Do you know what the Loop Link is?
According to the City of Chicago, it a fast, easy and reliable option for getting around Chicago’s congested downtown. It reportedly will more efficiently connect people to jobs, businesses and attractions. Similar to “L” trains, the Loop Link will move people quickly using dedicated bus lanes while making limited stops at train-like stations along the way.
On Monday, the city announced that the new service will be available to citizens on Dec. 20.
By: Norman Parish - December 17, 2015 12:13 p.m.
Former Ill. State Rep. Connie Howard was sentenced last week to three months of prison on charges of stealing money from a charity, officials said.
By: Larissa M. Tyler - December 17, 2015 12:02 p.m.
Now that Chicago native and rapper, “Chance the Rapper” made his debut on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and made history as the first independent artist ever to appear on the show, you’d better believe that hundreds, perhaps thousands of young artists from Chicago are hoping to follow in his footsteps. But they will need more than just high hopes to get that far.
By: Norman Parish - December 16, 2015 12:43 p.m.
In what could be another major crisis for Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) last week overwhelmingly gave its leaders power to call a strike; the development coming right as community leaders and residents call for Emanuel’s resignation.
The union voted over a three-day period last week. The teachers union released the results Monday.
By: Norman Parish - December 15, 2015 2:25 p.m.
Blamed by activists for Chicago’s troubled police department, Mayor Rahm Emanuel apologized last week for the “totally avoidable” fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by a police officer.
By: Norman Parish - December 10, 2015 5:32 p.m.
Medical marijuana dispensaries are coming to four Chicago area south suburbs in the next month.
The dispensaries are scheduled to open by January at 1137 W. 175th St. in Homewood; 2535 Veterans Dr. in Posen; 11425 S. Harlem St. in Worth; and 8340 S. Roberts Rd. in Justice, said Steven Weisman, CEO and president of the Windy City Cannabis Club.
Shares of Yahoo are up sharply on a report that the company will discuss the sale of its Internet business.
The Wall Street Journal reported late earlier this month that the board of Yahoo Inc. is meeting to talk about what shape the company will take going forward. The article, citing anonymous sources, says private equity firms are among those looking at Yahoo's websites.
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. is harboring big ambitions to become a significant player in the growing market for robots that help the elderly and other people get around in everyday life.
Michelle Obama's message for high school seniors fretting about their college prospects is simple.
Do your research. Visit college campuses. Sit in on classes. Talk to professors, graduates and students. In the end, picking a college "is a very individual decision."
The Chicago Teachers Union’s governing body said it would encourage all 27,000 active members to vote “yes” for strike authorization when the organization conducts a three-day vote in all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) where members work, according to the House of Delegates (HOD). State law requires a 75 percent of the entire CTU membership to approve strike authorization; and, voting will be conducted December 9 – 11 at the start and end of the school day in most buildings.
By: Larissa M. Tyler - December 9, 2015 12:16 p.m.
Unfortunately, there sometimes is a stigma attached to those who live in public housing. The perception is that they are either unemployed, uneducated or both. That is why the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded $2.6 million to housing agencies across the state through the Family Self-Sufficiency Program. The funds will be used to help public housing residents in Illinois help find jobs and improve their education.
By: Larissa M. Tyler - December 9, 2015 12:15 p.m.
Pay very close attention to the following statistics: According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), an average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before their first arrest. Every two minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash. Drunk driving costs the United States $199 billion a year. In 2013, a total of 1,149 children 14 and younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of those 1,149 fatalities, 200 (17%) occurred in alcohol-impaired-driving crashes.
By: Norman Parish - December 9, 2015 12:08 p.m.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush is being challenged for his Illinois first district seat by veteran Chicago Ald. Howard Brookins Jr.
Last week, Brookins officially filed as a congressional candidate in the Democratic primary. Activist Tio Hardiman recently pulled out of the race to challenge Cook County Circuit Clerk Dorothy Brown for her seat.
“I’m running for Congress because our community needs a fighter in Washington to represent our needs and find solutions to our problems,” said Brookins, who has represented the city’s 21st Ward since 2003.
By: Norman Parish - December 9, 2015 11:57 a.m.
A bakery union is threatening to boycott Nabisco products in an effort to keep jobs from leaving a plant on the South Side of Chicago.
By: Norman Parish - December 9, 2015 11:52 a.m.
Call Tanisha Minnis a super fan of Wendell Phillips High School football team.
The 16-year-old honor roll junior missed just one game during the three years she has attended the Bronzeville neighborhood school in Chicago.
So, Minnis made sure she didn’t miss school last Wednesday.
That’s because it was the day Minnis and the school’s entire student body celebrated Phillips becoming the first Chicago public high school to win an Illinois championship in football. The rally attracted top city officials, including Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Ill. State Sen. Mattie Hunter (3rd Dist.), Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) and alumni.
By: Larissa M. Tyler - December 9, 2015 11:49 a.m.
Cook County Clerk Dorothy Brown has a bone to pick with a few Democrats she claims she has supported for years.
By: Norman Parish - December 9, 2015 11:30 a.m.
After requests from angry activists and several local officials, the U.S. Justice Department is launching an investigation into the practices of the beleaguered Chicago Police Department.
U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said Monday the probe of the police department will focus on police use of force, racial bias and how allegations of misconduct are investigated.
By: Norman Parish - December 6, 2015 7:19 p.m.
After requests from activists and several officials, the U.S. Justice Department plans to launch an investigation into the practices of the Chicago Police Department, officials said.U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch is expected to make an official announcement about the investigation later this week, according to news reports.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. and dozens of others marched 16 times around Chicago's city hall on Dec. 4 to protest the death of Laquan McDonald. A Chicago police officer has been charged with McDonald's death.
Fashion designer Chi Atanga is comfortable with an identity as a global African.
Based in Portugal and Cameroonian-British by background, he is currently in the U.S. looking for investment and sounding out potential markets. African-American communities are emerging consumers of music, movies and fashion from the continent, he says, and he hopes to ride the wave with a clothing brand that reflects his heritage.
