By: Lee Edwards - January 7, 2015 4:52 p.m.
The 98th Illinois General Assembly has passed dozens of bills into law that took effect on Jan. 1.
Listed below are intriguing new laws that may significantly impact the African American community and that were sponsored by members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus (ILBC).
By: Deborah Bayliss - January 7, 2015 4:49 p.m.
Martinez Sutton, 32, brother of Rekia Boyd, the 22-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot March 2012 by an off-duty Chicago police detective, graduated from Chicago State University last month with a Public Health degree and aims to deal with Chicago’s gun violence as a public health matter.
By: Deborah Bayliss - January 7, 2015 4:45 p.m.
A south suburban man is the latest news headline grabber relating to tensions between police and civilians nationwide after allegedly posting threats on his Facebook page to kill police officers and children.
By: Lee Edwards - January 7, 2015 4:41 p.m.
Last month, the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) released its first ever annual report in particularly providing an overview of its service and its impact on Illinois’ youth.
By: Lee Edwards - January 7, 2015 4:38 p.m.
In light of the first significant snowfall of the season and frigid temperatures, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was recently briefed by Department of Streets and Sanitation Commissioner, Charles Williams, on how things were going.
By: Lee Edwards - January 7, 2015 4:35 p.m.
On Jan. 4, Ill. Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 2758 (SB 2758) to create the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program. The program establishes the option of an individual retirement plan for more than two million Illinois private sector employees who currently do not have access to any retirement plan at work.
By: Deborah Bayliss - January 7, 2015 4:24 p.m.
Seaway Bank and Trust Company, Chicago’s largest African-American owned bank, marked the New Year with its 50th anniversary celebration that included customers, city officials and other supporters who gathered at the bank’s 645 E. 87th Street location on Friday.
By: Deborah Bayliss - January 7, 2015 4:21 p.m.
Purchasing property in a “common interest” development, defined as condominiums, cooperatives, townhouses--developments governed by a Home Owner’s Association (HOA)--can be stressful due to the horror stories sometimes associated with dealing with HOA's which can be daunting enough to discourage some buyers from going the condominium route altogether.
By: Lee Edwards - January 7, 2015 4:17 p.m.
On Dec. 29, as one of his final legislative acts as the governor of Illinois, Gov. Pat Quinn signed Senate Bill 2809 (SB2809) into law which provides the Ill. Attorney General’s office with the authority to file a civil action in order to stop the pension benefits of public employees who have been convicted of a felony related to their employment. Spearheaded by Ill. State Sen. Kwame Raoul (Dist. – 13) and Assistant Majority Leader, Rep. Elaine Nekritz (Dist. - 57), with the support of Ill. Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan, SB2809 will go into effect on June 1, 2015.
Beginning on Jan. 2, 2015 through Jan. 11, the Chicago Park District (CPD) will be offering a “Free Fitness Week” for visitors at all 72 of its fitness centers in the Chicagoland area that will include free admission to fitness centers, free fitness classes and lap swim lessons.
By: Deborah Bayliss - January 7, 2015 3:59 p.m.
With approximately 25% under-served banking households, or households without a traditional banking relationship or access to a credit or checking account in Urban Partnership Bank’s (UPB) service areas of Chicago and Detroit, the launch of UPB's new Check Cashing services and first-ever, prepaid Mastercard®, will offer a lower priced alternative to currency exchanges and a variety of banking services to customers.
CHICAGO (AP) — A year after a brutal cold spell was blamed on something called the polar vortex — which was treated like a northern invasion by the media and as a conquering hero by children impressed by its power to close schools — this week's chill is little more than what meteorologists like to call winter.
HONOLULU (AP) — President Barack Obama has preached economic opportunity and equal access to education as cornerstones of the legacy he wants to leave behind. But in the contest to host his presidential library, two public universities that serve needy communities fear the playing field has been tilted against them by a pair of elite, private schools with seemingly endless money.
Walmart recently announced that it will implement enhanced poultry safety measures for suppliers designed to further protect customers against foodborne illnesses. The new guidelines are in addition to Walmart’s food safety program that requires poultry suppliers to achieve prevention-based certification against one of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) internationally recognized standards.
A cast member on VH1’s “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” has been ordered to spend 30 days at a drug rehabilitation center after prosecutors said he repeatedly failed cocaine and marijuana tests.
By: Deborah Bayliss - December 31, 2014 1:59 p.m.
Dr. Maulana Karenga, Professor and Chair of Africana Studies, California State University-Long Beach and Executive Director, African American Cultural Center, Los Angeles, Ca. created the Kwanzaa celebration to reinforce the basic values of African culture, called the Nguzo Saba which in Swahili means the Seven Principles, with hope that the seven principles of the festivity would serve as the building blocks to reinforce and enhance African American communities and culture.
By: Lee Edwards - December 31, 2014 1:55 p.m.
The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Illinois State Police (ISP) and more than 230 law enforcement agencies from across the state are working in concert to decrease vehicle related fatalities as year 2014 ends.
By: Deborah Bayliss - December 31, 2014 1:51 p.m.
Elected officials, along with her church community and friends are mourning the death of Rev., Dr. Johnnie Coleman, who died Dec. 23 at age 94.
Referred to as the “First Lady of the New Thought Christian Community,” Dr. Coleman founded Christ Universal Temple, that first opened on 61st and Cottage Grove Ave. in Chicago in 1956, and today stands at 11901 S. Ashland Ave., as a progressive, new thought church. Rev. Coleman served as Senior Minister there for 50 years and founded the Universal Foundation for Better Living, an international organization of affiliated ‘new thought’ churches and study groups that embrace a metaphysical interpretation of the Bible with a focus on healing, meditation and positive thought.
By: Deborah Bayliss - December 31, 2014 1:47 p.m.
At a time when protests calling for justice are occurring across the nation in response to high profile instances where African American men, that many feel were unjustly killed at the hands of police officers, followed by grand jury decisions not to indict them, longtime civil rights leader, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. will speak on the topic of “injustice” as part of his keynote address at the University of Chicago’s (U of C) 25th Annual, Martin Luther King Jr., celebration next month.
One lucky ComEd customer received a gift fit for a champion this holiday season. ComEd teamed up with WBBM radio to host the “Retire Your Old Fridge” contest, which awarded a ComEd customer for participating in its Smart Ideas® Fridge and Freezer Recycling program. Winner Katie Straka of Palatine received a personal visit from former Bears champions Otis Wilson and Richard Dent, who presented her with tickets to a Bears game.
