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Current Issue

Fast-Track Deportations

Thousands are being deported without a chance to appear before an immigration judge.

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Uncounted and Unseen

March, 2007 Tens of thousands of children have parents in prison. Many people call these children "crime's invisible victims." Institutions trying to help are often disconnected from these families and each other.

Table of Contents

Uncounted and Unseen

Jeff Kelly LowensteinTens of thousands of children have parents in prison. Many people call these children –˜crime's invisible victims.' Institutions trying to help are often disconnected from these families and each other.
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Mom Without Me

Kimbriell KellyA 14-year-old boy struggles to come to terms with his mother's crime, punishment and absence.
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Imprisoned fathers locked out of services

By Matthew Blake The Rev. James Coleman estimates that he helps 1,600 male ex-offenders re-enter society each year at the West Side Health Authority, a nonprofit based in the West Side's Austin neighborhood. Coleman's mentorship and support program reaches out to clients while in prison...> Read More

Keeping Connected

Church-based agency helps female inmates maintain ties with families> Read More
Inside Stories

Adjusting to home

The effects of a mother's incarceration last well beyond her release date.> Read More
Web Extras

Man of focus

After spending a good portion of his life behind bars, Andrew "B.J." Atchison returned to Englewood and changed his life. He built a network of friends and opened a barbershop that's grown to become a "community water cooler" in the neighborhood.> Read More
Inside Stories

Father's footsteps

Ex-offender unable to steer his son from the same wrong turns he made.> Read More
Web Extras

Family, no matter what

A profile on Shaun Carr and his four children.> Read More
Web Extras

Daddy's girl

A profile on Kenyatta Blan and his daughter.> Read More
Spin Offs

Invisble alderman

The news: Bob Fioretti cruised to victory over 14-year incumbent Madeline Haithcock in a run-off election for 2nd Ward alderman. Fioretti will become the first non-black to represent the majority-black ward in more than 90 years. Behind the news: The Metro Chicago Information Center estimates...> Read More
Spin Offs

Lenders shunned ZIPs before law

The news: On Jan. 19, Gov. Rod Blagojevich suspended HB4050, a pilot law designed to protect homeowners in 10 Chicago ZIP codes from predatory lenders. Behind the news: For months, critics lambasted HB4050 saying that the controversial law made it harder for people to buy homes in the 10...> Read More
Spin Offs

Rising home values offset by high-interest loans

The news: In the 60620 ZIP code, home values rose 12.2 percent during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2006, the largest increase of any Chicago-area ZIP code during that span. Behind the news: The benefits of increasing property values in the 60620 ZIP code, which includes the South...> Read More
Spin Offs

At the top of their game

The news: On Feb. 28, Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith signed a four-year contract extension worth $22 million. Behind the news: Just as Smith and Tony Dungy became the first African- American head coaches in the National Football League to lead teams to the Super Bowl, they are also the...> Read More
Spin Offs

Is he –˜black enough'?: Time to get over it

The news: According to newspapers from coast to coast, many African Americans are asking: "Is Barack Obama black enough?" Behind the news: Some have aimed this question at Obama because he is not the descendant of slaves, or because he grew up in Hawaii and Indonesia and graduated from Harvard...> Read More
Spin Offs

Invisible alderman

The news: Bob Fioretti cruised to victory over 14-year incumbent Madeline Haithcock in a run-off election for 2nd Ward alderman. Fioretti will become the first non-black to represent the majority-black ward in more than 90 years. Behind the news: The Metro Chicago Information Center estimates...> Read More
New Voices

Hands-on education

Lanette Stigsen was at work when she overheard a man tell a co-worker about his trip to Africa. He had spent the last year selecting youth from high schools across Chicago and flying them to a continent unfamiliar to them-but from which some of their ancestors came. That was until his mother got...> Read More