features
Southeast Side residents demand investment over quantum campus
Once heralded by Gov. JB Pritzker as an economic engine that would bring jobs and investment to Chicago’s Southeast Side, the proposed Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) is facing growing opposition from residents. Community groups have mobilized against the 440-acre technology park—planned for the U.S. Steel South Works site—citing concerns over green space, pollution,…
Read more
Gasping for air
This story was co-published with the Chicago Reader. Gary Sams could hardly breathe. He had begun experiencing early symptoms of rapidly progressing amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a progressive and fatal neurological disease, in April 2024. By June 2025, ALS had robbed him of his ability to walk or use his hands. Now it was suffocating…
Read more
This Illinois Bill Would Restore Voting Rights to People in Prison
Illinois could become the first state in the nation to restore voting rights that were stripped from people serving prison sentences. Under proposed legislation backed by a coalition of voting rights and legal justice reform advocates, Illinois would join only Maine, Vermont, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.— where the voting rights of incarcerated people have…
Read more
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Ways to Support Us
1. Sign Up
Want the latest from the Reporter delivered straight to your inbox? Subscribe to our free email newsletter.
2. Donate
Do you value the power of investigative journalism? Make a tax-deductible donation today.
3. Explore the Archives
Search for everything we’ve ever published, going all the way back to 1972.
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…