The Chicago Reporter articles from November 2004

The Chicago Reporter archives from November 2004

Editor's note.
November 1, 2004... Some issues seem to matter to nearly every elected official. Take schools, for instance. Few can neglect them too long without risking political suicide. Whether you're rich or poor, access to quality health care seems to resonates widely....

A mother's grief: six years later, Sabrina Harris still struggles to make sense of the murder of her 11-year-old daughter Ryan.(New Voices)
November 1, 2004... Sabrina Harris sifts through an unpacked plastic storage bin in the nearly vacant living room of her new South Side apartment. The Englewood native spent the last 15 years raising a family in the suburbs, and just moved back to the city...

Native tongue: more and more immigrants are signing up to improve their command of English.(Keeping Current)
November 1, 2004... On a recent Tuesday evening, Audrey Cho, 28, was sitting in front of her 10 students, holding a handout that listed this year's federal holidays. Pointing to an item in February, she asked her class: 'Who is Washington?" A confusing murmur...

Permanent records: most employers still have a hard time believing they should hire former inmates.(Cover Story)
November 1, 2004... Nearly three out of every five parolees in Illinois are without work-with even higher rates of joblessness on Chicago's predominantly black South and West sides, according to state corrections data. More than half of all ex-offenders in the...

Seeing daylight: ex-offenders finally make political headway against Illinois' longtime support for tough-on-crime measures.
November 1, 2004... When Algie Crivens III was released from prison in 1999, e thought his nearly decade-long nightmare had end After he was convicted of a 1989 murder, a judge sentenced Crivens to 20 years in prison. But, in 1999, a federal court ruled Cook...

Accounting for police: as more Chicagoans complain about police abuse, more turn to the courts in frustration.
November 1, 2004... One morning last year, Calvin R. Mitchell Sr. went to a local dollar discount store to buy a fan and beat the July heat in his small, stuffy Uptown studio apartment. On his way back home, two police officers stopped him. One asked, "'You...

November 2, 2004.(Parting Shot)(caption)
November 1, 2004... Leah Dooley, of Chicago, encourages downtown commuters to vote on Election Day and hands out Kerry-Edwards stickers. Photo by Jason Reblando. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]