The Chicago Reporter articles from January 2002

The Chicago Reporter archives from January 2002

Laura Washington: Pressing the question. (Building on a Legacy).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... What has race got to do with it? The Chicago Reporter has been asking that question since 1972, when civil rights activist and visionary John A. McDermott launched a publication that would serve as a watchdog on issues of racial equity. With...

Alysia Tate: New Era, fresh voices. (Building on a Legacy).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... I got my first lesson on race in Chicago riding the train. Though some of my Northwestern University classmates strongly discouraged me, I traveled from Evanston south to 87th Street. I watched, in disbelief, as the demographics of the...

Black offenders face stiffest drug sentences.
January 1, 2002... Both Clyde Moses and Paul Jones have used drugs for more than 20 years. At the height of his addiction, Moses used eight or nine bags of heroin a day. At his worst, Jones swallowed two heroin packets to avoid being arrested. Both men have...

Solidarity, retaliation follow September 11. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedies, amid shock and grief, Americans rallied in a renewed spirit of solidarity. Across the country, flags flew with pride and defiance. Candlelight vigils brought people of diverse faiths to town squares....

Latino surge boosts city count. (2001 in Review).(Chicago)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Not since Richard J. Daley was ward committeeman in Bridgeport 50 years ago had the city experienced a population spurt. But Chicago grew during the 1990s, to 2,896,016 in 2000. When results started to be released in March, the marquee...

Finger-pointing, cliques and a new City Council map. (2001 in Review).(Chicago)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... As the state's legislative remap was tied up in court, with no resolution in sight, Chicago City Council members seemed uncharacteristically unified. All but two aldermen signed off on the proposed city map filed Nov. 29 with the city...

The Chicago Transit Authority. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Chicago Transit Authority board approves a $100.4 million plan to buy as many as 230 new air-conditioned, articulated buses to move more passengers on busy lakefront routes in 2003.

National Enquirer story. (2001 in Review).
January 1, 2002... Responding to a National Enquirer story, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr. admits he had an extramarital affair and fathered a child with Karin Stanford, a 39-year-old former senior aide in the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's Washington office. Jackson...

U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds leaves federal prison after being pardoned by out-going President Bill Clinton. Reynolds served 42 months of the 78-month sentence he received in 1997 for bank fraud, wire fraud, making false statements and federal...

SBC Communications Inc. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Sun-Times reports that family members, friends or associates of Rev. Jackson have repeatedly made business deals with corporations after he has pressured them to diversify. For example, Jackson "blessed" the merger of communications firms...

Dennis Porter. (2001 in Review).(judge declares hung jury in police murder case)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Cook County Circuit Court Judge Dennis Porter declares a hung jury in the first-degree murder trial of Jonathan Tolliver, an African American 19-year-old and alleged gang member charged with murdering Chicago Police Officer Michael Ceriale in...

The Cook County Board. (2001 in Review).(abandons traffic court plans)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Cook County Board abandons a $212 million plan to build a new traffic court on the West Side that residents claim would have displaced 200 to 300 families. The board decides to keep traffic court in the downtown Daley Center, its temporary...

U.S. Justice Department. (2001 in Review).(Betty Loren-Maltese wins Cicero re-election)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese, a Republican, wins re-election against her Democratic opponent, Cook County Commissioner Joseph Mario Moreno. Loren-Maltese, the wife of late mob bookkeeper Frank Maltese, has been leading the...

Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass calls Rev. Jackson the King of Beers. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass calls Rev. Jackson the "King of Beers." In 1995, Jackson asked his friend Ron Burkle to help his sons get a "lucrative" Budweiser distributorship on the North and Northwest sides of Chicago, reports the...

West Rogers Park. (2001 in Review).(calls for Asian seat in llinois General Assembly)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Asian Americans of various ethnicities in the North Side's West Rogers Park neighborhood are seeking to create the first Asian seat in the Illinois General Assembly during this year's remap, the Chicago Reader reports. In the past three...

U.S. Navy's Camp. (2001 in Review).(Luis V. Gutierrez arrested at Camp Garcia Army Range, Puerto Rico)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez, a Democrat from Chicago's Northwest Side, is arrested along with hundreds of others for trespassing on the U.S. Navy's Camp Garcia in Vieques, Puerto Rico. The congressman, who is Puerto Rican, calls it "civil...

The Faith Community of St. Sabina. (2001 in Review).(Southside Catholic Conference rejects membership application)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of The Faith Community of St. Sabina, accuses the Southside Catholic Conference of racism after its board voted 11-9 to reject the membership application of the St. Sabina Academy elementary school. Most of the...

