Recently, Ohio mom Kelley Williams-Bolar went to jail for sending her kids to a high-quality school outside of her home school district. She was only trying to give her children a better life. Kelley is no different from moms right here in Illinois who want the best possible future for...

In the time it takes to read this article, Illinois taxpayers will spend another $69,000 to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to the National Priorities Project. That's $13,800 per minute. And that figure doesn't include the additional costs of the planned surge in U.S. forces announced last...

The Holidays are a time for fellowship and coming home. It's a time where families join together and are reminded of what they have. But for many of the families of our brave men and women, it's a difficult and poignant reminder that they're spending one more holiday away from...

As the American Bankers Association convenes in Chicago this weekend, thousands of people are gathering to demand that the big banks and financial institutions stop blocking reforms that would protect consumers who are facing foreclosure, termination of credit and high interest rates.

The outrage is well placed. After the...

President Obama brilliantly laid out the case for sweeping health care reform and the stakes for the American people in his recent health care speech to the nation. His passion and resolve for change reminded Americans of why they sent him to Washington. He offered renewed hope that we can...

Chicago has been racking up historical milestones lately. Now, we can claim another one: The city formally submitting its bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

I'm a huge supporter of Chicago winning the bid to host the Games. According to a Chicago Tribune poll, I am among...

What can I say about my experience in Washington, D.C., during the inauguration of President Barack Obama? It was impossible to get a cab, and every street corner looked like Times Square on New Year's Eve. But enthusiasm and politeness could be measured in kilowatts. And the coming together of...

Last week, the severity of the nation's job crisis hit me dead between the eyes. The Chicago Urban League hosted a job fair at our Bronzeville offices in partnership with the Chicago Transit Authority to fill a possible 300 part-time bus driver positions -- anywhere from 25 to 50 hires...

President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan focused on creating 2.5 million jobs and rescuing "Main Street," not just Wall Street, is a welcome departure from the top-down economic theories we have heard up until now.

But though Obama's plan feels right on the surface, for me it raises two questions:...