For nearly a century, aldermanic prerogative has stymied the development of affordable housing by creating a patchwork of zoning control unique to Chicago.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
From police to schools to transit, a crisis of accountability in Chicago
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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
Why Juneteenth didn’t end the exploitation of black labor
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Even after slavery was abolished, the forced labor of black Americans lived on.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Arrestees not getting speedy access to counsel in Chicago
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The Chicago Police Department fails to follow the law and its own directives to allow those in custody a phone call to a lawyer within one hour of arrest, advocates say.
Perspectives
Worker-owned co-ops: a model to build wealth for low-income communities in Chicago
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Illinois law stops worker-owned cooperatives from being established as businesses in Chicago, a city ripe to join the national movement to democratize local economies.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
Instead of more policing, a model to provide more services
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Stakeholders in Illinois, around the country and across the spectrum are proposing ways for police, as first responders, to arrest and incarcerate less and help more, but additional funding is needed.
Perspectives
Asian Americans don’t see same returns on education as whites in Chicago
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The “model minority” stereotype masks the diversity of experiences and racial inequities faced by the city’s Asian Americans, as detailed in a new report.
Perspectives
EPA’s Superfund site policy could advance gentrification in communities of color
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The agency’s new approach to cleaning up hazardous waste sites favors private developers, sidelining input from the South and West Side communities most affected.
Perspectives
Kanye’s comments on slavery validate racist policymaking
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The leading black artist’s remark reinforced false and timeworn rhetoric about black labor that has real life policy implications.
Perspectives: The Powers That Be
A progressive income tax is Illinois’ best shot at solving budget crisis
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Ending the state’s flat income tax rate would reduce taxes for most while raising $2 billion in additional revenue a year, a new report says.
Perspectives
Thirty-five years ago, Harold Washington changed what Chicago’s mayor could be
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When he started his first term in 1983, the city’s first black mayor brought a new approach to governing by refusing to play the boss.