features
Border Patrol is back in Chicago. So are the strategies that stop them.
With Commander Gregory Bovino back in the region, Chicago activists draw on hard-won lessons to shield immigrants from renewed enforcement. Alonso Zaragoza knew it would be a shot in the dark when he proposed a whistle packing event in early October. He had seen news reports of whistles being used in Los Angeles to warn…
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TCR’s guide to appealing your property 2026 tax bill
With one day remaining for Cook County residents to file a property tax appeal, we’ve created a guide to appeal for those who haven’t submitted their appeal yet – and for those who want to check it twice. This year, property taxes spiked across Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, hitting homeowners in Black communities the…
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Student Voices: STEAM day showcases student learning
This content is made possible through TCR’s Student Voices series, made possible through our partnership with Truman College and the Uptown Exchange. On any given Thursday afternoon in the cafeteria, one might smell tacos or gyros, accompanied by the silence of hungry students taking a meal break between classes. Yet those who grabbed a bite…
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Employment and labor
IDOC’s controversial health care provider is out. Will people in IDOC finally receive the care they need?
After decades of protest from activists, change is coming to the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) health care system. A June 23rd memo announced that the IDOC is abandoning contract negotiations with Wexford Health Sources, who had won a ten year, $4 billion dollar contract renewal at the end of 2023. Now as IDOC initiates…
Economic Development
Tip and Wage Theft Still Prevalent in Chicago Restaurant Industry Despite New Ordinance
Chicago’s City Council passed a new ordinance intended to guarantee living wages for service industry workers, but experts believe that more strict legislation is needed to safeguard against employer fraud. The Chicago One Fair Wage ordinance, passed in October, will phase out Chicago’s subminimum wages for tipped workers over a five-year period, impacting restaurants in…