Outside Voices
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Upholding Democracy: January 6, Colorado, and Trump
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In December 2023, Colorado decided to ban former President Donald Trump from primary election ballots due to his role in the disturbing events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The decision was later overturned in March 2024, when the Supreme Court unanimously decided to restore Trump…
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A Balancing Act: Low-Income Mothers on the Childcare Benefits Cliff
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This article was co-authored by Rachel Huyhn. While the myth of the modern “supermom” endures, real working mothers have to navigate a siloed, broken childcare system in America. This is especially true for low-wage earners, of which nearly two-thirds are women and more than a quarter are women of color.…
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Analyzing Great Recession-Era Unemployment Benefits in Five Steps
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From COVID-19 stimulus checks known virally as “stimmy” to expanded unemployment benefits, most Americans know that the government steps in with emergency programs to cushion the blow during economic crises. However, many of these programs involve frequently changing guidelines and a lack of data transparency, obscuring how they function in…
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Are Segregation and Hate Crimes No Longer (Pressing) Problems?
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“Someone help this ch***!” These were the last words Michelle heard as the middle-aged man, who had just struck her across the cheek, began to walk away. What had once just been another frightening story on the news of an Asian woman’s account of harassment in New York City was…
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The Hidden Dilemmas of Vote-by-Mail
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Vote-by-mail (VBM) has garnered national attention since 2020 as a system to increase voter turnout by allowing citizens to exercise their voice safely and conveniently, especially given the new wave of voter suppression efforts. What many proponents have failed to realize, however, is how VBM can, and often does, disproportionately…
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Educating The Future, Not Reinventing the Wheel
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Chicago’s Preschool for All initiative, a universal preschool program that promises access to full-day preschool in community centers and Chicago Public Schools for all Chicago 4-year-olds, is currently in its first year of fully-fledged implementation. The promise of access to universal preschool in Chicago is on the verge of being…
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Has the city done all it can to make its lead service line replacement program accessible?
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Chicago leads the country in one dubious statistic: the number of people who receive their drinking water through lead pipes. Some 400,000 Chicago homes have lead service lines, though the service line material inventory is incomplete, and there could be thousands more. After decades of neglecting the issue, Chicago launched…
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Shifting Sentiments: Public Opinion on Policing in Chicago
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Did you know that, currently, Chicago’s most underprivileged, historically targeted, and over-policed communities have begun to show improved sentiments towards the Chicago Police Department (CPD)? Did you know that Chicago’s most wealthy, favored, and protected communities have shown sentiments moving in the opposite direction? In 2018, CPD partnered with survey…
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The Arlington … Bears?
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While the Bears continue to garner headlines within Chicago, it is most certainly not due to their stellar play. If you’re not a football fan in Chicago, then perhaps the only news you hear about the Bears is on Monday mornings following another one of their losses. Yet, the more…
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More Assessors Should Follow Cook County’s Online Initiatives
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In the November 2022 general election, Fritz Kaegi won his second term as the Cook County Assessor with a striking 81.9% — the highest percentage of any Illinois county-level race. The people have spoken: Kaegi must be doing something right. Kaegi’s high public approval can partly be attributed to his…
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The Early Bets Are In
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All eyes are set on Chicago’s upcoming casino opening. Chicago Mayor Lightfoot has put her support behind the Bally’s casino development, with the promise of $200 million worth of annual tax revenue for the city and the creation of thousands of jobs, many targeted for minority workers. Nonetheless, the high…