Every Tuesday afternoon at the Thurgood Marshall Branch of the Chicago Public Library, retiree Jerry Bowen signs “hello” to the sign language class he’s taught remotely for three years.

Kameron Huckleby is on the road home after incarceration, and he’s on the road to helping others do the same as a re-entry navigator in training with the Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership.

What young Chicagoans hope to see from their new mayor. Resources for people returning from incarceration. And learning sign language at a local library.

For young people in the city, the start of a new administration at City Hall is both a chance for progress and a moment to call attention to the issues most important to them. 

A study by the Kapor Center and the NAACP finds that between 2014 and 2021, there was only a 1% increase in Black representation within technical roles at large tech companies.

“Underground Railroad Game” touches on heavy themes like race, power, sex and the American psyche, but its creators say it’ll also make you laugh. The play runs at the at the Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts from May 18-20.

Chicago’s new process for picking a police superintendent is underway. Providing hope to new moms. And how an artist with thousands of red tulips is addressing systemic racism.

Project Hope supports young mothers through their pregnancies and beyond. Doulas give prenatal support, and care countinues with parenting classes, intervention screenings and peer groups.

The search is underway for Chicago’s next police superintendent. The city’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is in charge of recommending three candidates to Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson by July 14.

Artist Amanda Williams and a small army of friends and neighbors participated in an act of faith and reclamation in Washington Park. In the footprint of nearly two dozen lost buildings, they planted 100,000 red tulip bulbs.

The woman who accused Emmett Till dies at the age of 88. How Chicago’s guaranteed income pilot is working for families. Meet the city’s first poet laureate. And remembering Harry Belafonte.

Last summer, the 5,000 Chicagoans selected to participate in the city’s guaranteed income pilot program began receiving $500 per month. The Resilient Communities program was designed to help income-qualified Chicagoans stabilize their financial circumstances.

In a city known for its poets and poetry, being named Chicago’s first poet laureate is high praise and a tall order. But teacher, producer, composer, performer and poet avery young, who styles his name in all lowercase, said he can’t wait to get started serving as the city’s poetry ambassador.

About 26,000 people leave Illinois prisons each year, and many of them report having trouble finding employment once they’re home.

Higher education in crisis after four minority-serving Illinois universities face faculty strikes. The influence of the American Library Association. And housing residents returning from prison.

The grant from the Mellon Foundation will allow CPL to digitize and archive materials related to the city’s Black history, including items dating from the 1800s to the present day.