retired sooner, but he entered the force later than most, at 41, and really loved his job. The party was at D’Agostino’s in River Grove, and it was pretty emotional. Blase was just bouncing all over the place—the room was packed, and he was greeting everyone at the door and posing for pictures. He was really overwhelmed by all the people who came out. His partner spoke about their time working together and at the end of the night gave Blase a baseball signed by Andre Dawson—and a Cubs thong.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Hindu Wedding
August 25 and 27, 2016“This image shows what’s called a haldi, a traditional cleansing ceremony that happens two days before a Hindu wedding. The couple—in this case, Ryan Hanson and Sonali Gupta of Darien—wash themselves with turmeric, and everyone in the family gets a chance to smear the spice on them. Ryan was raised Catholic and was a little out of his element, but he was a good sport and embraced it all. It’s a Hindu tradition for the groom to enter the wedding ceremony on a white horse [below]. It took Ryan, who rode with Sonali’s 3-year-old cousin, like half an hour to go a block because there were drummers in front and guests on all sides. It’s a procession-turned-dance-party. The ceremony itself takes place on what is called a mandap, which is basically an altar. The couple sit and face their guests tied together with a string to represent their unification.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Muslim Wedding
August 11, 2016Imam Hisham Qaisi (left) overseeing the marriage ceremony of Adil Syed and Mavara Agha (her father, Arif Agha, is at right) in her parents’ home in Oak Brook.Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Cara Program Great Wall Ceremony
March 28, 2016“Romell Downer came back to Chicago, where he was raised, from Atlanta in 2014. He had a hard time finding a job, so in 2015 he enrolled in the Cara Program, a training and placement organization that helps Chicagoans affected by homelessness and poverty. Romell, who is 32, found work at a pharmaceutical staffing firm within three months. On this Monday, he was being honored in Cara’s Great Wall ceremony, which celebrates graduates on the anniversary of their first year of employment. One of the traditions is having them sing and dance in front of current program members. Romell entered to Drake’s ‘Started from the Bottom,’ and here he’s dancing as the others cheer him on and chant, ‘Motivate me. What? That’s my friend!’ ”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
UIC College Preparatory High School Graduation
June 13, 2016“Cesar Chavez Jr. isn’t the first in his family to go to college, but he got a full ride to Washington University in St. Louis, which is a big deal because the Chavezes, shown here in front of their West Lawn house, don’t have a lot of money. It was a particularly emotional day for his mother, Lilia, because her daughter, Alexia, has a brain malformation and is unable to speak, so Lilia knows Cesar will be her only child to graduate. Cesar is really close with his sister, and it will be hard for both with him away at college.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Naturalization Ceremony
September 16, 2016“Once a year, the city turns Daley Plaza into a federal court. Justine Lee, a native of South Korea, was one of 56 people from 19 countries getting their citizenship this day. The ceremony took place around noon, so the plaza was crowded with tourists and people on their lunch breaks. Justine seemed a little overwhelmed by that. It was interesting to see people being so patriotic in a moment when many others in this country aren’t really feeling that way.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Links Cotillion
April 23, 2016“Links Cotillion is an annual coming-out event for black women from ages 16 to 18, and it is quite the affair. This one, held by the Chicago chapter at the Hilton downtown, celebrated 17 young women, all of whom had taken Links’s 12-week course that taught them how to waltz, manage money, and plan for college. There was also a group of junior debutantes—like the young woman in green, below—who were introduced that night. Before the event, the debutantes were clustered backstage taking pictures and ‘dabbing’ for Instagram and Snapchat. They spent hours getting ready and were excited to show off their dresses. The young women are introduced one by one in the ballroom, and then they dance with their dads and their dates. They were all pretty nervous because they didn’t want to mess anything up.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar
Last Rites
June 26, 2016“The first time Father Brendan Gibson read Johanna Reilly her last rites was after she had a stroke in May. She was a longtime member of his St. John Cantius Church congregation in West Town. Father Gibson visited Johanna at the Presence Saint Benedict Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Niles nearly every Sunday after that, reading her last rites each time. When he did so on this particular Sunday, it was a really beautiful, quiet, and serene moment. That’s her son Tim with her. It was hard to tell if Johanna knew the priest was there. Father Gibson continued to visit her until she died on October 1 at 88.”Photo: Alyssa Schukar