Illinois news

• Mavis Staples sanctified Friday night at Pitchfork

  20-07-2019 21:20 via Chicago Reader
  Even when Mavis Staples wasn’t singing gospel at Pitchfork, her powerful spiritual voice could bring together generations. Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples opened her set on Friday at the Pitchfork Music Festival with an Alfred Hitchcock-esque "Good evening," then proclaimed that she came to bring "joy, happiness, inspiration, and some positive vibrations."…
  
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• ‘I love everything about dancing’

  20-07-2019 02:14 via Chicago Reader
  Since losing both legs at the age of 19, Kris Lenzo has dedicated his life to athleticism,
  performing, and advocating on behalf of people with disabilities. In 1979, when Oak Park resident Kris Lenzo was a 19-year-old college sophomore, an accident at his summer job put him in the ICU for two weeks, sick with a high fever.…
  
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• CP Around Town

  19-07-2019 23:21 via Chicago Defender
  Elected Officials attended the “Hats off to South Suburban Women” luncheon in support of Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller, 6th District. The event was held at the Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood, Ill.
    
  The post CP Around Town appeared first on Chicago Defender.
  
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• BREAKTHROUGH BEGINNERS RECEIVES GOLD CIRCLE OF QUALITY

  19-07-2019 16:58 via Chicago Defender
  Breakthrough Beginners received the Gold Circle of Quality designationfrom ExceleRate Illinois, the state’s quality recognition and improvement system for early learning anddevelopment providers.Breakthrough Beginners equips young learners, ages 2 to 5, with the education and skills necessary forsuccess in kindergarten and beyond. In addition to providing instruction in core areas, the programdevelops emergent skills that are essential to reading and writing, as well as uses creative and h
  
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• Congresswoman Kelly Announces $1.2 Million Federal Grant to Museum of Science and Industry 

  19-07-2019 16:56 via Chicago Defender
  Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL02) announced that the Museum of Science and Industry has been awarded a $1.2 million federal grant from the National Science Foundation that will allow the museum to directly connect students with specific field trip experiences linked to STEM careers.
  “This grant will help customize museum programming in a way that will genuinely resonate with our young people and inspire them to pursue STEM careers,” Congresswoman Kelly said. “An unforgettable
  
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• ICC Orders $7.2 Million Refund to Peoples Gas Customers

  19-07-2019 16:49 via Chicago Defender
  The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a settlement between the Staff of the ICC, Illinois Attorney General, the Citizens Utility Board, and The Peoples Gas Light and Coke Company directing the utility to refund more than $7.2 million to customers for Qualifying Infrastructure Plant (QIP) charges assessed in 2015.
  Under the settlement in Docket 16-0197, $7,270,112 will be refunded to customers paid as follows: (a) $3.5 million shall be applied to a ‘R
  
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• Planned Parenthood of Illinois Applauds Governor Pritzker

  19-07-2019 16:46 via Chicago Defender
  Today, Governor Pritzker announced that the State of Illinois would refuse Title X family planning funding as long as the Trump-Pence administration’s gag rule is in effect.
  Statement from Jennifer Welch, President and CEO Planned Parenthood of Illinois
  “We are grateful to Governor Pritzker and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ezike for their decision to not accept Title X family planning funding as long as the ‘gag rule’ is in place. The relationship between
  
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• Meet Chicago’s Cannabis Realtor: Holly Dupart

  19-07-2019 16:43 via Chicago Defender
  With the backdrop of Saturday’s upcoming Silver Room Block Party, Holly DuPart, owner/operator of Spark Clubs will present Chicagoans with a fresh, new perspective on cannabis and how it can be applied for more than just recreation.
  DuPart will showcase her brand, Spark Clubs, from noon – 6 pm. Spark Clubs offers interested parties private, customizable cannabis-friendly rental spaces called “Canna Rentals” in Chicago’s South Shore, Hyde Park and Wicker Park neighbo
  
