Recent Contributions
Jobless Youth Get Summer Lift
by KAREN ANN CULLOTTA | Jul 8, 2011
It’s creeping toward a sultry 90 degrees on Chicago’s South Side, where the mix of heat, humidity and joblessness can weigh on teens like 19-year-old Marcus Cammon. But on Tuesday afternoon, Marcus wasn’t worried about all that has he busily mended the battered bones of an old Schwinn 10-speed bicycle. “I’ve revived the bike with
Under a Dome in Bucktown, Restoration Goes On
by KAREN ANN CULLOTTA | Jun 10, 2011
For drivers stuck in traffic on the Kennedy Expressway, the restoration of the dome atop St. Mary of the Angels Church in Bucktown is providing a divine distraction this summer, as workers scale the scaffolding and then descend gracefully under a blue banner that proclaims “SavetheDome.net,” the century-old church’s new website. But more than two
Helping Roseland, With Assist From Washington
by KAREN ANN CULLOTTA | May 23, 2011
From the front porch of her Roseland home, 80-year-old Annie Jones witnessed summer returning to the far South Side neighborhood earlier this month – young boys on bicycles circling the block, flowers blooming in her yard, and the sound of gunfire in the streets. “It scares me when my great-grandson rides his bike past the
Immigration Reform Moves Beyond Marches
by KAREN ANN CULLOTTA | May 5, 2011
Imelda Salazar wistfully recalls the glory days of Chicago’s immigration mega-marches, an era punctuated by jubilant crowds in the tens of thousands celebrating in Grant Park, canvassing city streets while waving Latin American flags and proclaiming, “si se puede!” But of course, that was 2006. Five years later, pro-immigration advocates such as Salazar say the
Anniversary of Tragedy Sparks Labor Mission
by KAREN ANN CULLOTTA | Apr 19, 2011
Standing sentry in a cemetery just outside Chicago, the Haymarket Martyrs’ Monument has been called the pietà for workers, a national historic landmark visited each year by foreign labor leaders arriving on tour buses to pay homage and lay roses at her feet. But for local and national labor leaders commemorating the 125th anniversary of
As Student Absenteeism Rises, a Charter School Fights Back
by KAREN ANN CULLOTTA | Mar 24, 2011
The corridors were calm and the classrooms humming at the Chicago Talent Development Charter High School, but Kirby Callam, the school’s chief executive, was focused on one missing honor student. On a sunny March morning, that 15-year-old was chalking up yet another unexcused absence and falling further behind in his accelerated coursework.