By Simone Roberts, Anneliese Cornejo Garcia, Blake McQueary, Britton Struthers Lugo, Catie Lacovara, Avery Feldman and Sarah Barber
Medill Reports
Medill Newsmakers presents stories of real difference-makers across the wards of Chicago. From cafes teaching grief-coping skills to Illinois’ outdated brewing laws and high school athletics, here’s how six Chicagoans are impacting their city in individual ways.
Transcript:
Simone Roberts
Hello and welcome to Medill Newsmakers. I’m Simone Roberts.
Anneliese Cornejo Garcia
And I’m Anneliese Cornejo Garcia. Today we’re sharing the stories of Chicagoans making an impact on their communities.
Roberts
We spoke with difference makers across the city, and heard about death cafes to cope with grief, Illinois’ outdated brewing laws and a high school baseball star.
Cornejo Garcia
I spent time on the South Side learning about a man advocating for mental health through clothing. About a year ago, JA Garcia started Southside Dreams, a streetwear brand inspired by cultural fashion on the South Side of Chicago. Today, he uses his brand to advocate for mental health, cultural awareness and ending the stigma that he says often plagues South Side communities. Check out his story.
JA Garcia, Southside Dreams owner
Two years ago, I started a brand called Southside Clothing, kind of representing my neighborhood. And as great and everything as it was, I think I found a sense of individuality in this that, like, “Hey, I am my own entity.” So I created Southside Dreams.
When I decided to start a clothing brand, I definitely wanted to create something that was very genuine, something that I knew and something that I didn’t have to fake. So that’s how the birth of Southside Dreams came. It was another brand before, called South Ave Clothing. Then we just advanced; we found something better.
Where they’re making a living off their culture, making it. And it’s like, once that starts happening, it was very much like, “Whoa, I know that person. I went to school with that person. Well, if they can do it, I can do it too.” And what that creates, it creates this ripple effect of people that start believing that they can truly accomplish their dreams. And I think, especially in Latino culture, that’s something we were never really raised. It was go to work and come home, and that’s it. But we’re never talking about the concept of a dream.
What do you want to do, other than going to work, coming home, taking care of your family? So being able to go out there and chase a dream, I think it’s something that truly needs to be brought up to let your kids know, it’s OK to work, but in the process, maybe find something that is yourself.
I’m a chef in Chicago. I like meeting different people from different parts of, the world coming to work at my restaurants, and they were like, “Oh, they told me not to go to the South Side.” Why not? There’s so much culture on the South Side. So to me, it’s something that I feel now, before it was very hidden; now it’s something I feel that it’s very popular. I use the example all the time of like, we all have a certain aesthetic, a certain way of looking, and it’s very much for sale, where we can walk into a Zumiez and items that in the Chicano culture that we would be able to buy, and you have to go hunt for, are so easy and accessible now to where it’s like, I just love it. It’s just this, and you’re able to look like this, and in a matter of just buying an outfit.
You know, I’ve been two and a half years clean since my last suicide attempt. Like different things in that culture, I know, we speak, speak it a lot, and about how we’re not able to identify that, or some of the examples, it’s like, “I’m depressed today,” and our parents would just be like, “Well, you’re lazy. Go clean the house,” you know, things of that sort. And so as I started doing that, I started coming across other men and women and people that were very much like, “I don’t feel it.” So every September, I host a live panel with some of the big up and coming names in Chicago, and the panel is called ‘Stay Positive, Fool.’ It is something that we say to each other, because as I started expressing men with mental health, a lot of them were very much like I would sit there and talk about my feelings to them, and they’re like, “Stay positive, fool.”
Like, I don’t know what to tell you, so I just it’s not like they didn’t care. It was just they literally had no words to describe, because they’re so used to masking something. And I think normalizing that and even through artwork, speaking, talking, demonstrating, is all a healing process in in becoming a better person, knowing rights from wrongs, healing, I think healing is the most beautiful thing out of everything that we should all be focusing on and talking about mental health, talking about what we feel inside, and it be normalized. I think with this brand, and I hope with a bunch of other brands, it is something that feels very common, and I feel like it’s coming very, very much where we can all talk about this, and when that day comes, I can’t wait to see a better future with people who are able to talk about it.
Cornejo Garcia
Up next, we have Simone Roberts with a story about a woman with a bar and a mission.
