Local News

RTA Hosts Ventra Public Meetings for Customers across Chicagoland

The Regional Transit Authority (RTA) recently partnered with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to hold six public meetings for their customers across Chicagoland. The meetings were geared towards informing seniors and physically disabled customers about Ventra, the new payment system for the CTA and Pace that allows customers to pay for train and bus rides with the same payment methods they use for everyday purchases.

cps Launches New Mentoring Program for Kindergarten and 8th Graders

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) has launched Mentoring the Next Generation, a new district-wide school volunteer initiative for CPS staff to provide students in kindergarten and 8th grade with extra instruction and preparation for their next steps in education.

New Bronzeville Arts and Recreation Center Planned for 2015

A long planned and much needed recreation center project may finally come to fruition in 2015, providing the Bronzeville area with a place for youth to spend time and engage in positive endeavors. Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago Park District Superintendent Michael Kelly, 4th Ward Ald., Will Burns and 3rd Ward Ald. Pat Dowell and Quad Communities Development Corporation announced last week plans for a new arts and recreation center at Ellis Park, 535 E. 35th Street.

Nelson Mandela Funeral Journey

I really wasn’t planning to go back. I was cooking when my friend Emma Bell called me and tentatively shared the news-Nelson Mandela had died.

Additional Accountable Care Organizations Added to Serve Medicare Patients

As the health care world adjusts to changes in laws due to the passage of the new Affordable Care Act, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are growing in number.

Mayor Announces Grocery Store Task Force Members

Shortly after announcing a Grocery Store Task Force in response to the 72 Dominick’s store closures throughout Chicago as of Dec. 28, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced last week, the Task Force team's members.

Amazon sees delivery drones as the future

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon.com is working on a way to get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less — via self-guided drone.

UIC Receives $1.14 Federal Grant to Address Special Education Teacher Shortage

According to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), public schools nationwide face a shortage of special education teachers, disproportionately affecting minority students particularly in metropolitan areas like Chicago because of the large African American and Latino student body that exist there, and because minority students are placed in special education programs at a disproportionally higher rate than students of other ethnicities.

Paralegal Program Offered at South Suburban College

If you’re contemplating new career goals in the New Year, you might want to consider attending South Suburban College's (SSC) Open House for its Paralegal Program.

Boot Camp Workers Take Part in Clean-Up Projects

More than a 100 people who are serving Cook County Sheriff’s Vocational Rehabilitation Impact Center (VRIC) sentences have been working on manual labor projects to help out local communities, Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced last week.

Chicago Southside NAACP Host Free Mandela Movie Screening for ACT-SO

The Chicago Southside chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) presented a screening of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom to raise money for its’ ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) program.

Illinois Officials Tell Thousands to Start Over on Health Insurance

Get Covered Illinois (GCI) is advising people who have applied for coverage on the federal web site, healthcare.gov, and who believe they may have been incorrectly referred to the state for Medicaid coverage, to restart the process by using the screening tool at Getcoveredillinois.gov.

The "Money Mob" Works to Galvanize Local Support for Neighborhood Businesses

The Money Mob (MM), a trio of young professionals, has made it their business to alert the urban community about quality, independently-owned, African-American businesses in Chicago.

Mayor Announces Task Force to address with Dominick Store Closures

In response to the recent announcement that Dominick’s will close all of its 72 stores located throughout Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a City task force is in place to find operators for the closed stores to ensure that affected citizens continue to have access to food and fresh produce and to address the economic impact and jobs lost due to the closures.

"Fight for 15" Protests Rallies Held across the City Calling for Higher Wages & Better Benefits

As part of the Workers Organizing Committee of Chicago's (WOCC)"Fight for 15" campaign, several rallies were held last Thursday across the city of Chicago, mostly in front of national retail and food chains including McDonald’s, Sears and Family Dollar where employees of the establishments demanded that their current minimum wages be increased to a “living” wage of $15 per hour as well as the right to form a union without retaliation.