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April, 2011
It's the American dream: start off poor and move up the ladder of success. But no one ever mentions the part where you move up and down the ladder, a few rungs forward and a few back again.But a recent report from the U.S. Census Bureau looks at poverty in a new way. Using longitudinal data collected between 2001 and 2006, the report shows that the majority of people who are included in the...
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April, 2011
It's a cruel April fool's joke. The unemployment statistics came out on Friday, saying yet again that unemployment is down in Chicago. Nine percent - that's where we are right now. According to the Illinois Department of Employment Security, 39,400 jobs were added to the economy. But the New York Times spoiled the joke before it even officially came out, with another report that said those jobs...
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March, 2011
What are you having for dinner tonight? It's a question everybody thinks about, but not everyone has an answer to. According to the latest data from Feeding America, 16.1 percent of Chicagoans are food insecure--meaning they don't always have access to enough food to make it through the day.Even more surprising is that many of these people don't even technically live in poverty. How could a...
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March, 2011
Illinois has the distinction of being on the right side of history--one of the states that helped win the Civil War and didn't permit slavery. But a new book by author Michelle Alexander flips that distinction on its head and begs the question: Have we turned from a free state to a slave state?Alexander made headlines this week for proclaiming this fact: More black men are currently incarcerated...
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March, 2011
Today marks a historic end point--the end of Cabrini-Green. A few months back, the last building was closed, and residents were shuffled out and relocated. Today, the wrecking ball gave the high-rise at 1230 N. Burling St. its first blow, one of many that will result in its disappearance within a week.
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February, 2011
Every city has poverty, right? Travel around the world, and it'd be difficult to find a city that doesn't have a ghetto or at least a "wrong side of the tracks."They say that the poor are always with us, but they never mentioned how many there might be.This week, as we look at the 10 largest cities in America, you might be surprised to find out just how many poor people Chicago has and who they...
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February, 2011
How much money will you make in a lifetime?The answer has a lot to do with how much time you've spent in school.According to the College Board, someone with a professional degree can expect to make nearly three times the amount of someone with just a high school diploma during their working years.In fact, every year of college beyond high school brings a rise in your average hourly wage. And with...
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February, 2011
What can you buy for 45 cents? I can't think of much. Maybe a pack of gum? Even that might be difficult. But what can you buy with a dollar? Sure, a dollar's not much, but there's lots to be had. The entire dollar store is yours for the taking. Fast food? The dollar menu will help you out. Even Target offers a dollar section. What's the purpose of this little game of the Price is Right? Well,...
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February, 2011
What if one out of every two adults you knew didn't work?For some communities in Chicago, that's not just a hypothetical situation.As we finish our series on racial disparities in our city, compared with the 10 largest cities in the country, take a look at the number of people not working in Chicago by race.More at chicagoreporter.com
We took a look at data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009...
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