Chicago Police Department. (2001 in Review).(settlement over shooting of LaTanya Haggerty)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The City of Chicago reaches an $18 million out-of-court settlement with the family of LaTanya Haggerty, a black woman shot to death in 1999 by a Chicago police officer. The deal, the largest ever of its kind, came on the eve of the trial in a...

Despite his criminal record and several court battles. (2001 in Review).(Donald C. Luster elected as Dixmoor mayor)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Despite his criminal record and several court battles, Donald C. Luster, a black associate Baptist minister, is sworn in as mayor of Dixmoor, a predominantly black south suburb. Luster defeated his white opponent, Brad Carpenter, by one vote on...

Chicago Public Schools. (2001 in Review).(hunger strike for promised school)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Fifteen mothers from the Southwest Side's Little Village neighborhood, which is predominantly Latino, launch a hunger strike. They ask the Chicago Public Schools to build the new community high school promised in 1998 by schools Chief Executive...

Tolliver's gang association. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... After deliberating for 5 1/2 hours, the jury in Tolliver's retrial finds him guilty of murdering Ceriale. The highly publicized trial began May 2 and ended three weeks later. On July 20, Porter imposes the maximum sentence of 60 years in prison...

The Field Museum. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Field Museum decides to return a 26-foot totem pole to descendants of its original Native American owners in Cape Fox, Alaska. The pole was taken without permission during a 1899 expedition. The museum agreed to give the pole back to the...

U.S. Navy's firing range in Vieques. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Jacqueline Jackson, Rev. Jackson's wife, is arrested for trespassing at the U.S. Navy's firing range in Vieques. Along with other protesters, she demands an immediate halt to the Navy's bombing campaign. A scheduled bombing exercise gets...

Southside Catholic Conference board members. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Southside Catholic Conference board members vote unanimously to accept St. Sabina Academy's application. The second round of voting was prompted, in part, by criticism of the board's initial rejection. Cardinal Francis E. George, leader of 2.3...

Chicago Park District board for the last two years. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Michael Scott, an African American and chairman of the Chicago Park District board for the last two years, is elected president of the Chicago Board of Education. Three days later, the board appoints a new chief executive officer, Arne Duncan,...

Noting an ongoing construction boom and the Chicago Housing Authority's plan to demolish its high-rises. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Cardinal George says he may support proposals to reform property taxes. They include passing a law requiring that a quarter of any new developments in Chicago be made into affordable housing. Noting an ongoing construction boom and the Chicago...

East Garfield Park community. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... A new Green Line elevated train station opens at 3630 W. Lake St. with promises to give "easy, affordable access to the East Garfield Park community directly to the north, and to the Park District's Gold Dome Field House to the south,"...

CabriniGreen public housing development. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Cook County Criminal Court Judge Joseph Urso sentences Patrick Sykes to 120 years in prison for four counts of rape, one count of aggravated kidnapping and one count of attempted murder stemming from the assault of "Girl X." In 1997, the...

Wrigley Field. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell writes that she was taunted with racial slurs after leaving a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Mitchell writes that she was about to give money to black drummers outside the ballpark when a crowd of white...

Palmer House Hilton. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Long known for batting racism, 3rd Ward Alderman Dorothy Tillman draws criticism in the wake of a discrimination lawsuit. Two white waiters, Ahmet Gundogdu and Michael Otte, allege the Palmer House Hilton removed them from working Tillman's...

They missed a great opportunity to move forward in racial relations in Chicago. (2001 in Review).(Alderman Thomas W. Murphy banned from joining Professional Black Caucas)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Alderman Thomas W. Murphy, whose 18th Ward on the South Side is 85 percent black, announces that he will give up efforts to join the 19-member Black Caucus. Murphy says Black Caucus Chairman Ed H. Smith, 28th Ward alderman, said he could not...

Mexican president Vicente Fox comes to Chicago. (2001 in Review).(international relations)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Mexican President Vicente Fox comes to Chicago. Fox discusses immigration and trade affairs with Mayor Daley, Gov. George H. Ryan and business leaders. He also addresses a crowd of thousands in Harrison Park on the Southwest Side. Some leaders...

The Chicago Board of Education. (2001 in Review).(finances building high schools in Pilsen, Little Village)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Chicago Board of Education decides to put $5 million aside for construction of a new high school in Little Village. The board also decides to spend another $5 million on a new school in neighboring Pilsen, also a largely Hispanic...

The Illinois Supreme Court. (2001 in Review).(South Side Roseland community bans liquor sales)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Illinois Supreme Court rejects additional appeals by the owners of 27 businesses that sell liquor in the far South Side Roseland community. The decision ends a three-year legal battle between community leaders and merchants that began when...

