Doomsday Clock holds global disaster at 90 seconds to midnight

By Annika Schmidt Medill Reports The iconic Doomsday Clock remains at 90 seconds to midnight, a metaphorical warning for how close humanity is to global catastrophe, experts with the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists revealed on Jan. 23. Climate change, nuclear weapons and disruptive technologies, such as genetic engineering and artificial intelligence, are among the […]

WATCH: Wicker Park pizza place thrives with back-to-basics approach

Paulie Gee's Pizza

By Adam Babetski Medill Reports Many of Chicago’s small businesses have been forced to close in recent years due to the lasting economic effects of the pandemic. The Wicker Park location of Paulie Gee’s, a local pizza chain, has survived the changes by simplifying its menu and hiring process. TRANSCRIPT: Adam Babetski: Paulie Gee’s in […]

Illinois law holds crisis pregnancy centers accountable for fraud, misinformation

By Laura Stewart Medill Reports On a gray Saturday morning in May, eight people lined up outside a small, unassuming building on North Cicero Avenue on Chicago’s Northwest Side. In one of the windows below the building’s sign, “The Women’s Center,” pink baby clothes hung on a steel clothing rack. They held signs toward passing […]

Difference Makers: 2 Chicago nonprofits helping families with child care, child loss

Xavier Llamas holds his father’s leg and runs around Almost Home Kids in Naperville, Illinois.

By Julia O’Leary Medill Reports  Xavier and Damian Llamas were born prematurely with medical complexities. After spending 10 months in the NICU, the twins received care at Almost Home Kids for three months. Their mother, Francennett Llamas, received training and practiced providing care in the home-like setting.  Kasey Macha and Kristi Noonan both experienced stillbirth […]

Chicago Foundation for Women President Felicia Davis wants to embrace the ‘others’

By Prerana Sannappanavar Medill Reports Felicia Davis, 53, sits at home in Chicago, wearing her glasses, which are a rare sight in her many TV appearances about her work as a social impact executive. During a Zoom chat earlier this year, she references two significant experiences that molded her understanding of equity and inequity. While […]

Newest crafting craze rug tufting isn’t so tough

Keaton Wade from Tuft-A-Rug teaching Abby Bustin and Julia O’Leary how to make handmade smiley-face rugs by tufting.

By Julia O’Leary and Abby Bustin Medill Reports Rug tufting is the newest crafting craze taking over social media. #Rugtok on TikTok has garnered millions of views. It’s the hottest DIY (do it yourself) project – and you really can do it yourself! With the help of Keaton Wade from Tuft-A-Rug, Illinois’s first rug-tufting workshop, […]