The holidays come late for Macy’s Inc.
By Sarah Very Despite unfavorable weather conditions and stiff competition from online retailers during the holiday season, Macy’s Inc. turned in better-than-expected year-end earnings Tuesday. The Cincinnati, OH-based retailer, which also operates the upscale Bloomingdale’s, said net income sank in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30 to $544 million, or $1.73 per diluted share, from […]
Home sales and prices continue to rise
By Sony Kassam Existing home sales, supported by an improving labor market, were better than expected in January, rising to the highest annual rate in six months, a trade group said Tuesday. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales, including condos, co-ops and single-family homes, inched forward 0.4 percent from December, to a […]
Anti-testing movement plans 2016 strategy as education cuts take center stage
By Morgan Gilbard Anti-testing advocates worry that the opt-out movement will take a backseat this year as Chicago Public Schools and the state drown in a sea of other problems. Concern over budget cuts and teacher union negotiations threaten to overshadow a movement that led to 20,000 Chicago students opting out of standardized tests last […]
Children explore the universe of science at Family Science Day
By Neil Murthy Children explored robotics and met a NASA astronaut as they delved into experiments at the Family Science Day hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in Washington, D.C. AAAS is the world’s largest general science society and brings together leaders from multiple disciplines to share their […]
Follow the Tweeter: NBA and players score with Twitter
Q/A with Twitter’s Andrew Barge By Peter Dawson Even in the world of Twitter, LeBron James is still the King. James’ 28.2 million followers (@KingJames) are the most of any athlete in the country, the second most of any athlete in the world (soccer star Christiano Ronaldo is first at 40.6 million), and the 24th […]
Medill Reports does the NFL Combine — sort of
By Chris Hayre and Adam Rossow Beginning Wednesday, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis takes its annual turn as the center of the football world when the NFL Scouting Combine commences. Chris Hayre and Adam Rossow shockingly didn’t get the invite to compete, but in preparation for the event, they explain the six drills performed by […]
Chicago startup raises money for excess food donations
By Lena Blietz For restaurants and shops whose patrons demand the freshest ingredients, there will always be food that goes to waste. That’s where Zero Percent comes in. The Chicago-based startup collects excess food from restaurants across the city to donate to local non-profits. The company, whose name means zero percent of food should go […]
Black women activists focus on prison pipeline, joining the fight for social justice
By Branden Hampton Eighty percent of prison inmates report that they were in foster care as youth, and the foster care-to-prison pipeline must be dismantled, according to social justice activist Charity Tolliver. “When we look at the boom of the prison system in the ’80s, one of the systems that also exploded at the same […]
Flint Congressman talks water crisis with Illinois activists
By Jay Bouchard In the wake of Flint, Michigan’s water crisis, U.S Rep. Dan Kildee (D) is reaching out to Illinois in an effort to gain legislative support and brief his neighboring state on ways it can support Flint. Kildee, a Flint native, visited west suburban Lombard on Saturday to discuss ways local activists can […]
An unconventional approach to Chicago’s misunderstood gun violence
By Marisa Endicott January saw its highest death toll from gun violence since 2000 in Chicago this year. There have been over 416 shootings in 2016 to date, 32 of them over this past weekend. The numbers highlight the deep roots of gun violence in Chicago and the city’s inability to combat the problem. While overall crime […]
