Chicago Poverty

Why Is It Tough To Stabilize Chicago's Neighborhoods?

WBEZ | By: Ashley Gross | Posted 04.09.2012

Banks filed foreclosure on fewer homes in Chicago last year, so it's easy to think the problem is fading. But five years into the crisis, a lot of nei...

Homeless Chicago Immigrants Alone, Adrift

Chicago News Cooperative | Posted 02.27.2012

One said goodbye, embracing his anxious parents. One left without a word, indignant and angry. After traveling thousands of miles by bus, train and...

Organization Gets MacArthur Award For Lifting Neighborhoods Out Of Poverty

AP | JASON KEYSER | Posted 04.17.2012

CHICAGO — The MacArthur Foundation on Thursday named 15 organizations in six countries as winners of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effect...

The Space Between

Sid Mohn | Posted 02.08.2012

Sid Mohn

Between a rock and a hard place is where you can work full time and still be in poverty (like 100,000 Illinoisans). It's where you can look for a job for 37 weeks -- almost 10 months -- and still not find one (that's the average here).

What's Happening to Poor Is Warning to Us All

Rev. Jesse Jackson | Posted 01.15.2012

Rev. Jesse Jackson

In 2010, one out of every 15 Americans were living in extreme poverty, defined as those with incomes of 50 percent or less of the poverty level. Now, new poverty measures adopted by the Census Bureau indicate the numbers may be worse.

Working Together Out of Poverty

Sid Mohn | Posted 12.17.2011

Sid Mohn

Because of the recession, the number of people living in poverty has never been higher. It's easy to be overwhelmed by these statistics. But today -- the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty -- gives me hope.

Study: 1 In 5 Chicagoans Are Hungry, Food Insecure

Posted 11.21.2011

New data released Wednesday by the Greater Chicago Food Depository shows that just over 20 percent of Chicagoans face "food insecurity." The data [...

4 Teens Shot Near Mayor's Planned Meeting On South Side

Posted 10.31.2011

Four teens were wounded Tuesday night in a drive-by shooting in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood--where Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Sen. Dick Durbin and U.S. H...

Can Rahm Fix Public Housing In Chicago?

AP | By KAREN HAWKINS | Posted 07.18.2011

CHICAGO -- As Rahm Emanuel begins his term as Chicago mayor, one daunting challenge he inherits from his predecessor has barely been mentioned: how to...

Cabrini-Green's Closure Ends An Ugly Era In Public Housing

AP | KAREN HAWKINS | Posted 05.25.2011

CHICAGO — For decades, Chicago's infamous Cabrini-Green high-rises – with their fenced-in balconies and horrific high-profile crimes &ndas...

Country's Richest, Poorest Schools In Chicagoland Area

Chicago Sun-Times | Accepted Admissions Almanac | Posted 05.25.2011

Providence St. Mel on Chicago's West Side and Hinsdale Central High in the southwest suburbs represent the poorest and wealthiest of 12 schools profil...

Women: A Year in Review

Christine Bork | Posted 05.25.2011

Christine Bork

On both a national and local level, women reached historic milestones in public office -- but of all the candidates currently running for mayor of Chicago, only one is a woman.

Poverty In Chicago: Recession Hits Poor, Uneducated, Minorities Hardest

Posted 05.25.2011

No matter what multi-billion-dollar corporations might be responsible for the current recession, it is the poorest and most disadvantaged among us tha...

Health Care and Poverty - A Vicious Cycle

Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston | Posted 05.25.2011

Rev. Gregory Seal Livingston

When children's teeth ache from cavities, when their vision is too blurred to see the chalkboard, it is no wonder that their school performance is poor and their behavior is aggressive.

Chicago 'Vital Signs' Report Tells Where Life Support is Needed

Esther J. Cepeda | Posted 05.25.2011

Esther J. Cepeda

Like a strong, steady heartbeat, the Chicago Community Trust quietly tapped out the city's economic pulse Monday in the form of its very first monthly "Vital Signs" report.

CHA Tells Residents To Get Jobs

Chi-Town Daily News | Megan Cottrell | Posted 05.25.2011

Public housing residents must have jobs to keep their homes under a controversial new policy adopted today by Chicago Housing Authority commissioners....

Soup Kitchens Expect Busy Winter

Chi-Town Daily News | Ian Fullerton | Posted 05.25.2011

Chicago's emergency food pantries and soup kitchens are gearing up for a busy winter, thanks to spiraling unemployment and food costs. With the unemp...

The Tale of the Tape: Child Almost Gets Left Behind

Esther J. Cepeda | Posted 05.25.2011

Esther J. Cepeda

The way to ensure no children get "left behind" isn't more cash to schools, it's more resources to people.

Of No Fixed Address: God Planned It

Christopher Devine | Posted 05.25.2011

Christopher Devine

This is the fourth in a series of excerpts from my book Of No Fixed Address: A Collection of Voices from the Streets of Chicago

Of No Fixed Address: Poor Is Everybody

Christopher Devine | Posted 05.25.2011

Christopher Devine

A man on the street once said to me, "I wish I could just go somewhere and be with some people. You know, just socialize with some people. Not a shelter. Just a place to hang out, you know? But I'm homeless, man. I ain't got nowhere to go." Brunches like these seem to fill that void.