Threatening New Building Requirements Proposed by the State Fire Marshal
Alderman Robert Fioretti is concerned that his 2nd Ward residents will be badly served by new regulations from the Illinois Fire Marshal. If you rent or own property in Chicago, you may want to take action as Fioretti suggests and write to the legislators who are working with this issue now, before they finalize the […]
Know Your Status: Free HIV Testing at Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood of Illinois is offering free rapid HIV testing at its Austin, Englewood, and Roseland locations for a limited time. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, there are more than 22,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago. Despite declines in HIV-related mortality, HIV continues to be in the top ten leading causes […]
I-Cash Program Returns Over $50 Million
The state returned more than $50 million in unclaimed property and cash the first five months of this year. That’s a 6.8 percent increase over the same period in 2012 and puts Illinois on track to beat last year’s record of $129 million. One in eight Illinois residents has an asset – like a forgotten […]
Opinion:Was the Judicial System lenient with the Jacksons’ because Jesse Jackson Jr. manned up?
Pleading guilty, Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife took responsibility for misusing campaign funds and federal tax fraud. They will be sentenced on July 3, 2013. Jesse Jackson Jr. will receive 4 years and Sandi will receive 18 months. Was the Judicial System lenient in sentencing them? Some people don’t think the judicial system was […]
Community Living Replacing Institutions for Developmentally Disabled, Lags Downstate
Close to 500 severely disabled Illinoisans are in danger of losing their homes because of last year’s budget cuts mandated by Gov. Pat Quinn. While the average American might not see how a state-run institution can be home, for close to 30,000 Americans, it is. As the state closes institutions one by one, a battle […]
Victim rights start with the arrest of a suspect
Someone has murdered your loved one, there are no suspects and soon the case goes cold. You’re not sure how to pay for the funeral, you have questions for investigators, and your family could benefit from counseling. What do you do? What rights do you have? Where do you turn? There’s little the state of […]
Giving up on justice
Chiquita Davis is still haunted by the phone call she received Jan. 8, telling her the young man she had raised for nearly two decades was dead. Now, every time her cell phone rings, she fears it’s another call like that. But the one call she wants to get never seems to come – the one […]
Families question support after loved ones’ killings
When Donna Howard’s 18-year-old son was shot to death more than a year and a half ago, she didn’t know where to turn for support. “We were exhausted, crying and speaking on Facebook,” says Howard. Her son Delvonta Porter was killed Oct. 24, 2011, in the South Shore neighborhood, just blocks from home. Howard found […]
Filmmakers, Bicyclists Shoot a PSA for Bike Chicago
In celebration of Bike Chicago 2013 and Chicago Bike Week, The City of Chicagois hosting a public service announcement (PSA) video contest to help spread the message that bicycling is a fun, healthy and environmentally-friendly form of transportation. Video finalists will be shown at the Bike Chicago Movie in Millennium Park on Tuesday, June 11 […]
Struggle for safety: EPA commits to resolving Pilsen pollution
After being stonewalled by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railway company, the EPA will be seeking a warrant from the courts to clean up toxic land on the railway’s property that tested for lead content as high as 23,000 parts per million, the highest level of lead contamination seen in Pilsen yet and more than […]
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 […]
ASAM professionals say no such thing as ‘medical marijuana’
Doctors would have no way to prescribe accurate doses of legalized marijuana if an Illinois bill passes allowing pot to be sold for medicinal purposes, a group of medical professionals said Thursday. Doctors from the American Society of Addiction Medicine, a professional society made up of more than 3,000 members, said marijuana is unstable, unpredictable, […]
City starts construction on second housing project for veterans
Gov. Pat Quinn joined local leaders and volunteers on Thursday in breaking ground on a new housing development in Chicago for female veterans with children, the second of its kind dedicated to serving homeless veterans in the city. The complex will be built on 2.3 acres of land at 61st and Halsted streets in the […]
Fleet Feet sponsoring benefit run for Boston
Fleet Feet Chicago will join running stores across the country to raise money and show support for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. John Moloznik, manager of sales and operations, spoke to Chicago Talks about the event. The run will take place on Monday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m. at the Old Town and Lincoln Square […]
Money woes plague arts education funding
The Anna School District was looking forward to new acoustical tile in the choir room and fresh carpet in the band room with the $20,000 grant the government awarded the district. But when the check didn’t come until May, all of its hopes, along with $18,000, went out of the classroom window. The money the […]
State lawmaker questions ALL KIDS program after audit
With the state finances reeling, one lawmaker is exploring how much money could be saved by restricting access to state healthcare benefits for undocumented immigrants. The potentially explosive issue already has come under scrutiny following a state audit that showed as many as 75 percent of the children covered under the state’s ALL KIDS program were […]
Editorial: Do we need a federal gun control law?
After the Jonylah Watkins funeral last month, and the recent death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, debate over the proposed assault weapons ban in Illinois has legislators outside Chicago and those representing inner-city districts staunchly divided over this time-sensitive issue. While visiting Chicago area churches Saturday and Sunday, Gov. Quinn said, “We’ve got to show in […]
