Stories by jay shefsky

When Jay Shefsky first came up with the idea for this story he thought it was about a man with an unusual talent.  It turned out to be a remarkable story of love and art. See a photo gallery of Antonio's work. 

There are hundreds of yoga studios in the Chicago area. But in the Austin neighborhood on the city’s West Side there is, as far as we know, just one.  Jay Shefsky introduces us to Marshawn Feltus, who learned yoga during his time in prison for murder and is now trying to repay the community he damaged by operating his own studio. 

This past weekend, at the Paralympic Games in Sochi, the U.S. sled hockey team won the Gold Medal. Two members of that team -- Brody Roybal and Kevin McKee -- were from Chicago and were featured in Jay Shefsky's profile. Watch the video and read an article.

When Juanita met Antonio at a nursing home, he was recovering from a gunshot wound that left him in a wheelchair. Sixteen years later, he's an accomplished painter and she is the love of his life. Jay Shefsky has this remarkable love story.

To mark the 157th anniversary of Chicago's first science museum, we take a look at some surprising specimens - including a Chicago rattlesnake.

Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation says that requests for rat control services are down 15 percent this year. One reason, they say, is that city crews have done 30 percent more rodent control inspections and baiting jobs than in this period last year. That got Jay Shefsky wondering about the people who do those inspections and baiting jobs. He tagged along with a crew and showed us what he found. We revisit the story. Read an article and a web extra interview.

Dan Parizek is a “Honeybee Rescuer." If you’ve got a beehive in the walls of your home, Dan will relocate it so it won’t be destroyed by an exterminator. With Colony Collapse Disorder destroying some 10 million beehives since 2007, Dan and others say we can’t afford to lose any more hives. We revisit Jay Shefsky's profile. Read an article, watch a web extra video, and learn more about Colony Collapse Disorder from local scientists.

We revisit Jay Shefsky's profile of Chicago's sled hockey team -- that's the hard-hitting, fast-paced sport played by amputees and others with lower limb disabilities. Read an article and watch a web extra video.

A $50 million renovation and restoration project for the Illinois Capitol building is nearly complete. But are all the improvements justified given the state’s fiscal woes? We have analysis. Read the project description and historical decisions document from the architect.

This month, Karsyn Terry took fourth place in a national, 14-and-under pool tournament. In the 24 years that this tournament has existed, Karsyn is the first African American to make the finals. We revisit Jay Shefsky's profile. Read an article.

Neighbor Carts hires workers with pre-existing barriers to employment, while simultaneously working to eradicate the city's vast food deserts. We revisit Jay Shefsky's story about the company's innovative business model. Read an article and view a slideshow.