features
What Is Illinois’ Earned Reentry Bill? Advocates Push for Parole After Decades in Prison
On September 17, Illinois’ Constitution Day, a coalition of legal justice reform advocates, allies and community members impacted by extreme sentencing held a rally outside the Office of Governor JB Pritzker. The group assembled to push for an Earned Reentry Bill, which would create a new pathway for people serving very long prison sentences —…
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Get ready to vote: Your guide to the school board election on the South and Far South Side
This story was produced by The VP Chicago, an independent, community-centered newsroom covering Chicago’s South Side and South suburbs. What does the school board actually do? The Chicago Board of Education oversees a school district serving more than 300,000 students. Board members vote on the CPS budget and capital improvement plan, district policies, major contracts and…
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For some South Side voters, Chicago’s first full school board election isn’t much of a choice
This story was produced by The VP Chicago, an independent, community-centered newsroom covering Chicago’s South Side and South suburbs. Subdistricts 9A and 10A, covering neighborhoods from Auburn Gresham and Englewood to Woodlawn and South Shore, are uncontested this fall, but the board still controls what happens to South Side schools Subdistricts 9A and 10A, covering…
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Employment and labor
The Chicago Reporter celebrates justice-centered storytelling at Justice Photojournalism Showcase
The Chicago Reporter brought together journalists, advocates, community leaders and supporters on May 14 in Bronzeville for its inaugural Justice Photojournalism Showcase. The evening, hosted at Parkway Social, was dedicated to honoring the power of visual storytelling through community-centered journalism in Chicago. Hosted by Emmy-nominated Chicago journalist Nate Rodgers, the event highlighted photography’s ability to…
Economic Development
Six years in, has Illinois’ cannabis equity law delivered?
Illinois legalized cannabis with equity at its core in 2020. Six years later, the results are mixed. After nearly 90 years of prohibition, Illinois became the first state to legalize the sale of cannabis through a state legislature in 2019. Touted by the governor’s office as the “most equity-centric” cannabis law in the nation, the…