Roberts
In the heart of Chicago, a Portland native and trailblazing woman is opening the city’s first woman owned women’s sports bar, creating a space where community thrives. Her mission? To elevate the untold stories of women’s sports for the next generation.
Thank you so much for joining me, and if you wouldn’t mind just kind of introducing yourself and the concept of your bar.
Nora McConnell-Johnson, Babe’s Sports Bar founder
Thanks for having me. I’m Nora McConnell-Johnson. she/her pronouns, and I am opening Babe’s Sports Bar in Logan Square. It’s a women’s sports bar, so we’ll only show women’s sports.
Roberts
Why did you think it was so important to bring a women-owned space in, that focused on women’s sports?
McConnell-Johnson
Women’s sports has always been a throughline in my life. I mean, I’m doing this project with my friend Torah, who was my college co-captain in rugby. So such a site of friendship for me and empowerment, and also constantly having to sort of fight for our own space. I feel like any woman athlete who’s played organized sports can tell you stories about having to give up their team practice time because a boys team wanted the space. From that aspect, (I) feel like these spaces deserve to be made and people deserve to have access to them.
And then from a personal aspect, like personal point, I was trying to watch the (Chicago) Sky the year that they won the national championship, and so my routine was to wait until the bars around me opened and then call all of them to ask if they could put it on TV. “I’m looking for a place to come watch the WNBA game tonight. It’s at seven. It’s on this channel.”
And at best, I would get sort of like, disinterest, but at worst, I would get people who were dismissive of that. So from a personal perspective, I was like, I need a space to watch the WNBA, for if there was a space that was directly supporting and owned by fans of women’s sports and women athletes, and was also a space that created community for those people.
Roberts
Could you talk a little bit about the concept of the inside of the bar, and specifically the bar top and why that’s so important for you?
McConnell-Johnson
We’re taking, sort of like a I keep talking about it as like a futurist project. What does the future look like when the growth that’s been happening in women’s sports, like, when that growth has had time to really, manifest, and keep growing? And so if we were to imagine a future where women’s sports had the respect it deserves and the resources it deserves, like, what would a space for women’s sports look like?
We’re taking that mixed with an aesthetic approach of imagining, like, if your grandma was a highly decorated basketball player, still had her basement as a dedicated sports-shrine space. Like, that’s what we’re going for.
The futurist aim of this is to also create a space where we are celebrating people, women’s sports history that has been overlooked for a long time. So one of the things that I thought would be really powerful, (we) lacked folks old memorabilia from like, their sports history, their personal sports history. So we wanted to pull the memorabilia out so everybody, like, it was really central, and everybody could see it. So there’ll be two drink rails that are off the bar, and those will be epoxy pieces that are filled with layers of people’s memorabilia. So it’s also like a little museum of people’s personal sports history.
Roberts
Have you seen the impact of just highlighting other women’s sports throughout the city, whether it is pro sports or rec leagues or any of those types of things that may not be highlighted typically?
McConnell-Johnson
Once we become — once we open and once we can actually become like a hub, my hope is that we can be a part of helping those sports teams either the women’s pro sports teams in the city or even the rec teams help them feel like they have a base. Which I think is really helpful in terms of just building a feeling of cohesive community for any group, and also for the wins. I mean, I would love to I can really see a future where we’re hosting watch parties for their away games, so that people who are in Chicago but want to still be fans of the wins have a place to gather and hang out with their other women’s fans.
Roberts
I want to thank you so much, Nora, for taking the time to highlight your space and highlight women’s sports in the city. Coming up, Blake McQueary introduces us to one of suburban Will County’s rising baseball stars.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Blake McQueary
Today, I’m bringing you a one-on-one exclusive interview with 18-year-old high school baseball star Conor Essenburg. Essenburg is a two-way player who hits and pitches at Lincoln-Way West in New Lenox. He was selected to compete at the USA Baseball 18U Training Camp, and is headed to the University of Kentucky to compete at the next level. Check out his story.
I want to take you back to where baseball started. When did you first fall in love with baseball and how did baseball come into your life?
Conor Essenburg, Lincoln-Way West baseball player
Yeah, so I grew up going to my older brother’s games, he played until he was about 13 and then he stopped. But I grew up going to his games. It was super fun. Me and my buddies played wiffle ball at a different field. So that was super cool. And then me and my grandpa used to always play catch in the front yard. It was super fun. And then ever since then, I’ve just loved everything about baseball.
