Black Voices
Almost six decades later, urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas is making sure new generations know the details of Martin Luther King Jr.’s time in Chicago through his educational tours of the city’s neighborhoods.
City Council votes on an effort to weaken protections for undocumented immigrants. Why Black Illinoisans are experiencing homelessness at a high rate. And a push to wipe medical debt from credit reports.
The report from the University of Illinois Chicago showed a number of structural issues contributing to this disparity — a lack of affordable housing and sufficient income chief among them.
While advocates argue the change will provide great financial relief to millions struggling with high health care costs, critics contend it could harm financial systems and incentivize delinquency.
Illinois’ new legislative session begins. Making it easier for kids in foster care to live with relatives. And connecting pregnant patients with free doula services in Cook County.
The Kindship in Demand Act, or KIND Act, puts an obligation on the Department of Children and Family Services to use a “kin-first approach” when placing children in foster care settings.
“Doulas are really the experts at being able to support people emotionally and physically through this process of being pregnant, of labor and delivery and the initial postpartum period,” said Dr. Mary Tate of Cook County Health.
Chicago’s South Side residents have a 30-year life expectancy gap compared to their North Side counterparts. Advocate Health Care is working to address that disparity with a new $1 billion investment plan that includes replacing Advocate Trinity Hospital with a new facility.
The city’s budget director on what’s in the 2025 spending plan. We tour the Greater Chicago Food Depository’s new facility. And plans to improve health disparities on the South Side.
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is a non-stop operation serving hundreds of organizations across Chicago and Cook County. With food insecurity still rising, the food bank has opened a new facility focused on preparing hot meals.
Chicago’s $17.1 billion spending plan is now in place for 2025 — but it didn’t come easily. Forceful pushback from alderpeople blocked property tax hikes — but the budget still includes $165.5 million in additional taxes and fees to generate revenue.
Jesse Jackson Jr. makes a public return — seeking forgiveness for himself and others. And the Red Line extension project begins in 2025. We look at residents’ hopes and concerns.
Jesse Jackson Jr. served in Congress for 17 years until he resigned in 2012 amid a criminal investigation. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to defraud his reelection campaign of $750,000 over a span of 10 years. Now, he's drawing attention to President Joe Biden’s recent pardon of his son.
Some neighbors are pushing back on a new quantum computing development on the Southeast Side. And how a basketball league is working to reduce violence one championship at a time.
The plan is to transform the former U.S. Steel South Works site into the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. Officials are calling the campus “history-altering,” but some neighbors want the process to slow down and are raising environmental and displacement concerns.
One City Basketball League encourages young men and boys to build inter-community relationships as they pair basketball with programming to help them create a future that’s not defined by violence. Participants learn about financial literacy, trauma-informed conflict resolution and career readiness.