Does it Really Pay to Have Health Insurance?
Image by Steve Rhodes via Flickr “Health care costs a lot of money and you’re probably not using it a lot of the time,” says 22-year-old Randy Densmore as he lights up a cigarette. “In theory, I think it benefited me to not have health insurance.” After graduating high school four years ago in Wallingford, [...]
The Pacific Garden Mission: A Place of Refuge
Image by Louis Kreusel via Flickr In years past, Gerald Casey was a “shepherd of the devil,” he said, moving 15 kilos of cocaine a day to the streets of Chicago in a large drug cartel. After distributing cocaine for years, Casey found himself a victim of his own enterprise. His business had turned him [...]
Plus Size in Chicago
Journalist Amanda Koger recently produced a mini-documentary exploring the stereotypes and myths surrounding overweight women in Chicago. Watch the piece below.
“I am Brilliant, I am Beautiful”: A Positive Outlook at HIV/AIDS Awareness Event
Four girls stood in the front of the room chanting, “I am brilliant, I am beautiful, I am curvaceous and I am bodacious.” The room was filled with eager and motivated young women. Music was blasting, girls were standing in line waiting to get their hair styled and makeup applied. The place was overflowing with [...]
After Years of Declining Enrollment, Chicago Catholic Schools Now Holding Their Own
By Reginald Williams Marisa Sepulveda said she sends her daughter, Karolina, to St. Francis de Sales High School on Chicago’s Southeast Side because the school offers “a true perspective on good morals and religious beliefs.” Sepulveda said the small high school, which has 265 students, enforces “a lot of discipline and teaches values and morals.” [...]
Organic Food: Fad or Healthy Eating?
Some would say organic food has become a fad. When it comes to shopping at grocery stores in Chicago, there are a plethora of organic markets to choose from. But what are organic grocers, really? And are they worth the few extra bucks? Which stores are truly organic? Along with the question of being organic, [...]
Abortion protesters a familiar sight outside clinics
On a cold, damp autumn morning in Chicago, a small group of women stands in protest outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic on the near North Side. Members of the Pro-Life Action League pray in low tones while clutching rosaries and offering fliers to the people who pass through the clinic’s doors. They make no [...]
Seniors Receive Free Health Screenings on South Side
By Ed Finkel, New Communities Program It was almost like Lollapalooza for the elderly. About 400 seniors gathered for free health screenings, and health-related information while enjoying lunch, bingo, a raffle and live music during the 14th annual Cinco de Mayo Senior Health and Resource Fair on Chicago’s South Side. Hosted in the gymnasium of [...]
Truck Pollution Adds to Pilsen’s Environmental Woes
Heavy diesel truck traffic is likely causing health problems for the residents of Pilsen. The neighborhood is no stranger to pollution — a battle between the H. Kramer Co. and residents who want the smelter to reduce its air emissions has been going on for years. But Dorian Breuer of the Pilsen Environmental Rights and [...]
Nursing Home Residents Given 30-Day Notice
After numerous inspections and citations, state officials closed the troubled Somerset Place on Monday, March 12 — but that didn’t end the ongoing saga for nearly 200 mentally ill residents who were left without a place to live. Somerset Place, a nursing home at 5009 N. Sheridan Road that housed mentally disabled and elderly residents, [...]
Free screening “When the Night Comes” about Malaria’s toll in Africa
This film follows filmmaker Bobby Bailey and a team through Africa to tell the story of malaria and examine its effects on the lives of mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. Malaria is preventable, but causes nearly 500 million illnesses each year and kills nearly one million of those who become infected – most of [...]
Some Soy Products Contain Neurotoxins, Report States
The Cornucopia Institute’s Organic Soy Report and accompanying Scorecard rates companies that market organic soy foods, such as soymilk, tofu and “veggie burgers.” The scorecard rates most major brands based on 10 criteria that are important to organic consumers. The report separates companies that follow the spirit and letter of the organic law from those [...]
Cycle of Violence Affects Millions of Domestic Abuse Victims
By Jennifer Ensign Kim Marr recalls that she was 19 years old and four months pregnant when her husband first hit her. She didn’t know what had happened because she was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Marr said she quickly forgave her attacker. “I heard those magic words: ‘I promise I’ll never do [...]
AIDS and HIV Funding in Peril Under Proposed Budget
The problem: HIV cases in Illinois are rising, but funding in next year’s newly proposed budget does not meet the need. The solution: bi-partisan effort to produce a smart budget — which hasn’t been the state’s forte in the past. “If that funding is not produced, we will unquestionably all see 500 to 1,000 people [...]
Misdemeanor Drug Offenders Could Lose Their Licenses
People convicted of drug crimes in Illinois could face an automatic six-month suspension of their drivers’ licenses, a proposal that is drawing sharp criticism from drug policy analysts. House Bill 5720 would require drug offenders to stay out of the driver’s seat for a period of six months for the first offense and one year [...]
New Law in Illinois Would Remove Cigarettes from Drug Stores
Cigarettes could disappear from Illinois drug stores under a new bill proposed before the state legislature. State Rep. Marlow H. Colvin, (D-Chicago) introduced a bill last month that would prohibit the sale of tobacco products in hospitals, clinics and pharmacies. If passed, the bill would take effect in 2011. Offenders would face a fine of [...]
Calorie Counts Could Appear on Fast-Food Menus
Eating a Big Mac, a Whopper or a juicy Potbelly sandwich could come with a reminder for consumers in Illinois. State Rep. Deb Mell (D-Chicago) introduced a bill last month that would force chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway and Potbelly to disclose on their menu boards the number of calories contained in each [...]
Cook County Falls Short of New Clean Air Standards
Nancy Buckley knows all too well the ill effects of bad air. In the past year, the 44-year-old has been hospitalized three times due to severe asthma attacks. “It’s like somebody sticking a pillow over you and you’re trying to breathe through it,” said Buckley, who lives on the North Side of Chicago. “Treatments at [...]