McQueary
And so I know you obviously, you pitch and you hit. There’s not a ton of kids who are doing that, especially going into the college level. Kind of talk to me about, how you balance those things, just, obviously, with your practice routine, but also, just with game days as well. How are you balancing, just making sure that you’re getting enough of both pitching and hitting? How? How does that balance work?
Essenburg
Every day at a game, I’ll just see how my arm feels. I haven’t had a day yet this year where my arm is too sore to play in the outfield, which I say that my arm is built for that, because I’ve been a two-way (player) for so long. So my arm is, it just recovers super fast. So that’s super good. But other than that, yeah, just making sure that I get my bullpens in at practice during the week. My pitching coach helps me out with that a lot. And then, other than that, we’re just in the outfield. If it’s practice, I’m not throwing the ball like 100% every time. We’re just getting it in. So I’d say, right now, the focus is just keeping the arm healthy and being ready to throw at any point of the week. And then, other than that, just playing in the outfield in the games.
McQueary
And then, is there one that you like better than the other? If you had to choose one, which one are you choosing?
Essenburg
I love hitting. I’ve loved hitting my entire life. It was really this year that kind of made me fall in love with hitting completely, because my first couple weeks, I had like, five home runs. And I don’t know it’s just like, it’s coming a lot easier to me now that I’m so much stronger. So those lazy pop-ups from freshman year are turning into home runs now. So being able to see stuff like that, and I love how hard hitting is. Hitting is probably one of the hardest things to do in any sport.
McQueary
So talk to me just about recruiting. I know you’re going off to Kentucky. What made you choose the University of Kentucky over other schools?
Essenburg
So I was previously committed to a different Division I school. But then my junior year, I played really well. In the summer, I got to play in front of a lot of big stages, like USA Baseball, stuff like that. And then the winter of my junior year, I got some talks with the University of Kentucky and stuff like that. So I decommitted (from the other school). I went down to go see the Kentucky campus and everything and meet the coaches, and I truly fell in love with everything that was around there. It’s a little bit closer to home too, which is what I like, but it’s always been my dream since I was a kid, to be able to play in the SEC, but not only play, but have the opportunity to hit in the SEC. So they gave me that opportunity, and I just couldn’t pass it up.
McQueary
So you mentioned USA Baseball. Talk to me about that process being selected for that. I mean, only a few kids a year get selected for that. So talk to me just about when you got the news, how’d you feel about being selected and then also just having that experience?
Essenburg
I’m not gonna lie, the first year of USA Baseball for me was, it was a great experience, but I was not a very good player. I was not ready for that, but that definitely was one of the turning points in my career, because it completely motivated me to put weight on, become way better. I went back the next year, I performed very well, and then I got my invite again for last year, and I thought I did a super good job. I was extremely close to making the national team. And probably one of the coolest things about it was Stephen Strasburg was my team’s pitching coach, so me and him were like talking it up all the time. We were in the elevator together. That was super cool.
McQueary
Up next, Britton Struthers Lugo shows us how some Chicagoans are tackling the tough topic of death.
Britton Struthers Lugo
Recently, the Chicago Death Doula Collective hosted its first Death Cafe on Chicago’s South Side. I sat down with one of the organization’s board members, Patrice Horton, to learn what death doulas do and why they have cafes.
I was wondering if you could please start off by telling me, what is the Chicago Death Doula Collective?
Patrice Horton, Chicago Death Doula Collective death doula
Oh, yes. So as a board member with the Chicago Death Doula Collective we all come together. We plan events. We’re pretty much trying to spread awareness and education on what a death doula is and what a death doula does.
We all assist others through the end-of-life journey. We are a collective of folks who bring our many skills, talents, gifts, most of all, our loving, big hearts, to people who are dying. Or to people who are dealing with a loved one who is dying or who has recently died or passed away.
Struthers Lugo
So, you know, I was there at the event, but I was wondering if you could explain, you know, to the audience, what is a death cafe?
Horton
So a death cafe is a space, it’s a safe space that’s held for people.
