Hundreds of O’Hare airport workers strike, demand $15 an hour

By June Leffler After the brunt of Thanksgiving travel, O’Hare workers pulled off a one-day strike to demand $15 an hour and safer working conditions. The Department of Aviation and Chicago Police Department said there were no disruptions or arrests during Tuesday’s action at O’Hare. O’Hare workers announced the strike last Monday, just days before […]

Food summit: Healthy food access must include eliminating waste

National Museum of American History Food Waste Exhibit

By Jordan Gaines As foodies and farmers alike gathered at the Chicago Food Tank Summit earlier this month at the University of Chicago’s Gleacher Center to discuss ways to maximize and sustain food, conversations of working with the food we already have continuously boiled down to two words: food waste. “It’s kind of a divisive […]

Illinois’ pipeline construction proceeds with reservations but no rancor

Dorene Wiese at American Indian Association of Illinois

By Cloee Cooper [Package of Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline stories here] As Native American-led protests against the Dakota Access pipeline continue, major national unions that represent pipeline workers in Illinois have come out in support of the pipeline, despite environmental concerns about the potential for rupture in and around water resources, and […]

Parents, teachers call CPS special education budget an ‘atrocity’

By Meredith Francis and Emily Olsen After several public hearings, two budget drafts and a threatened teachers strike, some parents and teachers say the Chicago Public Schools budget still fails to protect the safety and well-being of special education students. “Students who need one-on-one assistance for feeding and changing, and extreme behavior problems have no […]