Illinois has the potential to eradicate childhood poverty, but it will require a concentrated, sustained effort in partnership with families and disadvantaged communities, says Tasha Green Cruzat, president of Children’s Advocates for Change, a Chicago-based nonprofit focused on childhood wellbeing.… MORE
As many as 800 families across the country who patronized a Carlinville funeral home may never know if the remains on their mantles belong to their loved ones, according to an affidavit signed by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon.… MORE
A federal judge on Friday denied Illinois’ request to end court oversight of its disability services. … MORE
Overall participation in labor unions has declined in recent years in Illinois, although the state has seen an increase in successful unionization efforts for the second year in a row. … MORE
An Illinois law intended to help people with mental illness avoid confrontations with police had been on the books for three years when Sonya Massey was shot by a Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy. … MORE
Change could be in the air – or, at least, on Illinois flagpoles.… MORE
Medical marijuana patients can now purchase cannabis grown by small businesses as part of their allotment, Illinois’ top cannabis regulator said, but smaller, newly licensed cannabis growers are still seeking greater access to the state’s medical marijuana customers.… MORE
By Dave Dahl SPRINGFIELD – When you pay your utility bill, do you ever feel like you should be paying less? “We have people who have come to us and said, I had no idea I was with an alternative supplier until my electric bll went thru the roof,” said Jim Chilsen, spokesman for the…… MORE
On a cold morning in late 2019, Illinois state Sen. Mattie Hunter, D-Chicago, boarded a bus bound for Iowa to knock doors for then-U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris in her bid for the presidency.… MORE
Organized labor has been everywhere at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week, from the main stage to the Illinois delegation’s morning breakfast gatherings.… MORE
By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year. It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …
By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city. Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…
By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…
Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University. We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk. Going to work every day for some people means…