It’s a space that’s held for a group of people to come together who are experiencing the loss of a loved one, who has experienced the loss of a loved one, who happens to be terminally ill themselves, who is facing their own end here. It’s just a space for people who are dealing with death, dying and grief process and it allows them to speak about their feelings. It allows them to make inquiries about anything that they may have about the process, and also allows them to process their own grief.
Struthers Lugo
So what was the inspiration behind bringing death cafes to Woodlawn and the surrounding community in Chicago?
Horton
Yeah, well primarily, all the death cafes have been up north in the north community of Chicago, and so we’re trying to bring more awareness to the South Side. These are communities that are minority filled, highly populated minority areas and who don’t know anything about a death doula, who often experience traumatic deaths of their loved ones, who experience death at a higher rate than other populations. And so it’s about spreading awareness, letting people know about positive ways to handle their grief, and that’s why we are doing these things.
Struthers Lugo
Tell me a little bit more about what death cafes provide for the community.
Horton
What it brings to the community, it brings healing. It brings alternative exercises to engage in. To help handle and cope with that stress and that grief from losing your loved one, or being diagnosed with a terminal illness or caring for a terminally ill loved one. It’s bringing in love, it’s bringing healing, it’s bringing in peace, it’s bringing education, it’s bringing awareness.
Struthers Lugo
What did you feel like, after this event and coming out of it?
Horton
It was beautiful. I was happy that people felt safe to express themselves. I was happy that people were very receptive to what we had to say, to what we had to offer. The space, the chapel is just absolutely beautiful. It’s very welcoming. It was just a wonderful experience, and I look forward to having more.
Struthers Lugo
The next death cafe will take place at the Oakwood Cemetery Chapel. You can find out more information at www.chicagodeathdoulacollective.com.
After the break, our Catie Lacovara shares a story about a community coming together to reduce waste and support families.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Catie Lacovara
Summer is just around the corner and many of us are clearing out the clutter. I spoke with Mayra Leyva, who has come up with a unique initiative that allows neighbors to help one another by giving away their old possessions.
Thank you so much for being me, Mayra. First things first, what is a community giveaway?
Mayra Leyva, Community Giveaway organizer
Sure, so the community giveaway actually had, like, multiple stages. So the first giveaway was back in April 2021. That’s when we started it. Pretty much a community giveaway is, we had a couple of groups called, like, the free box, buy-nothing groups on Facebook. And everyone kept complaining, people wouldn’t show up, and they had all this stuff to give away, and they’re like, “We don’t want to keep doing this.”
So I’m like, how about we make summers kind of like we have a garage sale, you put everything out that’s free. Instead of trying to sell, give away one thing at a time. And then people just drive around and pick up what they want and that way you can get rid of a bunch of stuff in one day. And the ladies are all like, “Yeah, I think that sounds good.”
And then someone else was like, “Maybe we can make this, like, even bigger, like, can we do it on a weekend instead of just one day, you know?” And I’m like, sure. I’m a school counselor. I know how to use Google Forms and Maps and stuff like that. I’m like, “Sure, I’ll put it together.”
So pretty much that’s all it was, is we just really wanted us to have an opportunity where people could actually give away things instead of it ending up in recycling. A lot of them were mostly moms. So it’s a lot of used clothes because kids grow, outgrow things so fast before they can even use it. So it’s like, why are we all spending so much money on things that we are going to outgrow? And it just didn’t make sense.
Lacovara
And what was the inspiration to start the community giveaway?
Leyva
Probably having way too much stuff that’s going to end up going to the garbage because they outgrow it way too soon. So for me, that’s really what could draw with me, is that we consume so much, and I rather not go buy more stuff when I can just re-give a new life to a shirt somebody else didn’t want. And most of them are pretty good quality. That’s one thing I did appreciate from the group, is that even though we’re just giving away stuff for free, we did actually try to make sure that we’re giving quality items for families so that no one felt like, hey, these are hand-me-downs. Everyone was pretty proud to go through (the items). So a lot of times, I think that’s why we do it, is that we want to make sure other people feel good about and are having the opportunity to still have something nice.
Lacovara
Why did you guys decide to make it a free giveaway, rather than a traditional yard or garage sale?
Leyva
The idea is that you’re using it, it stays in the community, and we’re all helping each other out. And so yeah, the yard sale never came across as an idea, because that was the goal, is that we all continue to honor the if you get it here, you don’t sell it.
Lacovara
Now, what does it mean for you to see the community giveaway grow and to see your neighbors helping one another?
