features
Years after promising accommodations, Illinois prisons still leave people waiting
This reporting was made possible through the ARCC/Public Narrative Health Science Reporting Fellowship and the Chicago Community, Media & Research Partnership People in Illinois prisons can identify what they need, request accommodations, and still wait months or years to receive them—if they receive them at all. A man walks down a hallway in an Illinois…
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‘Sims must go:’ as Pilsen residents protest metal shredder with a history of pollution, will Chicago break patterns of environmental injustice?
It is before 8 a.m. and already a continuous stream of trucks filters into Sims Metal Management at 2500 S Paulina Street in Pilsen. They carry dilapidated cars, discarded appliances and scrap to Chicago’s largest metal recycler. On this morning, June 3, the racket of trucks and heavy machinery is met with a rallying cry…
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When Chicago police officers can’t be trusted on the witness stand
When someone is arrested, it can come down to their word against an officer’s in court. But what happens when the officer’s own conduct is in question, or when they’re under investigation themself? Experts told TCR that Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, who took office in 2024, has weakened policies in place to…
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Employment and labor
The Chicago Reporter celebrates justice-centered storytelling at Justice Photojournalism Showcase
The Chicago Reporter brought together journalists, advocates, community leaders and supporters on May 14 in Bronzeville for its inaugural Justice Photojournalism Showcase. The evening, hosted at Parkway Social, was dedicated to honoring the power of visual storytelling through community-centered journalism in Chicago. Hosted by Emmy-nominated Chicago journalist Nate Rodgers, the event highlighted photography’s ability to…
Economic Development
Six years in, has Illinois’ cannabis equity law delivered?
Illinois legalized cannabis with equity at its core in 2020. Six years later, the results are mixed. After nearly 90 years of prohibition, Illinois became the first state to legalize the sale of cannabis through a state legislature in 2019. Touted by the governor’s office as the “most equity-centric” cannabis law in the nation, the…