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• Slaughter to Host Free Utility Bill Clinic in Chicago

  19-07-2019 16:42 via Chicago Defender
  To help local residents save money and avoid unnecessary charges on their monthly bills, state Rep. Justin Slaughter, D-Chicago, is partnering with the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) to host a free utility bill clinic.
  “With summer in full effect and temperatures rising, homeowners and renters can begin to see steep increases on their utility bills,” said Slaughter. “There are many different ways to keep utility bills down, and CUB does a great job of helping local residents save
  
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• Southland RISE awards $100,000 to 14 organizations

  19-07-2019 16:41 via Chicago Defender
  Collaborative powered by the University of Chicago Medicine and Advocate Christ Medical Center increases, extends grant funding to provide safe spaces this summer
  Through music, boxing, gardening, storytelling and even beekeeping, grassroots organizations on Chicago’s South Side are finding creative and constructive ways to keep young people engaged and safe during the summer months — an especially critical time when students are out of school and need access to safe venues and activ
  
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• Here's who is on the Pitchfork/Silver Room Block Party/ComplexCon cover (and the winner of our contest!)

  18-07-2019 23:10 via Chicago Reader
  How many did you guess correctly? A crowded festival weekend means a crowded cover!…
  
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• PHOTOS: Take Action to End Criminalization, Detention, and Deportations Protest

  18-07-2019 21:44 via Chicago Reader
  An estimated 12,000 people marched in downtown Chicago on July 13 to protest the Trump administration's immigration policies.…
  
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• Holidays Come Early For Hundreds Of Chicago-Area Kids In Need

  18-07-2019 16:21 via Chicago Defender
  Local toy company volunteers, The Toy Foundation, & Illinois DCFS bring toys to 200+ kids in foster care
  The holiday season came early for hundreds ofChicago-area children living in foster care, who received brand-new toys and games today at a fun-filled event hosted by The Toy Foundation (TTF), the philanthropic arm of the North American toy industry, in partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). “Play Your Part Chicago”
  
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• McDonald’s Youth Opportunity Program Engages Over 4,200 Chicago Youth 

  18-07-2019 16:13 via Chicago Defender
  Following Chicago pilot, McDonald’s aims to connect 1,000 DC-area youth to education, training and jobs  
    After announcing the Youth Opportunity initiative last summer – a global goal to reduce barriers to employment for two-million young people by 2025 through pre-employment job readiness training, employment opportunities and workplace development – McDonald’s exceeded its goal and provided life skills training to over 4,200 young pe
  
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• Get a sneak preview of Darrell Walker’s art collection  

  18-07-2019 16:12 via Chicago Defender
  Join Pigment International on July 20thfor art talk and exhibitionDarrell Walker will showcase his extensive collection of African American Art in partnership with Pigment International on Saturday, July 20that the Crown Center for the Humanitieson the campus of Loyola University. His eclectic collection includes a mix of African American masters, contemporary artists, many who have spent time here in Chicago.
  Included in his collection are works by Eldzier Cortor and Elizabeth Catlett, masters
  
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• CHICAGO CULTURAL ALLIANCE TO HOST “INHERIT CHICAGO” 

  18-07-2019 16:11 via Chicago Defender
  Over 30 Cultural Centers and Heritage Museums will host 20 Intercultural Programs in Neighborhoods Across the City 
  As immigrants’ fears boil and the nation reels amid controversial immigration policies, native and immigrant Cultural Heritage Centers and Museums across Chicagoland are offering Inherit Chicago, a month-long festival of music, food and programming, promoting cultural understanding, justice and solidarity.
  Inherit Chicago is the city’s only intercultural
  
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• Black & Abroad Recommits to “Go Back to Africa” Campaign in the Midst of Racist Rhetoric in the U.S.

