Local News
Local Actress to Portray Calpurnia in ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’
Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird and the film have always been a favorite for Jacqueline Williams. She never imagined there would be a live theater treatment of the book.
Over 50,000 Senior Homeowners Need to Reapply for their Property Tax Savings
As of last week, over 50,000 senior homeowners in Cook County have not reapplied for property tax savings in which they are entitled to receive. The Cook County Assessor’s Office administers property tax savings, called exemptions. Exemptions contribute to lowering a homeowner’s property tax bill. These savings are especially important for senior homeowners as they can provide thousands of dollars of savings on their property tax bill.
New Study Proposes Wealth-Building Solutions for Black Retirees
African-American families have known for generations that retirement at the age of 65 is often a mirage. We hope and pray it will happen, but it’s a dream that generally never gets fulfilled. In fact reports have shown that the typical White family - even at retirement age - has eight times the wealth of the typical Black family, with a typical Latino family faring only slightly better. These historic inequities will not change by themselves. Community leaders, policymakers, and industry experts must come together to identify and promote new solutions to this retirement wealth gap.
Advancing Racial Equity: Teresa Bryce Bazemore Addresses AACUC 25th Annual Conference
Teresa Bryce Bazemore, president of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco (FHLBank San Francisco), delivered a powerful keynote address, "Advancing Racial Equity: Increasing Homeownership and Wealth Building,” at the recent 25th Annual Conference of the African-American Credit Union Coalition (AACUC) in Atlanta.
Reps. Kelly, Espaillat, Lee Introduce Bill to Recognize Gun Violence as a Public Health Emergency
Today, Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02), Vice Chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, alongside Reps. Barbara Lee (CA-12), and Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) introduced the Gun Violence as a Public Health Emergency Act, which would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to coordinate with the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to produce an annual report on gun violence, its public health effects, and action taken by the federal government.
PROPERTY VALUES FOR PALOS TOWNSHIP RELEASED
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi released the initial assessments of residential and commercial properties in Palos Township.
Cook County Clerk’s Office To Host Back-To-School Birth Certificate Days
With the first day of school fast approaching, the Cook County Clerk’s Office will offer extended weekend hours on select Saturdays in August for families seeking to obtain birth certificates to complete their child’s registration for school, Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough announced Tuesday.
The Honorable Xavier Becerra a Featured Speaker at NMA’s 121st Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly: "Accelerating the March Toward Health Equity"
he National Medical Association (NMA) is hosting its 121st Annual Convention and Scientific Assembly, themed "Accelerating the March Toward Health Equity," July 29 – August 2, 2023, in the culturally rich city of New Orleans, LA at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Each year, thousands of African American physicians and other health professionals from across the country convene to participate in the scholarly exchange of medical advances and to advance our health policy agenda for the coming year. This is the foremost forum on medical science and African American health in the country.
Biden-Harris Administration to Provide 804,000 Borrowers with $39 Billion in Automatic Loan Forgiveness as a Result of Fixes to Income Driven Repayment Plans
The Department of Education (Department) today will begin notifying more than 804,000 borrowers that they have a total of $39 billion in Federal student loans that will be automatically discharged in the coming weeks. In total, the Biden-Harris Administration has approved more than $116.6 billion in student loan forgiveness for more than 3.4 million borrowers.
BLACK PUBLIC MEDIA AWARDS OVER $160,000 FOR VACCINE EQUITY PROJECTS
Black Public Media (BPM) has selected three projects — two short films and a podcast — for a total of more than $160,000 in funding for vaccine equity works targeting vaccine hesitancy in Michigan and North Carolina. The projects are scheduled for completion this fall in time for expected spikes in COVID and flu cases.
OFFREY ACADEMY OF DANCE, OFFICIAL SCHOOL OF THE JOFFREY BALLET, LAUNCHES A NATIONAL CALL FOR ALAANA ARTISTS
The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet, is seeking ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) artists to submit applications for the Joffrey Academy’s Fourteenth Annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition. The goal of the award is to recognize talented and emerging ALAANA choreographers whose unique perspective will ignite creativity in the form of original works of dance. The deadline for application is July 31.
REPLAY LINCOLN PARK INVITES LOLLA LOVERS TO REPLAYPALOOZA
Festival season is in full gear, and Chicago’s favorite pop-up bar Replay Lincoln Park, 2833 N. Sheffield Ave., is making sure to bring the vibes with its latest Lollapalooza inspired pop-up: Replaypalooza. Running through Sunday, August 6, this pop-up will bring to life the incredible artists and bands that make up today’s diverse music scene, with live DJ sets throughout the month, along with festival-inspired photo-ops throughout the entire bar and music-themed cocktails. Each of the weeks have an exciting, new theme, allowing for an experience where everyone’s taste in music is satisfied.
Chicago Public Schools Continues Support of New Students with Welcome Center Pilot
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO Pedro Martinez announced Monday, July 17, that the District will continue providing enrollment support for new students at schools across the city and through a pilot Welcome Center at Roberto Clemente Community Academy High School which will provide enrollment services for new arrivals living in the West Town and Humboldt Park communities. The new Welcome Center builds on the District’s ongoing work to support new arrival students and families as they enter CPS classrooms.
Rep. Kelly, with Reps. Clarke and Watson Coleman, Introduces The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act
Congresswoman Robin Kelly joined her fellow co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Black Women and Girls, Congresswoman Clarke and Congresswoman Watson Coleman, to introduce the Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research And Education Act of 2023, which would revolutionize uterine fibroid care in the nation and acknowledge fibroids as the serious health crisis it is.