Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/author/llynch/)
La Risa is a reporter for The Chicago Reporter. Email her at llynch@chicagoreporter.com and follow her on Twitter @larisa_lynch.
Converting the Metra Electric District main line into rapid transit could be a quicker, cheaper way to improve transit on the South Side than building more Red Line stations, advocates say.
A proposed bill would create a uniform process for those awaiting trial behind bars to register and vote at county jails, where many detainees lack access to the ballot.
The impending increase will disproportionately impact lower-income blacks and Latinos who have been driven out of mainstream banking in Illinois.
The Chicago Transit Authority’s hybrid proposal lowers the number of privately owned properties that would need to be acquired, but residents still have mixed feelings on how the project could affect them economically.
Ambiguous state law means the voting rights of inmates varies widely between jails, disproportionately affecting poor blacks and Latinos awaiting trial in Illinois.
Norfolk Southern, a publicly held railroad company, has filed condemnation proceedings against three last holdouts blocking completion of their project, which they argue is for public benefit.
The Chicago Transit Authority plans to acquire some homes to extend the “L” and affected residents want to ensure they’re fairly compensated in neighborhoods that have been especially slow to recover from the housing crash.
The long-awaited expansion of the “L” could mitigate the impact of historic policies that fueled segregation and disinvestment in black communities.
After decades of being excluded from labor standards, domestic workers in Illinois finally get their own Bill of Rights.
A federal pilot program will provide microloans and teach former felons how to run their own businesses in four cities including Chicago.