Jessica Fong still remembers the hours she spent playing outside and making mud pies as a kid growing up in Humboldt Park. Now the pre-K Chicago Public Schools teacher worries her students won’t have those memories. Up against a national trend of children spending hours staring at their phones, laptops, tablets and TV screens every day, Fong is employing a new kind of playground to help inspire a love of nature in her students.
Rev. Charles Straight and fellow activists stood before a cluster of microphones, reminding media members of the Chicago Police Department’s ongoing history of misconduct and the repercussions of pretrial incarceration.
Read MoreA typical Filipino greeting starts with “Kamusta?” (How are you?) followed by “Kumain ka na?” (Have you eaten?). It’s undeniable that food is at the center of almost every Filipino interaction and gathering. In most social events, the ever-present bilao (circular basket) of pancit (noodles) or tray of lumpia (spring rolls) is always on the table, but folks rarely talk about food beyond complimenting it or exchanging recipes.
Read MoreTrinisa Williams is a member of the Hatchery, a food business incubator opened Dec. 6 in East Garfield Park. She's also a resident of Garfield Park— one of only a few West Side entrepreneurs working with the Hatchery to start a business.
Read MoreCPS plan to close top performing, majority black school is halted by courts, and later dropped altogether
Read MoreIn the early hours of the morning, hundreds of teachers and thousands of families finally got word that today would not be just another Tuesday. Unionized educators from 15 Acero charter schools walked picket lines instead of hallways today, after calling the first-ever charter school strike in American history over true sanctuary schools and better teaching conditions.
Read MoreEarlier this month, teens from across the city of Chicago came out to St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in the Lincoln Park neighborhood for UCAN’s fourth annual Youth Peace Summit. The daylong event held four peer-led workshops, which paved the way for conversations on diversity, mental health and leadership.
Read MoreThe Bloc, a non-profit youth boxing club in North Lawndale, pairs mentorship with training in boxing for kids on the West Side of Chicago. Launched by Jamyle Cannon, the program offers a safe place for kids to go after school to do homework, learn discipline, and maximize their potential. Modeled after its success at DRW, the Bloc is now in the process of starting two new programs at Frazier Preparatory Academy and the KIPP One Academy.
Read MoreAccording to Rev. Celeste Groff, gardening is good for the body. A pastor at North Lawndale’s Chicago First Church of Brethren and caretaker of New Horizons Community Garden, she knows firsthand that the key to growth involves care. Especially for Groff, gardening is not just about reaping the benefits of fruits and vegetables.
Read MoreAs hundreds of Bridgeport-area parishioners walked out of St. Barbara Parish, there was no choir singing and no priest standing by the exit to bless them goodbye. Many were upset after learning of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s plans to close and merge several churches and their respective schools in Bridgeport, Canaryville and Chinatown as part of an initiative to alleviate financial strains and priest shortages.
Read MoreAdvocates and community members from southwest Chicago gathered at the City Hall Nov. 14 to urge officials to support a $25 million budget amendment for long-term mental health services and push for the reopening of several public mental health clinics that were closed in 2012.
Read MoreMost mental health facilities involve white rooms, kleenex boxes, and an overall “clinical” feel. Kanesha Walker Amaro, is the founder and CEO of consulting firm “Flipped Conscious. She is creating opportunities for mental health to be dissected in black and brown communities that feels more comfortable. Her tool of choice is improv, though the exact relationship between improv and mental health is still being discovered.
Read MoreWinter is almost here, and the beekeepers of Chicago's West Side are stepping up to prepare their bees for the bitter cold. This is how they are keeping their bees warm, healthy, and well fed until the spring.
Read MoreFacing constant battles with mental health, Angelica Lewis, a resident of North Lawndale, turned to her yoga mat to find inner peace and balance. She began visiting area yoga studios, but while there, she often found herself displaced. Lewis said she’s a curvier woman, and most classes or instructors weren’t considerate of her body’s needs.
Read MoreSeven-year-old Kailyn McIntire twirled the brand new hair extensions that she tied into her braids. “I have pink hair!” She squealed. McIntire won the hair accessories just minutes before in one of the many raffles offered at the Safe and Peaceful Community Rally.
Read MoreFiona Bradley didn’t know what to do when she saw a passenger sprawled out on the train’s floor at two in the morning.
Read MoreOn Friday October 12th, Garfield Park Conservatory hosted their annual plant-based fashion show, FLEUROTICA. A visually stunning event, FLEUROTICA combined bio-degradable materials with the aesthetics of runway fashion. Here’s what the evening looked like.
Read MoreCity Limits is a series from The Real Chi profiling artists who are not only pushing the culture forward with their work but actively working in their communities to better the city of Chicago.
Read MoreIt’s not yet the holiday season but Damon Locks thought Chicago deserved a gift. On Nov. 15, Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble will present “Where Future Unfolds – Flowers for Chicago,” a sprawling 80-minute music-and-dance performance hosted at the Garfield Park Conservatory as part of the month-long Red Bull Music Festival.
Read MoreLast month, the Garfield Park Conservatory hosted its annual FLEUROTICA runway show, where floral designers from across the Chicagoland were given the opportunity to showcase garments made entirely of plants, flowers, and organic materials.
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