  18-07-2019 16:11 via Chicago Defender
  Travel and lifestyle company leverages latest campaign to reframe hateful language into positive messages 
  Black & Abroad, a multi-platform travel and lifestyle company dedicated to redefining world experiences for the modern Black traveler, is finding new meaning this week with their latest campaign “Go Back to Africa” (#GoBackToAfrica) in the midst of controversy over hate-fueled political speech in the U.S. 
   The phrase “Go back to Africa” has a lon
  
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• OWN Networks’ “David Make Man” Adds New Color and Complexity to the On-Screen Black Narrative

  18-07-2019 16:08 via Chicago Defender
  Oprah and Michael B Jordan’s Outlier Society have partnered to executive product new OWN Network drama ‘David Makes Man” in what hopes to be one of many collaborations from the super accomplished duo.
  David Makes Man, who’s name was derived from the storyline of the pilot episode,centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects who is haunted by the death of his closest friend and relied on by his hardworking mother, played by Alana Arenas, to find a way out of poverty.
  
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• OWN Networks’ “David Make Man” Adds New Color and Complexity

  18-07-2019 16:08 via Chicago Defender
  Oprah and Michael B Jordan’s Outlier Society have partnered to executive produce a new OWN Network drama ‘David Makes Man,” in what hopes to be one of many collaborations from the super accomplished duo. 
  “David Makes Man,” whose name was derived from the storyline of the pilot centers on a 14-year-old prodigy from the projects, haunted by the death of his closest friend, and relied on by his hardworking mother to find a way out of poverty. He must choose betwe
  
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• Mom's at Politan Row turns the table on Japanese 'Western food'

  18-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Chefs Randi Howry and Kelly Ijichi tap a nostalgia in the making.I promise I'm not just going to write about food hall vendors for the rest of my life, but this summer it feels like I could. Much more so than the three-year-old Revival Food Hall, which largely enlisted established chefs and concepts, the folks behind the three-month-old Politan Row have tapped into promising and unsung local kitchen talent.…
  
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• Leaving Home, Coming Home, a blurry portrait of photographer Robert Frank, finally hits theaters

  18-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  One of the last surviving Beat artists looks back on a long life.Not even ten minutes into director Gerald Fox's 2004 documentary Leaving Home, Coming Home: A Portrait of Robert Frank, the legendary photographer-collagist-filmmaker, then turning 80, explodes when the camera runs out of film again and he's asked to do another take. "Well, look, forget it!…
  
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• "About Face," Wrightwood 659's exhibition on post-Stonewall LGBTQ art, embraces the uncertainty of queer identity

  18-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  The show’s real power lies in how it acknowledges the complicated intergenerational conversations between queer artists of color.Thirty minutes after I left "About Face: Stonewall, Revolt and New Queer Art" at Wrightwood 659, my husband and I had to take a last-minute flight to Oakland to be with his father, whose health had rapidly declined. We ran home and stuffed the last of our clean clothes into a bag.…
  
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• With All Blues, Peter Frampton honors classics amid his own loss

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  Peter Frampton’s got a right to sing the blues. The versatile guitarist recently revealed he has a degenerative muscle disorder called inclusion body myositis, which means his fingers might eventually stop letting him play his treasured instruments, including his iconic Les Paul.…
  
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• “Weird Al” unleashes his inner conductor for the symphonic Strings Attached tour

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  “Weird Al” Yankovic . . . with a symphony?…
  
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• The Legendary Shack Shakers bring their harmonica-driven punk stomp back to Chicago

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  Led by charismatic vocalist and harmonica player J.D. Wilkes, the Legendary Shack Shakers present an interesting take on the psychobilly theme. Formed in Kentucky and now based in Nashville, this group has been blending roots, country, rock ’n’ roll, and punk for more than two decades.…
  
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• Puerto Rican punks Davila 666 come back from the dead

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  Until last month, Puerto Rican six-piece Davila 666 had been quiet since 2011. The riotous outfit had earned a reputation as one of the best live bands in the world, fusing stripped-down, hard-hitting punk with psych ambience and garage-rock melodies: each sweaty set was a nonstop high-energy barrage of beyond-catchy tunes, with every member of the band screaming out the words over the top.…
  