Legislative Redistricting Commission. (2001 in Review).(Illinois Democrats win lottery)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Illinois Democrats win a lottery to take control of the Legislative Redistricting Commission, which approves the remapping of state legislative districts. The 118 state House and 59 Senate districts are redrawn every decade, based on Census...

New York's World Trade Center Towers and Washington's Pentagon put the nation on high alert. (2001 in Review).(workers evacuate Loop high-rises)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Hundreds of workers evacuate their Loop high-rises after terrorist attacks on New York's World Trade Center Towers and Washington's Pentagon put the nation on high alert.

Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. (2001 in Review).(Tina Olison; custody case)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Illinois Supreme Court rejects a petition by Tina Olison, the biological mother of "Baby T." The decision marks the end of Olison's five-year legal battle to regain custody of her son, a former ward of the Illinois Department of Children...

The Sun-Times reports. (2001 in Review).(Chicago homeless statistics)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2002... The Sun-Times reports that Chicago's homeless population is ballooning beyond the city's ability to provide resources. And some advocates predict a "crisis" is imminent. More women and children are homeless than in the past, says Brady Harden,...

Chicago Police Department Commander Jon Burge and officers in his unit. (2001 in Review).(torture investigation)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Cook County State's Attorney Richard A. Devine requests that Cook County Presiding Criminal Court Judge Paul P. Biebel Jr. appoint an expert to determine if there was legally still time to investigate allegations of torture by former Chicago...

Illinois Native American Bar Association. (2001 in Review).("Redskins" mascot lawsuit)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Illinois Native American Bar Association files a federal civil rights lawsuit against the northwest suburban Huntley Unit District 158 asking for it to get rid of its "Redskins" mascot. The group claims the name originated in "the...

Digby's Detective and Security Agency Inc. (2001 in Review).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Agreeing to pay nearly $2.2 million, the CHA settles a civil case with the family of Eric Morse, whom two boys dropped to his death in 1994 from a high-rise window. The case went to trial but ended in a mistrial in June. The family had already...

State's criminal justice system. (2001 in Review).(death penalty for gang related murders)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Illinois House declines to override Gov. Ryan's veto of legislation that would make any murder committed as part of gang activity eligible for the death penalty. State Rep. Susana Mendoza, a Chicago Democrat and Mexican American, proposed...

Yolanda Campuzano. (2001 in Review).(runs for DuPage County Board)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Yolanda Campuzano, a 34-year-old Mexican American, becomes the first Latina to run for the DuPage County Board. County GOP organizations, which lost a board seat to a Democrat last year, endorse Campuzano.

The Highland Park Civil Service Commission. (2001 in Review).(supports Police Chief Daniel J. Dahlberg in litigation, Chicago)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Highland Park Civil Service Commission votes 3-0 to support the decision of Police Chief Daniel J. Dahlberg to fire a whistleblower. The commission found Police Officer Rodney Watt guilty of violating internal rules. Watt and four white...

Medicaid program. (2001 in Review).(Governor Jim Ryan plans to increase law enforcement finance, Chicago)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Declaring "This is a patriotic move," Gov. Ryan announces a plan to trim the state budget, including a $120 million cut in Medicaid payments. The plan would reduce the reimbursement hospitals and HMOs receive for Medicaid patients, most of them...

Obituaries.(Priest John Egan, Politician Lorraine Dixon)(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 1, 2002... May 19 Monsignor John "Jack" Egan, one of Chicago's most respected religious leaders, dies of cardiovascular disease at age 84. During his 58 years as a Roman Catholic priest, Egan became a powerful figure in fighting racism and raising...

The Making of a gangbanger. (Keeping Current).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... In Maplewood Park on Chicago's Northwest Side, Reymundo Sanchez, who had recently started hanging out with members of the Latin Kings street gang, was asked if he wanted to look for members of a rival gang called the Vicelords. He naively...

Union Acceptance Corporation. (Keeping Current).
January 1, 2002... A class-action lawsuit field Nov. in U.S. District Court in Chicago alleges that an Indianapolis-based car financing company routinely charges higher interest rates to blacks than to whites with similar financial backgrounds. According to the...

State of Hate: White Nationalism in the Midwest 2001-2002. (Keeping Current).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are likely to embolden white nationalist groups to turn up their assault on immigrants, said the Rev. David Ostendorf, executive director of the Center on New Community, which monitors hate groups and works on...

Illinois Department of Public Health. (Keeping Current).(black women encouraged to breastfeed)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2002... Myths keep some black women from breastfeeding, putting their babies at risk, writes Mishawn Purnell-O'Neal in her self-published book "Breastfeeding Facts Over Fiction: Health Implications on the African American Community." Purnell-O'Neal, a...