Painting the City: Chicago’s unbalanced treatment of illegal art
By Ellen Kobe Anyone who has lived in a relatively large city is familiar with graffiti — paint in public places. But what exactly is the difference between graffiti tagging — which is often cleaned up — versus street art — which is often encouraged by neighborhood organizations? Medill reporter Ellen Kobe asks anti-graffiti activists, […]
Quadriplegic Mike Becker photographs his way through Chicago (AUDIO)
By Ellen Kobe Several years ago, Catholic Charities Chicago gave disposable cameras to many of their homeless and at-risk-of-homelessness dinner guests, encouraging them to take photos of the city from their perspectives. One of the participants was Mike Becker, who is a quadriplegic. The experience taught Mike a hobby he now loves and empowered him […]
Mayor Rahm Emanuel to serve four more years after winning runoff
By Ellen Kobe Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was elected to a second term on Tuesday after easily defeating challenge Jesus “Chuy” Garcia in an unprecedented mayoral runoff. “Being the mayor of the city of Chicago is the greatest job I’ve ever had and the greatest job in the world,” Emaunel said during his victory speech […]
Presbyterians approve same-sex marriage amendment
By Ellen Kobe The largest Presbyterian Church denomination, PC(USA), approved an amendment to its Book of Order that recognizes same-sex marriage in the church Tuesday. As approvals needed to vote in favor of the 14-F Amendment steadily increased this winter, those in the Chicago Presbyterian community reflected on what this change means for the Presbytery of Chicago, […]
Catholic Charities kicks off Jazz Fest with supper for hungry
By Ellen Kobe More than 100 guests at the Catholic Charities weekday suppers on the Near North Side received more than a meal Tuesday. They also heard a live jazz concert.
Aldermanic election results roll in with low turnout and runoffs
By Bethel Habte and Bennet Hayes Updated: 11:10 p.m. Results are rolling in for the aldermanic races, with over 90 percent of votes reported for many key contests. Voters failed to turn out in high numbers across the city Tuesday. Latest reports from the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners show that 32 percent of registered voters cast ballots.
Archbishop Cupich celebrates first Ash Wednesday in the Loop
By Ellen Kobe Archbishop Blase Cupich presided over Mass Wednesday, giving ashes to guests at St. Peter’s in the Loop. Cupich was installed as the leader of the Archdiocese of Chicago in November, and this service marked the start of his first Lenten season in the city. Beginning at 6 a.m., hundreds of people filed […]
Chicago Celiac Catholics celebrate communion in the low-gluten way
By Ellen Kobe On a Saturday evening in January, Carol Shilson, a parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Lincoln Park participated in a common experience among Roman Catholics: the Eucharist. As the sun went down and the church’s stained glass windows turned from vibrant colors to darkness, the Rev. Jeremy Dixon consecrated the […]
Charlie Hebdo ‘survivors’ issue’ quickly sells out in Chicago
By Yanqing Chen, Ellen Kobe, Meghan Tribe and Andersen Xia Dozens of people lined up at two Chicago-area newsstands hoping to get one of the copies of the “survivors’ issue” of French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo (WARNING: Cover image may be offensive to some) before dawn Friday morning. Within minutes, both City Newsstand in Portage […]
CAIR-Chicago’s social media campaign generates conversation about Islam
By Ellen Kobe Hasan Ahmad, or @hasanahmad80, as he is known in the Twitter-verse, sat on his computer Tuesday morning tweeting a series of photos with the hashtag #WhatAMuslimLooksLike. The 34-year-old in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, received 63 “likes” and 43 “favorites” (at the time of publication) on one photo of Salman Khan, the founder of Khan […]