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• Nilüfer Yanya conquers pop, rock, and the universe

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  On the new double album Miss Universe (ATO), British singer Nilüfer Yanya straddles the line between indie rock and pop. It’s catchy, hip, and radio ready, with a perfect production sheen that helps the music’s disparate influences slide smoothly one into another.…
  
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• D.C. posthardcore legends Jawbox hit the road for the first time in 21 years

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  It’s a cliche to describe rock as “angular,” but it’s shorter than saying “influenced by a handful of important D.C. posthardcore bands, including Jawbox.” Formed in 1989 by vocalist and guitarist J. Robbins, bassist Kim Colletta, and drummer Adam Wade, Jawbox finessed the anthemic sound of D.C. punk into their own idiosyncratic style, which was both rhythmically adventurous and sweetly melodic. Jawbox soon recruited second guitarist and vocalist Bill Barbot,
  
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• Connecticut psych freaks the Mountain Movers add more noise-rock to their heady jams

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  The Mountain Movers are among my current faves, because they know how to freak the fuck out. Formed in the mid-2000s, the Connecticut band started as a showcase for the songs of New Haven indie rocker Dan Greene, and since then their cosmic trajectory has been eerily similar to that of many mid-60s rock groups who started out playing fairly straightforward pop but ventured into blistering psychedelia by the end of the decade.…
  
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• Chicago ensemble Resavoir show how jazz can help all of pop music grow

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  Over the past few years, trumpeter Will Miller has beavered away on a bedroom jazz project called Resavoir while juggling other gigs, most notably in popular country-soul group Whitney. About a year ago Miller finally brought Resavoir to life, tapping into his network of talented Chicago friends to form a full-fledged band: saxophonist Irvin Pierce, bassist Lane Beckstrom, drummers Peter Manheim and Jeremy Cunningham, and keyboardist-vocalist Akenya Seymour.…
  
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• Boston singer-songwriter Sidney Gish confronts the complexity of life with stripped-down music

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  Few emerging songwriters have captivated me in quite the same way as Boston’s Sidney Gish. On her breakout album, 2017’s No Dogs Allowed, she confronts her life experience with wit and fun, using self-aware lyrics and refined layers of guitars, vocals, and drums.…
  
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• Barcelona’s Alma Afrobeat Ensemble keep the spirit of Afrobeat going strong

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  For the fourth year in a row, Barcelona-based guitarist Aaron Feder brings his Alma Afrobeat Ensemble on a U.S. tour. The group, which Feder founded in Champaign-Urbana in 2003, consists of members from several nations, and as is customary when they travel in the States, they’re joined by their American touring musicians—Matthew Engel on keys and backing vocals, Cody Jensen on percussion, Joshua Thomson on alto sax, Eddie Quiroga on trombone, and Dr. Adrian Barnett on tenor sax.&hell
  
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• After 25 years, Smash Mouth’s gold still glimmers

  18-07-2019 11:00 via Chicago Reader
  I’m sure you’re expecting a takedown here, since at some point in the past two decades it apparently became unforgivable for a band to record a phoned-in cover of “I’m a Believer” for a family movie starring an animated green ogre. I don’t blame anyone who sees Smash Mouth as a joke, since they’ve squandered much of their early promise, but I do wish more people could remember the band’s ingenuity.…
  
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• Part of Collins’ and Flowers’ plan to fight maternal, infant mortality becomes law

  17-07-2019 22:05 via Chicago Defender
   SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Jacqueline Collins and State Rep. Mary Flowers issued the following statements today as Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law part of the legislative package aimed at reducing rising infant and maternal mortality rates:
  “We brought this plan forward to fight against an environment where women’s concerns over their bodies and their children’s well-being are diminished or ignored, often in ways that can be deadly for women of color in particular
  
