Syrian Community Network encourages civic engagement
By Misha Euceph As most of Chicago was awaiting returns from the Illinois primary Tuesday night, Suzanne Akhras Sahloul, Founder and President of the Syrian Community Network, was encouraging students and faculty at Loyola University, Chicago to continue to engage civically on behalf of Syrian refugees around the world. “We have the opportunity to go […]
Clem Balanoff takes his bike parade on the roads of Illinois for Sanders
By Misha Euceph The first time Clem Balanoff did something political, he was 10 years old. He organized his group of fifth grade friends on streamer-decorated bicycles and the boys rode up and down the street between their houses on the Southeast side of Chicago and the polling place. He arranged the parade in support […]
BallotReady launches, impact to be determined
By Misha Euceph Illinois’ primary election day today is the big test, not just for candidates, but for BallotReady, a University of Chicago-backed non-profit, that won $30,000 in a challenge in May 2015. The site’s ambitious mission is to inform voters about every single candidate on their local ballots. The site launched earlier this year […]
Artists reflect on living next to Cook County Jail
By Misha Euceph Artists from the Prison and Neighborhood Project (PNAP) are holding listen and response sessions to get feedback on a series of interviews with inmates from Cook County Jail and West Side residents who live next to the 96-acre property. “It’s important to come up with a counter narrative against such a brutal […]
Protesters force Anita Alvarez out of University of Chicago event
By Misha Euceph Protesters interrupted Anita Alvarez at a discussion Wednesday at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics (IOP), where the Cook County State’s Attorney planned to talk about her work and her re-election. The conversation with Alvarez followed similar exchanges that featured challengers Kim Foxx and Donna More. Although those events went according […]
Trump supporters untroubled by shifting positions
By Misha Euceph With Donald Trump leading by a mile on the eve of the South Carolina primary, his rivals are asking whether he is a true Republican. A super PAC aligned with former Florida governor Jeb Bush put it bluntly in a new ad: “If Trump wins, conservatives lose.” “Donald Trump is just plain […]
Coalition calls for special prosecutor in Jason Van Dyke murder case
By Aryn Braun and Misha Euceph Video by Kierra Gray In a petition filed this morning, 27 interested parties called for a special prosecutor in the trial of police officer Jason Van Dyke, citing Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s close ties to the Fraternal Order of Police as a “conflict of interest.” The petitioners, […]
Asher Van Dyke: Day in the Life of an Iowan
By Misha Euceph “I support Bernie because of his take on tuition for public universities. I dropped out of school recently because my mother was diagnosed with cancer, so I don’t have the funds right now. I even had a thought of moving to Germany, maybe for, like, free education.” Asher Van Dyke is an […]
Sue Dvorsky: Day in the Life of an Iowan
By Misha Euceph “The media’s saying Sanders has 100 field organizers on the ground and Hillary’s got 100 field organizers on the ground. Here’s the difference. My stepdad, 81, from the South Side of Chicago… Irish… The [Hillary] field organizer in his district went and knocked on his door and said I know you’re Sue’s […]
Jared Fulster: Day in the Life of an Iowan
By Misha Euceph “You hear a lot of ‘Why does Iowa get this?’ We are a flyover state. All we do is corn and pigs. And I don’t even do that. This is our taste of the East Coast or the West Coast. Just mattering. Being important, I suppose.” Jared Fulster is an independent voter […]