Rudolph Williams stands for a portrait in his apartment Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Harvey, Ill. Williams was home in the Chicago south suburb when he realized that the doors and windows to his courtyard-style apartment had been boarded up with plywood, locking him inside. (AP Photo / Charles Rex Arbogast)

His story — chronicled by his nephew on now-viral videos — has generated a firestorm of criticism about rental conditions at the dilapidated low-income apartment complex in Harvey, Illinois. People are also debating who's to blame; and Mayor Christopher Clark has promised an investigation.

File photo of a railroad crossing. (Jared Rutecki / WTTW News)

Many of the country’s worst rail crossings are located in diverse suburbs south and southwest of Chicago

Many of the country’s worst rail crossings are located in diverse suburbs south and southwest of Chicago. Some will be helped by big construction projects while others get creative finding potential solutions.

(WTTW News)

A new report from the Cook County Treasurer's Office said property tax collection rates are historically low in low-income and mostly minority south suburbs.

(WTTW News)
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In recent years, Harvey has faced financial issues and political infighting, and it’s grappling with poverty, unemployment and crime. But officials and community leaders here say they're working to turn it around. And residents say even with the challenges the suburb faces, they feel proud of where they come from. 

(ValynPi14 / Pixabay)

More than 1,000 homicides have been recorded in Cook County so far this year. In the suburbs, Harvey has seen the highest total of homicides with 30.