Chicago’s LGBTQ community gearing up for Trump presidency
By Puja Bhattacharjee The LGBTQ community in Chicago is not taking any chances on President-elect Donald Trump’s shifting statements. Organizations and groups advocating LGBTQ rights are hosting on-going events to calm, organize and inform the community about their rights and the resources available to them. On November 28, the Center on Halsted organized A Call to Rise […]
Mount Greenwood protests a microcosm of national division on police brutality
By Alex Ortiz During the afternoon of Nov. 20, a group of some 15 protesters walked down a closed off streets at Kedzie Avenue and 111th Street in Mount Greenwood on the city’s far southwestern edge. It was a cool but clear day — perfect for a large demonstration. Residents looked on while standing on […]
Whimsical Chicago improv team rides an undercurrent of intensity
By Lily Williams A young group of improv artists who call themselves “Snowball” are connecting with audiences at Chicago’s iO Theater not only with the laughs, but also by just listening. During a practice, a volunteer says “robot,” and two artists walk to the center of a circle of their peers. One bends slightly at […]
AIDs legacy of loss told through new exhibit Art AIDs America Chicago
By Hannah Moulthrop A gong reverberates through the white-walled space once every 10 minutes. Piñatas that resemble HIV viruses hang from a swath of ceiling above the staircase. Oversized glass red blood cells are strewn across the floor. These works and 169 others anchor the new Art AIDS America Chicago exhibition at the pop-up Alphawood Gallery […]
Mural project in Little Village showcases Chicago’s coming “Year of Public Art”
By Wen-Yee Lee Max Sansing was spray-painting a ragged wall of an underpass between Little Village and North Lawndale — a border that separates Mexican-American and African-American communities. Soon, images unfolded of Mexican culture and experiences in Chicago, West African symbols of strength and unity, and portraits of community residents. As a core artist for […]
Puerto Rico: a “canary in the coal mine” for climate change
By Janice Cantieri In Alexi Correa’s coastal town of Loiza, Puerto Rico, families are raising their furniture on milk crates and building second floors onto their concrete homes to adapt to frequent flooding caused by sea level rise. They are witnessing a major impact of climate change right at their doorsteps. “Our community is quite […]
The resistance gets real: Civil libertarians imagine life, action in the age of Trump
By Jordan Gaines Now that President-elect Donald J. Trump’s path to the White House is clear, Chicago-area progressives met Monday night to map out a game plan to protect civil liberties during a Trump administration. “Everybody in this room is still trying to wrap their heads around what happened on Nov 8,” said state Rep. […]
Women, and racial and sexual minorities don’t feel welcome, U of C climate survey says
By Alex Ortiz The University of Chicago made national headlines in August when it declared the campus a trigger-warning-free zone, igniting a national debate about the lack safe spaces for marginalized students. Now, a newly released campus climate survey validates the feeling of many that the campus’ racial climate is, indeed, rife with racism, sexism […]
Trump’s Election Sparks Renewed Fervor on Abortion
By Karys Belger A group of about 200 people stand with signs in hand and shouting in Federal Plaza. Their roar of “Not my president” is as clear as it was on the night when Donald Trump became president-elect. Mixed in with the familiar mantras turned protest chants are signs declaring “women’s rights are human […]
Illinois Republicans spent big last election in hopes of winning the General Assembly
By David Jordan Since the 2010 midterm elections the Republican Party has made long term investments in flipping as many state legislatures as possible. And over the last three campaigns, their gamble has paid off. In the past six years, the Republicans have managed to take nearly 1,000 state legislature seats from the Democrats across […]