Little Village

“We came in search of the American Dream we so famously hear of, but instead, I get to live a nightmare for the rest of my life,” the statement from Melissa's mother said.

Two people have been charged in connection with the killing of 8-year-old Melissa Ortega who was fatally shot Saturday in Little Village.

The Chicago City Council voted Wednesday to give landmark status to an arch that serves as the entry to the largest Mexican-American community in the Midwest.

A Little Village elementary school lost heat and electricity as temperatures plunged below zero Wednesday morning.

You’ve probably heard of The 606 trail and maybe enjoyed the respite it provides. You also may know that another linear park on a rail line, the El Paseo Trail, is proposed in Pilsen and Little Village.

With the murder of 8-year-old Melissa Ortega, residents of Little Village say they need a mental health clinic to deal with the violence around them.

"We’ve turned up the heat on gangs in the city and we will continue to do that," Supt. Brown said. "But this special focus is purposeful because an 8-year-old … is senselessly killed in our city. So I think it’s quite appropriate that we raise the level of resources, our sense of urgency to send an even stronger message to gangs..."

Police said that they will “spare no expense and use every resource necessary” to bring the shooter to justice and specialized units will saturate the area in the coming days and weeks to address the gang conflict that led to 8-year-old Melissa's death.

"The chaos, the lawlessness is so bad in Chicago that the criminals openly mock our police and our city leaders, and even our governor," Pastor Corey Brooks said.

Melissa was walking with her mother when a gunman emerged from a nearby alley and opened fire, unleashing a hail of bullets that fatally struck the 8-year-old girl twice in the head and wounded a gang member who was the intended target, a police report shows.