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• Super Bowl Champion Isaiah Stanback Advocates for Renewed Funding for Type 1 Diabetes Research

  17-07-2019 20:35 via Chicago Defender
  NFL Super Bowl Champion Isaiah Stanback  joined Emmy® and Tony® nominated actor Victor Garber, NASCAR Driver Ryan Reed, Marvel’s New Warriors actorDerek Theler, American Ninja Warrior Christina Martin, Wizards of Waverly Place actress Jennifer Stone, and other leading voices in the T1D community, including more than 160 children with the disease, in Washington to urge Congress to renew the Special Diabetes Program.
  Garber, who was diagnosed with T1D at age 11, testified alongs
  
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• DL3 Realty is Fueling Development in Chicago’s South Side

  17-07-2019 20:30 via Chicago Defender
  DL3 Realty’s Development Process Focuses on Inclusive Revitalization
   Benefit Chicago is proud to announce an impact investment in DL3 Realty Advisors, LLC, a new impact investment company created by DL3 Realty, L.P.  (DL3)  targeting projects designed to sustain and accelerate revitalization efforts across Chicago.
  Founded in 1999, DL3 is a community-minded development and advisory firm that helps transform emerging communities through high-impact and dynamic comm
  
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• West Side in running for Chicago casino

  17-07-2019 20:14 via Austin Weekly News
  Site at Roosevelt and Kostner in North Lawndale among five under consideration Read More...
  
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• Real Talk About Life Insurance

  17-07-2019 19:25 via Chicago Defender
  “The time is always right to do what is right.”—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
  THE QUESTION EVERYONE MUST ASK!
  Many people do not like talking about life insurance. It is for them a morbid subject because you must consider the inevitable…death, not a fun topic!  At the same time, we can’t afford not to talk about it because there are countless cases where families suffer a loss while not having enough money to satisfy final expenses for the deceased.  D
  
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• Get Your Head Back in the Game!

  17-07-2019 19:19 via Chicago Defender
  Have you ever self-examined your heart, not your physical heart that pumps blood throughout your body; but, your spiritual heart where thoughts are produced, and habits are developed?  As you probably know, self-exams and annual checkups are highly recommended as a preventative health maintenance approach.  However, what is the application for self-examination of your spiritual heart, specifically the mind?  Since mental concerns are on the rise in our nation, let’s do a qui
  
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• Dining on the 5 Kick-Off

  17-07-2019 19:16 via Chicago Defender
  On Saturday, July 13, Greater Chatham Initiatives (GCI), hasted opening festivities for its Third Annual Dining on the 5 event, at 200 E. 75th. Opening remarks were provided by Nedra Sims Fears, Executive Director for Greater Chatham Initiative; Roderick T. Sawyer, 6thWard Alderman; and Kenya Merritt, Chief Small Business Officer Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
  The area, located on South 75th Street from Indiana Ave. to Langley Ave. to Chatham Center is being
  
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• The Windy City International Film Festival wants to introduce Chicago moviemakers to the world

  17-07-2019 18:00 via Chicago Reader
  When an actor and director couldn’t find a place to screen their movie here, they started their own festival.The Windy City International Film Festival (WCFF) returns this Friday to the Victory Gardens Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park. Now in its third year, the festival will feature 84 short films, four TV pilots, three feature films, and a program of staged screenplay readings over the course of four days.…
  
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• Justice-Involved Youth Create Literary Resource for Village of Ford Heights

  17-07-2019 15:54 via Chicago Defender
  Justice-involved youth enrolled in the construction program at IYC Harrisburg/Booker T. Washington Alternative High School constructed a new literacy resource for the village of Ford Heights. The students spent nearly four months learning to build and construct four library boxes to be placed throughout the community with supplies secured through District #428 own resources and grant funding.
  Born of a conversation about literacy in Ford Heights, Willa Taylor, Director of Education and Engagemen
  
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• ComEd Prepares for Excessive Heat This Week

  17-07-2019 15:54 via Chicago Defender
  ComEd Prepares for Excessive Heat This Week
  Energy company offers customers tips to be save energy and money during the heat
  CHICAGO (July 16, 2019) – With forecasts for the longest stretch of consecutive days in the upper 90s since 2012 this week, ComEd is increasing crew staffing, proactively opening its Emergency Operations Center and readying equipment to respond quickly if power outages occur.
   
