Scrupulosity: Where OCD and faith collide
By Traci Badalucco “My name is Emily and I have scrupulosity.” It sounds like a session of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. Instead, it was Emily’s first public declaration at a recent scrupulosity forum in Chicago.
VIDEO: MMA hits its stride in Chicago and the U.S.
By Brian MacIver The spinning backfist connected and the crowd jumped. His opponent was dazed. The soon-to-be-victor continued the onslaught. He threw wide, powerful hooks at his opponent’s head as he backed him into the cage. The final seconds ticked away, the cheering grew louder and it was clear what these 100 or so people […]
VIDEO: Gretta’s Goats ready to deliver cheese
By Sara Shouhayib Gretta’s Goats Farm held an open house – first ever – in Pecatonica on Saturday to give fans of the soap a chance to learn more about where the product comes from. A big conversation circling through the open house that day focused on cheese as the farm moves to become a […]
As bird flu spreads, Illinois zoos take action
By Traci Badalucco and Christina Bucciere Illinois zoos are taking measures to protect their flocks from potential avian flu infection as the virus wipes out millions of hens across the Midwest. Illinois, which neighbors Iowa where 27 million birds have caught the virus, is on alert for signs of avian flu. That includes keeping an […]
From granite to glacier: Rebuilding Antarctica’s Ice Age past
By Jia You Palisades, New York — They rest side by side on a dark bench table, two coarse linen bags labeled with big, round numbers and letters. Mike Kaplan carefully unties the bag labeled “JRI-14-33” and reaches inside. “That’s a really nice granite,” the 46-year-old geologist exclaims as soon as he sees the light […]
More oil than ever is rolling on U.S. rails
By Ezra Kaplan A 21 percent jump in the number of tank cars of crude oil traveling by U.S. rail in 2014 over 2013 represents a new record total of nearly half of a million cars of crude, according to the Association of American Railroads. A total of 493,126 crude oil tank cars moved through […]
VIDEO: Rauner budget cuts threaten many with homelessness
by Adriana Cargill Governor Bruce Rauner’s proposed budget cuts for supportive housing and other homelessness prevention services will impact more than 12,500 of Illinois’s most vulnerable households, according to Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and Housing Action Illinois. Supportive services, like those offered by Mercy Housing in Chicago, provide safety nets like mental and substance […]
Fairdale residents look to rebuild; White Sox donate to relief
By Hannah Beery Tornado survivor Tom Marston saw his small farm town of Fairdale, Illinois demolished by an EF-4 tornado last month. “If you had seen what I’d seen, we’re lucky to be alive, ” he said this week. Now, he and other residents of the town 80 miles west of Chicago have finished the […]
With your hand in my hand: Formerly incarcerated move forward
By Kate Morrissey This article also appeared in The Chicago Defender. When Sharon Lacy’s brother approached her excitedly to tell her that he had gotten a drivers’ license, he was 32. She laughed at him. Then she paused. “It was normal to me, but it wasn’t normal to him,” she realized.
VIDEO: ‘Strong Girls’ in Chicago plan to empower impoverished women globally
By Sean Froelich “Poverty is Sexist,” according to the ONE campaign, a global advocacy group created to persuade world leaders how women in poverty need education for empowerment.