Local News

FAMILY SERVICE ORGANIZATION REOPENS WITH SAFETY IN MIND

Marillac St. Vincent Family Services reopened its daycare, summer camp and youth programs on Monday, June 29, after being closed due to COVID-19. Marillac St. Vincent Family Services was founded almost 100 years ago with the aim to end the cycle of poverty.

Comcast NBCUniversal Awards $175,000 in Scholarships to High School Seniors in Region

– Comcast NBCUniversal today announced it has awarded $175,000 in scholarships for the 2020-2021 school year as part of its annual Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program to 70 students in its Greater Chicago Region, which includes Central and Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana and Southwest Michigan. Students are selected for their outstanding community service, academic performance and leadership skills. The award, funded by the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation, is a one-time, $2,500 scholarship to be used toward undergraduate education-related expenses. Since 2001, about $33 million has been awarded to about 30,000 high school seniors across the country as part of the Leaders and Achievers program.

Pappas: Stay home! Everything you can do at my office you can do at cookcountytreasurer.com

Homeowners and business people can avoid a trip downtown by taking care of their property taxes at cookcountytreasurer.com, including making payments, searching for refunds and verifying tax exemptions, Treasurer Maria Pappas said today.

CTA Sending Minority Students to College with STEM Scholarships

A high school senior poised to be the first college graduate in her family is headed to a historically black university this fall to study engineering thanks to a scholarship she received by the Chicago Transit Authority.

IRS provides tax relief for the low-income housing credit and bonds for qualified residential rental projects

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service recently issued Notice 2020-53 (PDF) to provide tax relief to issuers, operators, owners, and tenants of qualified low-income housing projects or qualified residential rental projects financed with exempt facility bonds, and state agencies that have jurisdiction over these projects.

50% of Employees Won’t Return to Workplace Offices After Covid, TRANSEARCH Survey Finds

A new survey of American executives indicates 50% of employees will continue to work from home after the lockdown and businesses will shift their priorities to focus on being more agile and prepared for change.

IDOT awards $38 million for local planning grants

The Illinois Department of Transportation recently announced the award of 52 grants totaling more than $38 million to support the planning efforts of long-range transportation projects across the state. New criteria this year provides funding to create economic opportunity and enhance quality of life in disadvantaged communities.

Annual Architecture + Design Summer Camp For Girls Taught By Pascale Sablan

Alex Foundation is hosting its annual architecture + design summer camp for girls, going on now through July 17.

IF MONEY IS TIGHT, FRESHMEN CAN ATTEND CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY FOR FREE

The only four-year, public university on the South Side will offer free tuition, books and fees starting this fall as part of a new initiative for students needing financial and academic assistance.

Communities create quality of life plans to bring change

The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chicago has chosen to partner with neighborhoods on the South and Far South Sides of Chicago to create comprehensive quality-of-life plans.

GROUP SEEKS TO GAIN INFORMATION IN SHOOTINGS

Elected officials, clergy, business owners and community leaders have created a group to seek information on shootings and killings due to gun violence. The group, I’m Telling, Don’t Shoot, aims to provide a cash reward as an incentive to get information that will lead to arrests.

Number of Juvenile Offenders In Residential Placement Drops

A biennial survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census on behalf of the Office of Justice Programs’ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention revealed that the number of juvenile offenders in residential placement facilities declined 59 percent between 1997 and 2017 from 105,055 to 43,580 according to a joint OJJDP and National Institute of Justice bulletin published recently.

Rush Introduces Legislation to Protect Nation’s Transportation Workers, Travelers from Further Spread of COVID-19

U.S. Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-Ill.) recently introduced legislation requiring the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide all frontline workers with necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to better protect them from coronavirus infection. The Securing All Fundamental Equipment (SAFE) While Traveling Act would also require that all passengers at national airports and train stations wear PPE as well.

New program seeks to increase public art

A new program is aimed at increasing public art in neighborhoods on the South and West sides that also are part of Invest South/West.

Partnership provides a guaranteed pathway for nursing students

The University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Illinois Springfield are announcing the creation of a joint undergraduate nursing curriculum that, for the first time, will guarantee a spot for incoming freshmen in UIC’s highly ranked nursing program.