Alex Bailey has cycled in and out of Cook County Jail his entire adulthood. His life shows how mental illness has been criminalized, especially for black men.
charter schools
Noble takes up rugby
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In an odd twist, rugby, the national sport of Ireland, has become one of the most popular sports among Noble Street campuses. All of the 16 campuses have boys’ teams and most have girls’ teams as well.
Cover Story
Beyond basketball, a tough road for sports
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CPS is known for a handful of powerhouse basketball teams. But most high schools, especially those in poor communities, offer few opportunities for teens to get involved in sports. To do so, schools must raise their own money for athletics.
Catalyst Chicago
The price of fundraising
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For a select but growing group of schools in wealthier communities, parent fundraising has risen to new heights. In just a decade, the number of parent groups that raise more than $50,000 a year doubled to 41; 30 schools brought in more than $100,000 and eight raised more than $200,000. Altogether, these 41 schools raised roughly $7.6 million in one year.
Criminal Justice
Police face choice of handcuffs or helping hand for mentally ill
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As first responders to emergency calls, police play a critical role in determining whether people living with mental illness receive treatment or go to jail. But too few Chicago police officers are trained to handle these mental health crisis calls.
Housing
Dismantling the towers
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Twenty years after the demolition of Henry Horner Homes on the city’s Near West Side, former residents don’t think mixed-income housing is working for them.
Catalyst Chicago
City Colleges scholarship has benefits, drawbacks
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Since City Colleges began taking applications for a plan widely advertised as “free college” by a campaigning Mayor Rahm Emanuel, more than 1,000 students have applied for the offer of waived tuition, books and school fees. But research shows that City Colleges are not the best post-secondary choice for high-achieving students who will benefit from the Star Scholarship.
charter schools
Charter schools stress college-going support
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College counseling has become more important to high schools since CPS now rates them on the college enrollment and persistence of their graduates. It’s an area in which charters sometimes have a distinct advantage.
college going
More students on non-traditional path to a degree
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Nationwide, more than one-third of undergraduate students are over 24, and a majority of them attend college part-time.
Cover Story
Easing barriers to college completion
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High schools are now rated on the college enrollment and persistence of their graduates. To solve the money problems, academic difficulties and social challenges that many students face, CPS is partnering with local colleges and universities.
Cover Story
Black Chicago by the numbers
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When Rahm Emanuel ran for mayor four years ago, African-American voters pulled him across the finish line without a run-off. He won about six out of every 10 votes cast in predominantly black wards—largely on the say-so of his former boss, President Barack Obama. But as the February mayoral election nears, Emanuel’s approval ratings among the voters who carried him to City Hall have tumbled, according to a Chicago Tribune poll.