Patterns emerge in the aftermath of inexplicable crimes, especially ones that involve the killing of a teenager. Typically there is grief and public outrage. Vows to fix the problems soon follow, along with new public efforts by police, politicians and concerned citizens to make children’s lives safer.
And then, just as inexplicably, the momentum to keep it fixed fades.
The video image of 16-year-old Derrion Albert being beaten to death outside Fenger High School on the far South Side in September was one of those flashpoints, not only in Chicago, but in Washington and around the globe. As expected, there were vows to change, and indeed, steps are being taken to make the trip to school in the city safer.
Will it last?
Education reporter Crystal Yednak asks the right question while digging deep for the Chicago News Cooperative into one of those efforts run by someone with a personal connection to Derrion–his grandfather, Joseph Walker. Crystal’s detailed look into Walker’s organization, Pain to Power, which he established in the wake of Derrion’s brutal death, takes us to the streets where parent patrols and street-corner vigils have taken root.
This is not a token effort. Big money and big political names have followed Walker into the unique program, which, among other things, gives cash incentives to volunteers who continue to monitor our students’ passages to school.
Crystal’s story is about a different way to try to keep the peace on our streets. It’s also a tale of one man’s effort to change a neighborhood so that his grandson’s death is something more than just a grisly statistic. As powerful as Crystal’s story is, the photo gallery associated with it from photographer John Konstantaras tells the story in another way, just as vividly.
Jim Warren‘s column reminds us that as the political drama surrounding Arizona’s controversial new immigration law attempts to define the issue as right or wrong, the human element gets overlooked. Jim eloquently takes us through the life of Luigi Bragaloni, an Italian immigrant who spent much of his time in the U.S. in Chicago Heights. He loved this country so much he fought for it. Even so, citizenship was never a guarantee. As the immigration debate plays out in Arizona, one thing remains constant: People’s yearning to come to this country and contribute to it often is lost in the noise of politics.
Sports columnist Dan McGrath describes how the passing of legendary baseball announcer Ernie Harwell is not just a blow to Detroit, where he called Tigers games for more than four decades, but a loss for all baseball fans as the art of the “house guest” announcer fades in the era of cookie-cutter game-callers. The few who remain, like Cubs radio announcer Pat Hughes, are still aware of their role for fans to be the “healthy form of escapism from their daily lives.”
And City Hall bureau chief Dan Mihalopoulos gives us a reality check to the city’s unexpected announcement last week that it plans to publish Freedom of Information Act requests as they are filed. As anyone who has watched Mayor Daley’s feuds with the press knows, this might appear to be a surprising turn. Dan tells us in “The Chicago Way” what it’s been like to file “FOIAs” and then watch and wait for the city to answer–or stay silent.
Finally, a little bit about me. I’m a newcomer to the CNC. I came on board last week as managing editor after a 15-month stint as head of the U.S. government team for Bloomberg News in Washington. Prior to that, I spent my entire journalism career in Chicago as a columnist and editor at the Chicago Tribune, the Sun-Times and Adweek Magazine. I came back to be part of what I believe is a fresh new way to deliver relevant news to Chicagoans. We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we are very glad you are along for the ride.
Thanks for reading.