Most of the cuts in the Illinois budget are harmful and unwise. They are not driven by policy considerations or evidence-based program evaluations, but by the brutal calculus of the state's fiscal default.
Joseph Berrios, the machine candidate for assessor, has granted hundreds of millions of dollars in tax relief to the corporate clients of tax attorneys who, in turn, have funneled millions in cash to his campaigns.
I voted for the zoning change to allow for the Walmart because I wanted to honor the hard work of labor and community organizations. I cast my vote with great trepidation, however.
In the belching, burning wreckage of the Illinois budget, a survivor, miraculously, emerged. Pat Quinn announced today that state funding for the Illinois AIDS Drug Assistance Program would be spared.
Six states have now transitioned to online voter registration, and their taxpayers, voters and election offices are all reaping the benefits.
Those Asian carp are certainly determined and energetic. Every time it seems like we might be getting them bottled up and rebuff their efforts to enter the Great Lakes, they pop up somewhere else.
ShoreBank, a staple of the Chicago community, may be in jeopardy of seizure if it does not receive TARP funds from the Federal Reserve Bank.
The gap between the diffuse human yearning for a decent world and the organized agenda of the corporatocracy has never, in my lifetime, been wider.
While to date the White House has not expressed support for any of these rust-belt/immigration initiatives, it might be time for President Obama to hear what some in these cities are saying.
There is a foolish expectation that after so many incarcerations, relapses, and failures to succeed in the mainstream, a person may never amount to anything that will serve the larger society.
The truth most World Cup nations know is: If we start them young, we can compete and win. The key to America's economic future is educating kids as early in their lives as we can.
"Greek God" is neither Greek, nor a God per say, but I swear to you ladies, his body is what the Greek Gods were modeled after. This man is universally handsome.
On July 7, when Chicago-based artist Tony Tasset unveils his two public commissions on State Street for the Chicago Loop Alliance, viewers will be anything but neutral.
Cook County Commissioner Forrest Claypool, a Democrat running as an independent for county assessor, will take on insider Joe Berrios in November.
The story that women seem to be faring better than men in this economic climate is a nice one. But the sobering truth is that working women are shouldering the brunt of this recession.
Thus far in the trial, we have not heard one Obama advisor tell Blagojevich, "No, you cannot seek something in exchange from Obama. That is illegal and you will go to prison." Not once.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) is a good friend of Israel who deserves our enthusiastic support over self-proclaimed Tea Party Republican Joel Pollack.
As a gay man living with HIV, I am feeling really conflicted during this month of LGBT Pride. I know I am supposed to be awash in warm, fuzzy feelings of pride and joy. But you know what? Not so much.
David Orr, 2010.07.01
