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May, 2013
For many Chicago residents, gun control is a personal issue. Gun violence, or the threat of it, pervades everyday life. As the debate over how to curb gun violence takes center stage at the national level and the Illinois statehouse, Chicago finds itself at the center of attention. The city has become a leading example of gun violence in urban America and the testing ground for expansive gun-...
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May, 2013
For many Chicago residents, gun control is a personal issue. Gun violence, or the threat of it, pervades everyday life. As the debate over how to curb gun violence takes center stage at the national level and the Illinois statehouse, Chicago finds itself at the center of attention. The city has become a leading example of gun violence in urban America and the testing ground for expansive gun...
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March, 2013
The gym sits on the city’s South Side, a few blocks from a local church, a few liquor stores and the 95th Street Red Line stop. Without stepping inside, hardly anyone would know it’s used for practicing trampoline stunts, jump-rope acrobatics and high-flips.The city’s Robichaux Park gym is where the Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team meets several times a week. During an evening practice session in...
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March, 2013
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November, 2012
Dyryl Burnett takes off his brown fedora hat as he steps in front of the classroom. All 23 of his students are early for class—the first after lunch—and he waits for a moment until chatter softens, music videos are paused and eyes turn toward him. The banter soon follows.“Ooo, Mr. Burnett has his jazz hat today,” one student announces, prompting a chorus of giggles and petitions for him to put it...
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September, 2012
In July, Gabriel Navarro stood inside the ring at the Chicago Youth Boxing Club, absorbing the punches thrown by one of his students. The two sparred, following each other around the ring and fighting to gain the upper hand.Fifteen years ago, Navarro was the one throwing the punches, taking official boxing lessons for the first time at the age of 18. Looking back now, Navarro says boxing was one...
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September, 2012
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July, 2012
The Rev. José Landaverde sits cross-legged in front of the glass building at 525 W. Van Buren St., his back pressed against the wheel of a police officer’s bicycle, arms linked with two women. There is no sign that marks the building as an immigration court, but Landaverde knows the building well, having attended hundreds of deportation hearings on the fifth floor. A sign scribbled in...
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May, 2012
Abraham House-El’s day doesn’t always end when he leaves the office. Not when he has empty beds to fill. He gases up his van and makes a tour of the local homeless shelters, looking for the one type of person who he thinks should never have to be there: veterans.Chicago has an estimated 500 homeless veterans, so it’s never difficult for House-El to fill the 52 beds he offers at FORT II, a...
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