Joffrey ballerina Olivia Tang-Mifsud talks about ballet and the 2020 season
By Olivia Lee Medill Reports After over 30 performances of “The Nutcracker,” the Joffrey Ballet’s 46 dancers, including Olivia Tang-Mifsud, 23, of Palos Verdes, California, are learning new choreography. Following rehearsal, Tang-Mifsud traded her black leotard and tights for jeans and a white sweater. She sat with perfect posture in the lobby and talked about […]
Obama’s ‘Great Lakes Czar’ runs for reelection at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
By Nicole Girten Medill Reports Commissioner Cameron Davis, former President Obama’s point person on the Great Lakes, is running to retain his seat at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District in part to tackle the issue of flooding in Chicago. Climate change in Chicago takes the form of extreme weather and severe storms. The water levels […]
At 29, Kina Collins is the youngest black woman to run for Congress in Illinois
By Brandon Raphael Dupre Medill Reports Kina Collins wears a black shirt with white block letters spelling out the names of the four congresswomen known as The Squad. She greets the owner of L!VE Café in Oak Park with a hug before taking a seat at the table in the back corner. “Give credit where […]
Via no longer sees Uber and Lyft as direct competitors: Its operations chief discusses strategy and the future of transportation
By Kari McMahon Medill Reports Via, Chicago’s third largest ride-hailing service behind Uber and Lyft, expanded its reach in the city in August 2019 with novel strategies such as partnering with Northwestern University on a new and improved Safe Ride program, which provides free rides to students in the evening hours to prevent students walking […]
Protestors demand new trial for inmate who alleged torture
By Samone Blair Medill Reports Protestors gathered at Daley Plaza Feb. 25 to call for the release of Gerald Reed, an inmate who was allegedly tortured by Chicago detectives, after a Circuit Court Judge reversed a decision that had granted him a new trial. On Feb. 14, Judge Thomas Hennelly reversed the December 2018 decision […]
How the islanders of Vieques used cinder blocks to build a protest movement on health care
By Alison Saldanha VIEQUES, Puerto Rico — On Valentine’s Day eve, colorful string-lights run through the green buttonwood and mango trees of La Plaza, the town square of Isabel Segunda in the heart of Vieques, a 52-square-mile island off the coast of Puerto Rico. On the ground, painted cinder blocks lay in irregular rows and […]
Virginia Rounds wants to save America’s manufacturing industry with apprenticeships
By Amy Sokolow Medill Reports Last month, 12,000 Americans who work in manufacturing lost their jobs. But Virginia Rounds, 44, has a plan to get them back to work: apprenticeships. Popular in Europe, these salaried training programs teach people on-the-job skills such as metalworking and also give them stipends for community college classes. Rounds, director […]
Amid COVID-19 pandemic, empty store shelves are showing people’s concerns
By Wanying Zhao Medill Reports Michelle Kwong stocked up more than usual during her regular grocery shopping trip for her family of four at the Freshmart in Chicago’s Chinatown. She pushed two carts to the checkout counter — one full of snacks, vegetables, meat, and some frozen foods, and another one stuffed with three bags […]
Good Things Come in Threes at the Big East Tournament
By Roderick Diamond II Medill Reports For the third consecutive year, DePaul University hosted the Big East Conference women’s basketball tournament at Wintrust Arena March 6-9. The prize, as usual, a tournament championship and an automatic pass to the NCAA Women’s Tournament. DePaul would be attempting their first three-peat in tournament history. Day 1 The […]
Let the girls play: How one girl’s love of baseball opened doors for hundreds more
By Beth Stewart Medill Reports When Taylor Daniels got cut from her all boys baseball team at age 13, she didn’t let that roadblock stop her from playing the sport she loved. Instead, she addressed the setback by building her own playing field, the organization Illinois Girls Baseball. The non-profit organization, which the Winnetka teen […]