ARCHIVES

Domestic Violence Awareness Report

by  

In 2006, the City of Chicago recorded 204,729 domestic violence service calls, an average of 561 calls per day, according to a recently published study.

The study, called “Assessment of the Current Response to Domestic Violence in Chicago,” was complied by Mayor Richard Daley’s Office on Domestic Violence (MODV). While the study notes that last year’s numbers are the lowest recorded since 1982, it says “the rate of domestic violence remains high.”

“Domestic violence is not just a criminal justice or social service issue,” Leslie Landis, Executive Director of MODV, said in a press release about the data. “It is a community concern and many committed people are taking an active role in addressing it.”

Domestic violence is violence against any family member, from brothers and sisters to in-laws and aunts, according to Officer C. Childs, domestic violence officer for the Chicago Police Department’s 9th District at 35th Street and Lowe Avenue.

It’s not just about a man and his wife or girlfriend. Domestic violence can occur between same-sex partners, or it can be the man in the relationship being abused by his wife or girlfriend. Domestic violence is not only physical either. It can involve isolation, financial abuse, mental abuse, or any combination of these where the victim is helpless.

Read more »

Tags:
Categories: Uncategorized

Whose School Is It?

by  

The Little Village High School, 3120 S. Kostner Ave., opened in September 2005 after parents waited years for it to be built as promised by the Board of Education. But after just one semester, the school of four small schools located in the citys Latino community had already become the subject of debate.

Little Village High School, 3120 S. Kostner Ave., was a recent subject of debate between Little Village residents living outside the school’s boundaries and those living in the predominantly African American North Lawndale community, whose children also attend the school. The school is home to four charter schools. Photo by Clemolyn "Pennie" Brinson

According to Jaime De Leon, the new communities program director of the Little Village Community Development Corporation, a number of Latino parents solicited the help of state Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-12) to establish a referendum to re-draw the schools attendance boundaries. The boundaries are east of Pulaski, west of Kenneth near Cicero, north of 16th Street, and south of 33rd Street. The parents, who live in Little Village but outside the attendance boundaries, want their children to attend the beautiful new school, but say that African American students who live in the community of North Lawndale are taking up the space.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Black History Through Performance

by  

For Black History Month historical figure Frederick Douglass was portrayed by Kevin McIlvaine, former Harlan High School student, actor, singer, and educator, during a special event February 11-13 at the Field Museum. Frederick Douglass was a runaway slave who eventually became an abolitionist and founder of The North Star, an anti-slavery newspaper in the 1800s.

WVON’s Cliff Kelley hosted the event. The Apostolic Church Choir of Chicago accompanied McIlvaine, singing several gospel renditions such as “Let My People Go,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and “We Shall Overcome.”
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Renaissance 2010: Sweeping Changes

by  

Ask people in low-income communities if they have heard of Renaissance 2010 and the majority would likely say they have. Ask them if they know what Renaissance 2010 is and chances are they would say they don’t. Ask if they know schools on the South and West Sides of Chicago have been closing and reopening as “small schools,” and they would most likely answer a definite “Yes.”

That, in essence, is Renaissance 2010: the closing and reopening of both grammar and high schools as “small schools” – schools within a school. The goal, according to Chicago Public Schools, is to reinvent the Chicago Public School system by the year 2010. The policy was made official at the Board of Education’s September 23 meeting according to CPS spokesperson Sandy Rodriguez, despite ongoing protests by community advocates.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

CPS Violence

by  

In March 2004, at Westinghouse Career Academy, 3301 W. Franklin Boulevard, a female attendance clerk was beaten by a student during a black-out.

At Wells Community Academy, 936 N. Ashland, two male students were shot. A week later, one of the victims was shot by a student again.

At Phillips Academy, 244 E. Pershing Road, the very school in which the Bureau of Safety and Security for the Chicago Public School System is located, a male student was beaten.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

U.S. Senate Candidate Gery Chico

by  

Gery Chico, 47 and a lawyer, is married to Sunny Chico. They have five children, ages 12 to 20. He lives a block and a half from the CHA ABLA homes. His experience with government includes overseeing the Chicago Public Schools budget, which he reports was $ 1.2 billion in the red when he started and $345 million in surplus when he left his position as President of the Board of Education.

Former CPS Board President Gery Chico

He oversaw the provision of services to three million people as chief of staff for the mayor, and practiced law for 18 years. Supporting him is an array of ethnic organizations, including African American, Gay and Lesbian, Hispanic, and Korean groups.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

U.S. Senate Candidate Daniel Hynes

by  

Dan Hynes, 35, is currently serving a second term as Illinois state Comptroller, according to Mercedes Mallette, deputy campaign manager and spokesperson for Hynes. He is married to Christina Hynes, a physician at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. They have no children.

Illinois state Comptroller Dan Hynes

Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Altgeld Gardens Lawsuit Settlement

by  

Altgeld Gardens residents won a $10.5 million dollar Class Action lawsuit settlement regarding environmental contamination with Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) this past summer.

But unlike most class action lawsuit winners, these residents won’t be receiving their money in the form of a check, according to the attorney who represented the residents in the case. Instead, CHA will keep the money and award the plaintiffs credit toward their rent, according to Cheryl Johnson, President of the People for Community Recovery (PCR) of Altgeld Gardens, and Kim Johnson, Assistant Press Secretary with CHA.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

The New Cook County Hospital

by  

The new Cook County Hospital, named after Cook County Board President John H. Stroger Jr. and located at 1901 W. Harrison St., opened its doors for service in December 2002. The new hospital covers 1.2 million square feet, or one-and-one-half city blocks in length, and replaces the old Cook County Hospital. The new hospital cost $551 million and was designed and built to be a more modern facility that would be better equipped to use up-to-date technology and equipment, according to Cook County officials.
Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized

Seniors Graduate Police Class

by  

Seventy-five senior citizens were honored during a graduation ceremony this past summer for completing an eight-week program in law enforcement. Most of the graduates live in senior citizen housing in the Circle Park Residence at 1111 N. Ashland Ave., and the Amalgamated Senior Residence at 1504 W. Van Buren St. Many of these seniors speak little or no English.

Transportation was provided to get the graduates from the buildings to the ceremony, which was held in the Glasser Auditorium at Mount Sinai Hospital on the West Side. Friends and family members attended the ceremony in recognition of the graduates. Cook County Sheriff Michael F. Sheahan and Second District Cook County Commissioner Bobbie Steele were among the speakers honoring the graduates. Interpreter Carmen Perez translated the speeches for the Spanish-speaking graduates and their families. Read more »

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Categories: Uncategorized