Feature
Chicagoland Study Shows Why We Need a MENA Category in The U.S. Census
We have major problems in this country in how we think about and get appropriate government assistance to Arab Americans. Social workers, translators, housing and transportation experts, health workers, and community-based funding agencies all face three substantial difficulties. First, the U.S. Census folds Arab Americans into the category “white/Caucasian,” making it nearly impossible to access…
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Capitalize the B in Brown
“Why do we capitalize our name?” I asked my father. “Because it is a sign of respect, that we matter, we exist,” he said. “Respect,” I whispered to myself as I tried to emulate how my father, with whom I share the same name, wrote his H in Hugo and B in Balta. I was…
Community partners pave home ownership path
It’s not breaking news that for middle- and lower-income people of color, homeownership still feels unattainable. Burdened with historical and structural barriers as well as personal, social, and financial hardship, this is often reality. A 2018 study by the Urban Institute mapping U.S. Black urban homeownership showed a 35 percentage point gap between homeownership by…
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.”…
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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
Black and Latinx owners are barely a blip on the cannabis revenue radar
Patrons waiting outside of a south suburban dispensary is becoming a common sight. Black and Latinx owners are barely a blip on the cannabis income radar. Kara Wright followed the rules and could be considered a winner, since the state awarded her and her applicant team the right to maybe get cannabis dispensary licenses in…
After federal assessment, what’s next for the Obama Presidential Center?
Officials are seeking public comment after a review found that the development could harm the historical status of the Jackson Park Historic Landscape District and Midway Plaisance.
Health
Health Disparities Exacerbated by the Pandemic Continue to Persist
COVID-19 cases are on the rise in Illinois as winter nears and the temperature drops. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports more than 5,000 new cases in Chicago and nearly 30,000 in the state just this week. Experts say the cold weather is making people stay inside where it is easier for the…
Latinos In Need Turn To Paid Clinical Trials
His rent at a modest bedroom in a trailer park was due. Roberto, 43, had just emigrated to Miami from Cuba and lacked a safety net. Then, an immigrant friend recommended that he take part in a paid clinical trial and mentioned she had been making thousands of dollars through constant participation. The trials had…
