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August, 2007
Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua's first book tells a bitter story with a theme that also runs through his own life. "America's First Black Town" (University of Illinois Press, 2000) is about a place filled with ambition and pride, but held back and depressed by racism.
The town, Brooklyn, was founded by ex-slaves, some escaped and some freed, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River, near East...
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January, 2003
In the roiling wake of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft vowed to marshal the full might of the federal government to root out “the terrorists among us.” The roundup that followed, conducted with wartime urgency and unusual secrecy, led to the detention of at least 1,100 people suspected of having ties to terrorist groups nationwide. The government’s effort, however, has...
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August, 2007
On the surface, last month's squabble between Alderman Dorothy Tillman (3rd) and a few of her constituents on the 4300 block of South King Drive looked like a purely local dispute. The residents wanted to buy neighboring vacant lots, and Tillman wanted to reserve them for single-family gray and brownstones. No sale.
But Tillman's power to hold up any transfer of city-owned land without being...
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December, 1969
The two candidates were a little embarrassed. They had arrived at the televised debate at south suburban Governors State University on Sept. 26 wearing the same outfits: a red blazer and black blouse.
But Republican Renee Kosel of New Lenox, who replaced outgoing state Rep. Larry Wennlund earlier this year, has more than clothes in common with her Democratic opponent, Lois Mayer of Mokena...
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December, 1969
After exchanging volleys in Chicago, Commonwealth Edison and city officials will battle this fall in Springfield, debating deregulation in the General Assembly and arguing electrical rates before the Illinois Commerce Commission.
Lawmakers are unlikely to act before next spring, but the debate will begin on Nov. 8, when the Joint Committee on Electric Utility Regulatory Reform is expected to...
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December, 1969
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December, 1969
Tom Brune, who authored the 1978 report on the Chicago Park District, entered massive amounts of data into an ancient computer. "That was something that wasn't done very much in those days," said Brune, who later became an award-winning investigative reporter at the Chicago Sun-Times and now writes for the Seattle Times.
His article wasn't the first time the Reporter tackled city parks. In...
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December, 1969
The Chicago Reporter used 1995 population estimates by Claritas Inc., a market research firm, to examine the changes in Cook County since 1990.
The Claritas Update calculates the current population for each census tract using the 1990 census in combination with information such as local government demographic estimates, housing unit data, utility records and mail delivery statistics from...
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December, 1969
In December 1994, Chicago became one of six urban areas to win more than $100 million in federal empowerment zone funds. Mayor Richard M. Daley led the cheers.
"Jobs are what this is all about," Daley said at the time. "People need jobs. Neighborhoods need jobs and cities need jobs." The zone could mean 1,500 jobs and $2 billion in private investment, he predicted.
But two years later,...
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