Recapping NATO Summit in Chicago: One Year Ago
Last year, Chicago hosted the NATO summit. Our reporters were there, live and on the ground. Many of our reporters will be graduating this week and so we pause to showcase their fine work. NATO stories and coverage was pulled together by Professor Teresa Puente and Steve Franklin in a special topics class. Look back [...]
Between Friends protects victims of domestic violence
Court Advocacy Coordinator Megan Rose spends three days a week at court. She faces criminals on a regular basis, protecting her clients in court in ways they are not able to. Her clients are generally women and children, her job is to protect those affected by domestic violence. Standing alongside them every step of the way, she acts [...]
New group wants Chicagoans to ‘rethink trash’
The Mayor’s office and the Office of Streets and Sanitation Department, revealed a new garbage transition plan last month, but they aren’t the the only organization “rethinking trash”. This garbage transition basically entails a new pick-up grid which will take aldermanic oversight of community trash across the city, and reorganize garbage pickup. The claims are [...]
May Day march in Chicago focuses on immigration reform
Carl Rosen, a worker for the United Electrical Workers was one of hundreds of people who participated in a May Day march in downtown Chicago on May 1, calling for immigration reform. “We need to legalize the status of the 11 million undocumented workers that are here because otherwise they are being used to drive [...]
Black women marrying later, studies show
Sabrennia Fountain says she gets tired of hearing friends and family members urge her to marry and start a family. “I hear all the time I am not getting any younger and that they can’t wait until I get married and have children,” said Fountain, 40. “I often wonder why this affects them so much.” [...]
Lincoln Square’s hidden gem: Rosley’s Rocks
Rosley’s Rocks and Gems is tucked away in Lincoln Square, a seemingly nondescript little shop on a quiet street. A passerby could easily miss the store; with its glass storefront and neon sign, it seems to be just another coffee shop or second-hand clothing store. Once inside, the store is anything but just another retail [...]
Chicago LGBTQ library set to open soon in new location in Rogers Park
In a move lasting nine months longer than anticipated and raising uncertainties, one of the Midwest’s largest LGBTQ libraries finally transitioned from Andersonville to Rogers Park on April 30. The Gerber/Hart Library and Archives, which holds collections of gay and lesbian history and hosts programs like theater groups and poetry readings, traded their West Granville [...]
Chicago celebrates poetry year round
National Poetry Month just came to an end when April turned to May, but some Chicago poets say the city celebrates poetry all year round. Chicago boasts a Poetry Foundation, a Poetry Center and poetry reading events on almost any night of the week. Chicago even has an official Poetry Tour, which includes Poet Laureate Gwendolyn [...]
Chicago street artist’s struggle continues
On May 7th, at 11 a.m. in front of Macy’s on State St., artists and friends will hand out postcards commemorating the late street artist activist, Chris Drew. This follows a memorial for Drew, who died a year ago, that was held on April 28, and is prior to the release of a documentary about [...]
Englewood grows green, but faces challenges with urban agriculture
Mayor Rahm Emanuel paid a visit to Growing Home community garden in Englewood on May 1 to celebrate the kickoff of the garden’s farm stand that will provide fresh food to the community’s residents every Wednesday through spring and summer. The Mayor’s visit highlights the growing initiatives being implemented to combat food deserts, particularly urban [...]
Austin Talks Reporters Win Lisagor Journalism Awards
Society for Professional Journalistslocal chapter, the Headline Club, held the annual Lisagor dinner where journalists are recognized by their peers for outstanding reporting and writing. Former ChicagoTalks editor Ellyn Fortino was a winner for a story she reported for our Talks publication, Austin Talks. John Fountain won his independent blog which is published in Austin [...]
Volkswagen donates cars to Chicago Fire Department
Volkswagen donated three of its passenger sedans to the Chicago Fire Department Training Division to help rescue teams learn how to get into the vehicles after they’ve crashed. At a demonstration Thursday, fire rescue squads annihilated one of the brand new vehicles with the hydraulic Jaws of Life from Hurst Tools. A firefighter walked up and [...]
Elena Delle Donne joins Chicago Sky
Elena Delle Donne, 23, the Chicago Sky’s newest team member, met with press today at the John Hancock Observatory. Between quick hellos and posing for pictures, Delle Donne stood at the windows on the 94th floor looking out over her new city with her mother. Delle Donne was the second pick of the 2013 WNBA draft in mid [...]
Workers, Immigrant Rights Advocates Prepare For May Day Rally In Chicago (VIDEO) | Progress Illinois
Every day 1,100 people in the country are deported and families are ripped apart. Progress Illinois’ Ellyn Fortino writes about how workers and immigrant rights advocates are getting ready for May Day 2013 Progress Illinois chatted with SEIU Local 1 member Lourdes Gonzalez who plans to march today; she echoed Arreola’s argument: Today’s rally begins [...]
Temp Agencies and ‘Raiteros’ in Immigrant Chicago
[I]n Chicago’s Little Village, the largest Mexican community in the Midwest, the raiteros have melded with temp agencies and their corporate clients in a way that might be unparalleled anywhere in America — and could violate Illinois’ wage laws. Raiteros tell temp workers to show up early to secure work for the day, leading to [...]
Journalists Linda Lutton and Alex Kotlowitz visit Columbia College Chicago
Last Tuesday, journalists Linda Lutton and Alex Kotlowitz came and talked to a class at Columbia College Chicago about the work they did at Harper High School, 6520 S. Wood Street, in Chicago. The two journalists, along with Ben Calhoun, who was not in attendance, went to Harper High School and spent five months trying to [...]
“I’M A MIDWESTERNER” Fashion Icon Dominates the Region
From the Midwest comes originality, creativity, and individuality in fashion from local designer, Rahphael Hunter . Hunter’s presence along with masculine demeanor dominates the small Chicago coffee shop upon entry, comes across casual, but confident. He began studying fashion in the heart of the city and as a student he was drawn to both fashion and graphic design. But [...]
After school program brings bricolage mural making into Chicago classrooms
Green Star Movement is a nonprofit arts organization that provides the youth in Chicago with the opportunity to participate in public art projects in the city, all while making a difference in their communities and getting a behind-the-scenes look at how an original mural is produced, designed, & installed. The mural program, which is part [...]
