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.
WASHINGTON— The Food and Drug Administration this month approved genetically modified salmon, the first such altered animal allowed for human consumption in the United States.
NEW YORK, (UPI) -- A market return by U.S. holiday-goers and anticipation over OPEC's meeting at the end of the week pushed crude oil prices higher on the last day of November.
TOKYO, (UPI) -- Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. announced that their Playstation 4 gaming console has surpassed 30 million units sold worldwide.
By: Larissa M. Tyler - December 2, 2015 12:51 p.m.
Perhaps it’s the tough economy, perhaps it’s simply greed, but people are going to extremes measures to make ends meet these days, even involving some “creative” criminal activity. For example, a husband and wife team recently faked the deaths of their living children to scam their employer out of money. And it didn’t stop there. They also stole their coworkers’ identities.