Leyva
Oh, it’s great. It’s like, literally, even in these times where it’s so hard and so much instability, I love that people are so willing to be like, “Hey, I don’t have use for it. I think another neighbor might need it, and we’re all in this journey together, trying to survive.” When me and my friends joke like, “Hey, at least you won’t get tariffs on this, right?” You know? Like, that’s the thing, this is something that can keep going, and we can help each other.
Lacovara
And lastly, what do you hope the future holds for the community giveaway?
Leyva
It’d be nice to see more communities in different pockets of the city do this. I know that the Northwest Side has a very strong community feel to it. It’s just, even though it’s so diverse I mean honestly between Portage Park and Jefferson Park, they’re very different but I feel like it would be nice to see more of that community across the city.
Lacovara
Up next, we’ll learn more about brewery laws in Illinois from reporter Avery Feldman.
Avery Feldman
Illinois breweries have grown to the hundreds statewide, but the laws around brewing have not been adapted in nearly a century. I spoke with Ray Stout, the executive director of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild, about the importance of advocating for local breweries.
Ray Stout, Illinois Craft Brewery Guild executive director
The Guild provides three pieces of important work for the craft brewing industry. We provide legislative advocacy, we provide promotion and we provide education. And so, all three of those pieces are clearly evident during Craft Beer Week. And so we’re excited to be out here promoting, promoting breweries, educating consumers and talking about what really matters to our small businesses.
(What people) don’t realize about the Illinois craft brewing scene is it’s 300 independent breweries, right? These are all small local businesses that need our support more than ever. And so from legislative advocacy, to best practices in marketing, to education on how to stay up abreast of the most cutting-edge brewing technology, the guild provides that all to them. And so it’s a great way to give back to them, and it’s a great way to hold them up.
People don’t realize that everything we do is tied to legislation. And so the guild does a lot of work lobbying in Springfield as well as within Chicagoland area. And so there’s laws on the books that were written in 1934 and so we’re working to modernize these laws. One of the biggest changes that we’ve made were allowing for breweries to sell directly to retailers in the state. That was a huge legislative win of ours. It’s only grown, and that’s part of the reason why we went from 40 breweries to 300 breweries over the past 10 years.
There are inflationary pressures. It’s exacerbated by tariffs that have been put on by the administration. So the margins in craft beer have been historically small. They’re smaller now than ever, right? And so the real challenge breweries have now is reaching consumers in a highly competitive marketplace. And so we have 300 breweries, each are offering a very unique experience, but when they’re on the shelf at your local convenience store, how do we differentiate ourselves or how do we stand out? Brewers are leaning into high-quality ingredients, leaning into flavor, leaning into innovation.
I think Illinois Craft Beer Week is a good example. You know, the promotional piece we have a full-time PR team that does really great work. We run a passport program that encourages people to go out and around the state, which raised $250,000 for independent breweries last year. We’re hoping to grow that this year. A lot of it is getting these awesome brews in front of people. And so festivals like Beer Under Glass (are) a place for you to literally taste your way across the state. What I love about it is that there’s been pockets of breweries opening up across the state where once it was like, “all right, one brewery.” Now there’s five, six, seven breweries within (a) 15-minute radius of each other. And people are traveling because of the beer we have. People are coming to Illinois because of the beer we have. We’re consistently winning medals at the World Beer Cup and Great American Beer Festival to prove that we make some of the best beer here in the state of Illinois.
You need to buy local, or else it’s good bye local, right? These small breweries have become pillars of their communities. More and more breweries, you’ll see, there’s board games for kids and there’s food options. So it’s not just about the beer, although we’re making tremendous beer; it’s about offering a really great hub and a community, and that’s what breweries are really offering.
Feldman
The guild provides multiple resources and hosts events with small breweries across Illinois. Back to you at the desk.
Roberts
Thanks, Avery. We hope hearing these stories about your fellow Chicagoans made your day a little brighter.
Cornejo Garcia
Thanks for watching Medill Newsmakers. We’ll see you next time.
Simone Roberts, Blake McQueary, Avery Feldman and Sarah Barber are graduate students at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, specializing in Sports Media.
Anneliese Cornejo Garcia, Britton Struthers Lugo and Catie Lacovara are graduate students at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism, specializing in Video and Broadcast.