features
Cook County Jail’s ‘Start Early’ doula program addresses the needs of its pregnant population
As the number of incarcerated women around the U.S. continues to skyrocket, some correctional facilities have started adapting to meet the needs of an increasingly gender diverse population. A pilot program at the Cook County Jail aims to address the needs of pregnant women entering the criminal justice system, who make up between 3% and…
Read more
How a Black Community Theater Helped Transform an Artist and Her Art.
“I’ve had many really beautiful experiences. But that doesn’t mean that my gas wasn’t cut off over the years, or that I didn’t get my car repoed once or twice,” Dorian Sylvain said, laughing. The Chicago-based multi-hyphenate—artist, curator, and educator—sat behind a desk in her light-soaked Kenwood gallery, surrounded by scattered canvases and paper collages…
Read more
Ways to Support Us
1. Sign Up
Want the latest from the Reporter delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free email newsletter.
2. Donate
Do you value the power of investigative journalism? Make a tax-deductible donation today.
3. Explore the Archives
Search for everything we’ve ever published, going all the way back to 1972.
Featured Series : The Warehouse Archipelago
The Warehouse Archipelago pt.1
As many as four million workers labor in clusters of warehouses scattered across the United States. Many are mislabeled as ‘temps’; all are poorly paid, and on-the-job injuries are high. In the article “The Warehouse Archipelago”, John Lippert and Stephen Franklin investigate the current state of staffing in the warehouse industry. Part One of the Chicago Reporter series published every Monday provides insights into the plight of workers suffering from “wage theft, discrimination, and unhealthy and hazardous conditions.”…
Employment and labor
Report: Amazon workers’ injuries spike during holiday season at Illinois facility
Safety records obtained by the Warehouse Workers for Justice build on recent reporting by Reveal finding that warehouse injury rates climb with automation.
Study: Restaurant industry thrives in cities that have eliminated subminimum wage
As Mayor Lori Lightfoot and City Council members debate changes to how Chicago’s tipped workers are paid, a new report highlights how other cities have fared after eliminating the subminimum wage.
Economic Development
TCR Weekly Briefs: COVID Concerns, Internet Access For All, Emmett Till & Mother Honored
Mask Advisory Likely As COVID-19 Cases Rise As Chicago inches closer to being declared a high risk for getting the coronavirus, Mayor Lori Lightfoot urges people to get vaccinated and boosted. “If you haven’t had the COVID-19 vaccine since Labor Day, you’re not up to date,” Lightfoot said at a Thursday news conference. Lightfoot also…
Study Finds Investment Inequality In Black & Brown Neighborhoods
Urban Institute’s public and private investment analysis found that access to a relatively healthy stream of capital is not spread equally across Chicago neighborhoods. The nonprofit research organization analyzed investment trends from 2010 to 2020 and found that the larger the share of Black residents in a neighborhood, the less investment occurred. For example, over the decade,…
Health
‘It’s ancestral work’: Illinois law expands access to maternal healthcare and doulas
Katie Schulder-Battis is a Chicago Reporter contributor and student at Northwestern University. This content is made possible through partnership with the Chicago Reporter and the Graduate Science Journalism… More by Katie Schulder-Battis Chicago women will soon have increased access to quality maternal care. Though implementation of the 2021 Illinois law passed in April 2021 is still…
Blacks & Latinos Are Most At Risk From Respiratory Viruses
CHICAGO| Chicago’s Black and Latino communities are expected to be most affected by a surge of what health experts call a “tridemic.” It is a triple threat from the flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and COVID-19. Here in Illinois, like across many parts of the country, hospitals are seeing a dramatic rise in patients with…
