The Chicago Reporter articles from April 2005

The Chicago Reporter archives from April 2005

Editor's note.(Editorial)
April 1, 2005... No two reporters work exactly the same way. Some use notebooks, others tapes. Some have to deal with cameras. Axed depending upon whether you work for a daily, a weekly, a monthly or a 24-hour news channel, the deadline pressures we face in our...

Painting by color: a local artist uses her paintings to break down the complexities of racial identity.
April 1, 2005... In a basement studio with a precariously low ceiling, Laura Kina paced around 52 panels of differently colored and patterned images. The work was done in acrylic enamel, a medium Kina is using to avoid oil paint and its harmful effects on her...

Nobody's safe: in Illinois, middle-class families fall through the cracks of health care, causing a rising number of bankruptcy cases.(Keeping Current)
April 1, 2005... It was that pain again. Rose-Marie Shaffer popped a couple of Aleve as she had done every night for the previous week and got ready for bed. The longtime nurse assumed the nagging ache in her arm was from using the computer too long at work. At...

Winning asylum: advocates say recent appeals court decisions point to long-standing problems with the way immigration courts adjudicate asylum cases.
April 1, 2005... He is a tall Pakistani man with dark brown skin and wavy black hair. When he speaks, it is in a shy, lilting English, his words ending before they are supposed to end. On a mid-February morning, he sat in the large, high-ceiling room on the top...

Road to sanctuary: the process can be arduous for many asylum seekers.
April 1, 2005... To get asylum, immigrants must prove that they have been persecuted or fear future persecution on the basis of race, nationality, religion, political opinion or a membership in a particular social group, and that they can't be protected in...

One woman's journey: a hearing illustrates how local judges are heeding appellate-level criticisms.(Cover Story)
April 1, 2005... At the end of the hearing, Vivian's almond-colored cheeks became flushed. She quietly sniffled. She used her palm to wipe a tear and then briefly held her attorney's hand. The outcome of her case was good: The judge announced that he would...

Staying alive: among the rising numbers of black women in Chicago with HIV/AIDS, three stay strong by speaking out.
April 1, 2005... Waver "Frankie" L. Franklin's heart jumped when she read the letter. It was from LifeSource, a blood donor center where she had received a blood transfusion about two months earlier. She was instructed to call the center. Frankie knew...

Parting shot.
April 1, 2005... March 26, 2005 Alexis Vidal (right), 3, gets a head start from the Easter bunny at the annual Easter egg hunt at Berger Park on Chicago's North Side.