Can Columbus Day and Indigenous People’s Day co-exist?
By June Leffler [Package of Standing Rock and the Dakota Access Pipeline stories here] Chicago enters the debate over whether or not to celebrate Christopher Columbus, a man whose legacy has turned sour. Chicago designated Monday as Indigenous People’s Day, to be celebrated in conjunction with Columbus Day. Sharing the day might sound like a […]
Power To The People: Tasha Viets-VanLear
By Thaddeus Tukes [A version of this story, A profile in power: Activist Tasha Viets-VanLear fights for black freedom in Chicago was co-published in The Grio and on SJNN (Social Justice News Nexus)] An aura of serenity and peace permeates the room when Tasha Viets-VanLear enters. Clad in all black with a gray scarf, she sips […]
Poet Ellen Bryant Voigt composes the music of poetry
By Lauren Ball Ellen Byrant Voigt smoked and hugged a light coat to her chest outside the Poetry Foundation in the crisp air on a recent autumn evening. Casually studying the cars as they passed by, she appeared poised, yet relaxed. Her reading was scheduled to begin in 20 minutes, and visitors began to crowd […]
Illinois’ energy policy challenged
By Yu-Ning Aileen Chuang Donald Trump may describe the nation’s energy policy as a “disaster,” but not everyone in Illinois would agree. With the most nuclear power plants in the nation, and as one of the top five coal-produced states, Illinois is pressing ahead as well for clean energy jobs and industries. The state’s clean […]
Local officials react to limitations on election day registration
By Christen Gall and Guy-Lee King UPDATE: Oct.6, This has been updated, see latest news here. After U.S. District Judge Samuel Der-Yeghiayan ruled election day registration unconstitutional in Illinois last week, election officials in Chicago are scrambling to figure out the logistics for Nov. 8. Voters hoping to register to vote and cast a ballot […]
Pro-choicers aim to lift limits of 40-year-old federal abortion access law
By Anna Foley In 1976, Congress passed the Hyde Amendment, the law that placed heavy limitations on using federal money for abortion. The law may have just turned 40, but it’s still facing serious contention today. Pro-choice advocates say the law is particularly damaging to specific groups of American women and aim to repeal it. “It […]
Parent, community groups back teachers strike, call for end to financial ‘chaos’
By Meredith Francis and Emily Olsen If Chicago teachers walk, some parents will be right behind them. More than 50 parent and neighborhood organizations threw their support behind the Chicago Teachers Union Tuesday during a City Hall rally as the city prepares for a possible strike next week. “I really feel like this is necessary because […]
Chicago’s ‘Lasagna Lady’ triumphs over tragedy on the road to Whole Food’s grand opening
By Jasmine Minor “I forgave the man who murdered my daughter,” says Samantha Kendall, creator of Sam’s Gourmet Lasagna, one of several local businesses that is being featured in the newly opened Whole Foods Market. It is an initiative that is trying to change the image and trajectory of Englewood, a neighborhood that tends to […]
Study links morning sickness to lower miscarriage risk
By Hannah Moulthrop Expectant mothers experiencing morning sickness may have less cause to worry about a miscarriage, a new study by the National Institutes of Health suggests. That does not mean women who feel well should be concerned, doctors say, warning that morning sickness does not measure how a pregnancy will fare.
Should you take that mosquito bite personally?
By Mariah Quintanilla Some mosquitoes would rather not suck your blood but they do it anyway because you are the closest warm-blooded animal around. So why do some mosquitoes prefer biting humans to biting other animals? The scientific answer: it’s complicated. The same factors that regularly influence what you eat for lunch also affect whether […]