Gabrielle Phifer
Medill Reports
Life after being abused can be one of the toughest moments for any person, especially for a child. Patrick Dati was just 9 years old when he was sexually abused in a bathroom at a Chicago department store.
It was difficult being abused but even more difficult when he found out his abuser was responsible for killing over 30 young boys. The shame and guilt followed him for years and there was no one that knew him that saw the signs.
By Darren Zaslau
Medill Reports
Soccer teams made of first responders from across the country participated in the 2018 Unsung Heroes Soccer Tournament in Chicago on May 3–4. Unsung Heroes is a fundraising organization run by volunteers who are police officers, paramedics or firefighters and community service members. The event raised money for Chicago’s injured and fallen first responders.
Mollie McNeel
Medill Reports
Travel about an hour southeast of Baltimore and you’ll end up in a small Maryland town called Edgewater. Keep driving past the city limits and you’ll see a brown sign on the side of the road indicating that somewhere in the thick forrest to your left is the Smithsonian Environmental Research. A long windy drive with exactly nine turns will lead you to a clearing full of lab buildings and dormitories–my home for the next month.
May 2, 2018, Edgewater, Maryland. My first week as SERC has been a whirlwind of adjusting to dorm living (once again), meeting scientists and figuring out which of the many high-stakes research projects I will be reporting about. But one exciting event came Wednesday as I joined the team at the SERC archaeology lab.
I arrived at the old house turned work center around 9 a.m.—a few minutes before everyone really began arriving. As I watched each person walk through the old screen door, it was clear that they were genuinely happy to be there. But what I didn’t realize is that they were all volunteers. The SERC archaeology lab is run by “citizen scientists” under the direction of Dr. Jim Gib, a senior archaeologist.
The day was spent inside instead of at one of the dig sites excavating oyster shells, nails, ceramics and tobacco pipes–all evidence of a structure inhabited by humans. The digs needed to dry out after stormy weather the night before. “Go get your hands dirty” was my only instruction, so I followed two others into the “kitchen” where a large wooden table sat with buckets of artifacts at one end.
“We are going to wash everything we found last week” said one of the more experienced volunteers. After a quick tutorial on how to scrub the brick, glass and pottery just right I grabbed my toothbrush and began cleaning. While the puzzle pieces of the past may seem like rubble, they are giving clues to a picture of life during the 17th century.
We found lots (and lots and lots) of brick pieces which mean there was some type of structure on the property. We found green and blue glass shards—some small and some large—which were used for wine and medicines. The most exciting piece for me was finding nails that had been handcrafted leading the archaeology team to believe this site was actually the blacksmith’s shop!
As my time with the archaeology lab came to a close I had a new appreciation for the old structures around me. Seeing these people talk of who the blacksmith could have been and what it took to make these rusty nails we were holding made me realize history is not lost, we just have to dig for it.
By Nick Mantas
Medill Reports
Two of the best high school lacrosse programs in the state of Illinois will face-off for the first time this season.
These two schools have a rivalry that has consequences for the outcome of their games; usually the winner is the state champion.
Loyola Academy High School is hosting its rival New Trier High School Tuesday night at 5 p.m. in Wilmette, IL
Darren Zaslau
Medill Reports
On April 26th, fans filled Soldier Field for the Chicago Bears Draft Party to see who the team would select with the eighth overall pick. At the party, fans were also able to meet players, tour the locker room and participate in on-field activities. The Bears drafted Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith eighth overall.
By Juliette Rocheleau
Medill Reports
A new program allows Chicago residents to register for a city-issued ID card. The completely optional card is aimed at “unlocking” the city by breaking down barriers to attaining government-issued photo ID, regardless of housing or citizenship status. The card also allows residents to choose male, female or nonbinary gender markers, or to leave gender off the card entirely.
In February while the card was in a pilot period, City Clerk Anna Valencia said that as a government-issued ID, the card could be used by citizens to register to vote. CityKey policy opponents worried that this would lead to a rise in voter fraud. When Fox News commentator Tucker Carlson brought the subject up, the issue gained national attention.
By Minghe Hu
Medill Reports
Wall Street expects the stock performance of Boeing Co. will overcome the turbulence of trade war with China because of strong market demand, although its stock price shows that investors have concerns.
The Chicago-based airplane behemoth is one of the largest commercial aircraft makers and defense contractors in the world. Its products include the narrow-body 737 family, the wide-body 787 family and KC-46 and Apache military aircraft.
By Jinman li
Medill Reports
Analysts and shareholders have mixed outlooks for Northern Trust Corp.’s stock price in the next 12 to 24 months, with changes in interest rate and the potential to expand just some of the challenges the financial services company faces.
Although just one of the 21 analysts polled by Bloomberg has a sell rating on Northern Trust’s stock, seven analysts rate it as a buy and 13 rate it a hold, with an average 52-week price target at $111.55. The stock closed at $107.04 on Tuesday. Its 52-week low was on May 17 at $85.41, and its 52-week high was on March 12 at $110.81.
“They’re close to being undervalued, but just not quite there yet,” said Jeffery Harte, an analyst at Sandler O’Neill & Partners LP who has a hold rating on the stock. “It’s a pretty good company with really good growth prospects, but it also has a much higher valuation P/E multiple than its peers, so it is priced appropriately.”
The trailing 12-month price-to-earnings ratio for Northern Trust, which measures its share price relative to its per-share earnings, is 20.96, compared with the financial sector average of 19.60, according to data compiled by Reuters.
By Gwen Aviles
Medill Reports
Seating was difficult to come by at the Meg Wolitzer author talk held by Women and Children First bookstore in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago on April 24.
The event was crammed with aspiring authors, feminists and aspiring feminist authors alike clamoring to get a look at literary greatness. Those who failed in the game of musical chairs were sprawled on the wooden floor with their Moleskine notebooks, craning their heads to get a peak at Wolitzer in conversation with Greta Johnson, a Chicago-based journalist and WBEZ host. When even floorspace ran low, some attendees plopped themselves on the stepping stools meant for reaching the highest bookshelves, while others leaned against bookcases.
By Jayda McClendon
Medill Reports
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is continuing to warn consumers to avoid buying romaine lettuce distributed from Yuma, Arizona after 31 more people became ill from E.Coli. The outbreak is troublesome for lettuce sales at local grocery stores such as Village Market Place in Skokie.
