The Chicago Reporter articles from October 2003

The Chicago Reporter archives from October 2003

Editor's note/letter to the editor.
October 1, 2003... Until recently, Chicago worried me. It seemed to sit, poised, on a bubble of rage and resentment--the frustration of its impoverished, the outrage of its immigrants, the confusion of its workforce, the fear of its families. We survived...

Getting into the act: a Chicago principal is concerned about how No Child Left Behind will affect his school.(New Voices)
October 1, 2003... When state exam scores were released this summer, 365 of Chicago's 602 public schools failed to meet national requirements in reading and math. Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the students at those schools were offered the option of...

Race and respect: as politicians argue about whether Chicago needs a black police chief, Englewood residents say they'd just like some respect.(Keeping Current)
October 1, 2003... For weeks, Chicago's power players traded press conferences and indignant remarks over whether race mattered in the appointment of a new police superintendent. By Sept. 17, Mayor Richard M. Daley was completing the first round of interviews...

Nowhere to go: since the early 1990s, more women than ever--most of them mothers--have served time in Illinois prisons. Now they're getting out. But what happens when they head home?
October 1, 2003... It 1982, Leslie Brown went to prison for conspiring to murder her husband. "It was my second husband, and I was in a domestic violence situation for many years, and I just couldn't take any more of his abuse," said Brown, who served seven...

The costs of integration: for two generations, Evanston has worked to ensure racial diversity in its elementary schools. But some parents are starting to wonder whether black students have really benefited.
October 1, 2003... The before- and after-school routines worked smoothly last school year for north-west-side Evanston resident Karen Goetz and her daughter, Laura, a third-grader. Laura awoke at 7 a.m., her mother said, and they left the house together at 8...

The ultimate parent: as the surprise pick to lead the state's child welfare agency, Bryan Samuels is taking on one of the toughest jobs in state government.(Profile)
October 1, 2003... Bryan Samuels' dispassionate demeanor was evident as he struggled to capture the attention of teenage foster children who were being honored at a luncheon this summer. Samuels, the new director of the Illinois Department of Children and...

September 17, 2003.(Parting Shot)
October 1, 2003... Members of Local 1 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union walk the picket line outside the Congress Hotel & Convention Center in downtown Chicago. Congress Hotel workers have been on strike since mid-June. Photo by...