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June, 2008
The news:
This summer marks the oneyear anniversary of a veto from Gov. Rod Blagojevich that cut more than $6 million of state funding for CeaseFire, a community outreach and violence prevention initiative. The veto meant that state funding for 11 out of 15 Chicago communities where CeaseFire had been operating at least since October 2006 was completely cut off by the end of August 2007...
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June, 2008
The news:
Saul Arellano, whose mother, Elvira, received national attention by seeking sanctuary at Adalberto United Methodist Church to avoid deportation, returned to Chicago for the May Day March. Arellano had moved to Mexico after his mother, who was arrested during a crackdown on unlawful employees at O'Hare International Airport for using a false Social Security number, was finally...
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June, 2008
The news:
Flashing neon signs and solid red taillights signaled another start of construction season on the Edens Expressway.
Behind the news:
This year, the city will head to the local streets, spending millions to repair potholes. According to an analysis by The Chicago Reporter, the communities with the most potholes repaired per acre are on the city's West Side.
The...
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May, 2008
The news:
In March, New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned after being linked in a prostitution ring.
Behind the news:
According to annual reports by the Chicago Police Department, prostitution arrests in Chicago went down 23.4 percent, from 7,182 to 5,499, between 2000 and 2006, the latest year for which the reports are available.
Monique Bond, director of News Affairs at...
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May, 2008
The news:
In February, the Chicago City Council honored the 100th birthday of former alderman Leon Despres, who's known for his independence against the late Mayor Richard J. Daley.
Behind the news:
Decades after Despres' tenure on the council, aldermen still vote with the mayor most of the time. But there's a sign of new independence, shows a Chicago Reporter analysis of...
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May, 2008
The news:
After five seasons, HBO's addictive cop drama "The Wire" went off the air March 9.
Behind the news:
The show's absence cut into the diversity on television, having been one of few series with a largely minority cast.
Nearly half of the 84 characters who appeared on the five seasons of "The Wire" were black, according to a visual observation of the show's Web site...
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May, 2008
The news:
Specialty grocery store Treasure Island opened its newest store on Chicago's South Side, helping to fill the need for grocers in minority neighborhoods after the closings of Dominick's and the Hyde Park Co-Op.
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March, 2008
The news:
It's tax season, and flashy advertisements are luring people into "refund anticipation loans," which put money in people's pockets months before many file their taxes–"often at exorbitantly high interest rates.
Behind the news:
Many of the refund loan businesses in Chicago are located in poor or minority areas, a Chicago Reporter analysis shows.
Three of the most...
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March, 2008
The news:
The Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates down to 3 percent in January, largely because of growing concerns about a home mortgage crisis.
Behind the news:
Despite a drop in the real estate market nationwide, Chicago's market is still thriving.
According to data from the Chicago Association of Realtors, the average selling price for "single-family unattached"...
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