As Rahm Emanuel courts flashy projects amid a slew of scandals, it seems the mayor is more accountable to big-money donors than to neighborhood constituents.
Perspectives
Harold Washington’s legacy provided touchstones for progressive politics
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Washington died not long after winning control of the City Council and re-election. Despite the political challenges he faced, his accomplishments pointed the way toward a more inclusive and fiscally sound Chicago.
Economic Development
Obama library heightens debate over promise and peril of development
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Given Woodlawn’s history, neighborhood organizers want to ensure the presidential center will benefit black residents, not displace them.
Perspectives
Why the Obama library needs a community benefits agreement
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Despite Barack Obama’s verbal assurances that his presidential center will benefit the surrounding community, many residents want a written guarantee that black families won’t be pushed out.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Subsidizing Amazon won’t pay off for Illinois taxpayers
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Public investment in infrastructure and schools would create more jobs than corporate incentives, a new analysis shows.
TCR Talks
What segregation is costing Chicago
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A new study quantifies how much the region is losing in lives, income, gross domestic product, and educational achievement due to its high level of racial and economic segregation.
Transportation
Cook County plan links transportation and racial equity
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By directing gas tax revenue from criminal justice to roads, Cook County may add millions to next year’s transportation budget.
TCR Talks
Banking on the black community
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African-American financial institutions are a path to neighborhood reinvestment, says Gregg H. Brown of the South Side Community Federal Credit Union.
Economic Development
Revamped Metra Electric could put South Side on the fast track
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A new coalition says improving the rail line would help low-income workers get to jobs and jump start new businesses.
Economic Development
Five community benefits agreements that worked
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As plans for the Obama library advance, South Side communities can learn from groups around the country who have held developers accountable to their needs.
Chicago Freedom Movement 50
The Chicago Freedom Movement and the fight for fair lending
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The co-editor of an upcoming book recounts the outset of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Union to End Slums campaign in Chicago.