  ComEd’s smart grid improvements have resulted in improved reliability for custo
  
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• AMS Residential and MNK Realty Professionals LLC awarded​ ​South Side Developers of the Year

  17-07-2019 15:54 via Chicago Defender
  The Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) recently honored Corey Scott of AMS Residential Solutions and Lovise Jiles of MNK Realty Professionals LLC as South Side Developers of the Year.
  The developers were honored at the Land Bank’s third Annual Appreciation Luncheon, held on Tuesday, July 9 at the Hilton Chicago. Jiles and Scott have worked as partners with the Land Bank for three years, collectively rehabbing and selling almost 20 homes to homeowners in Chicago’s South Side and
  
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• ComEd Icebox Derby Helps 30 Young Women Bridge the Gap in STEM, Awards Each with $1,500 Scholarship

  17-07-2019 15:53 via Chicago Defender
  ComEd has selected 30 young women ages 13 to 18 to participate in the sixth-annual ComEd Icebox Derby, a program the energy company developed to encourage women to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and careers. Each participant will receive a $1,500 scholarship.
  Icebox Derby participants transform old refrigerators from ComEd’s Fridge and Freezer Recycling program into solar-enhanced racecars. Six teams of girls will work with ComEd mentors to assemble and r
  
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• Wolf Play leads the pack

  17-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  An adoptee seeks comfort and safety in lupine identity in Hansol Jung's latest.Never doubt the emotional layers possible from an expertly crafted, exquisitely manipulated puppet. In the right hands, cloth and carved wood can undergo an alchemy that renders them sentient.…
  
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• There’s nothing bad about The Drag Seed

  17-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  David Cerda’s latest classic makeover for Hell in a Handbag is a winner for summer camp.David Cerda's camp parody of Mervyn LeRoy's 1956 film The Bad Seed, about a murderous, extremely narcissistic child, takes drag to a new level, working as both a hilarious send-up of a creaky but beloved old movie (itself adapted from Maxwell Anderson's 1954 Broadway hit and William March's award-winning novel) and as an engrossing, entertaining story on its own. Cerda transfers the setting from mid-20t
  
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• The second coming of True West

  17-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Jon Michael Hill and Namir Smallwood breathe fire into Steppenwolf’s revival.If you've been banging around the Chicago theatrosphere longer than 25 seconds, you know the myth of True West and how Sam Shepard's bro-ly, brawly mano a mano tale helped the ragtag off-off-Loop Steppenwolf Theatre burst into public consciousness with its 1982 production starring Gary Sinise, John Malkovich, and Francis Guinan. It was the first Steppenwolf show to go to New York, and it helped launch the fabled/c
  
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• The Recommendation balances hilarious excess and grim realism

  17-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  Windy City Playhouse’s latest immersive ambulatory production offers a penetrating analysis of class privilege.Two college guys, unlike in privilege, in Providence, where we lay our scene. From minor grudge erupt in mutiny, where private cause makes public baths unclean.…
  
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• Sunset Baby shows the personal price for political strife

  17-07-2019 13:00 via Chicago Reader
  A daughter struggles to reconnect with her estranged activist father in Dominique Morisseau's drama.Nina (Jazzma Pryor) and her estranged father, Kenyatta (Marc A. Rogers), a former activist in the Black Liberation Movement, face a volatile reunion following the death of her mother in Dominique Morisseau's stunning play. He comes seeking access to valuable letters his wife wrote to him while he was incarcerated, but also to repair his relationship with Nina.…
  
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