The End of an Alliance for Police Reform

The End of an Alliance for Police Reform

In July 2016, then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch committed the Department of Justice to investigating the shooting of Alton Sterling, a black man who was murdered by police outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge. The move represented the deepening of a tangible...
Paying for Low-Wage Pollution

Paying for Low-Wage Pollution

Imagine if a corporation set up shop in your community and immediately dumped toxic sludge in your local waterways and buried radioactive waste next to your biggest playground. You and your neighbors, I bet, would demand full compensation from that corporation to pay...
The Days of Lying to Protect Killer Cops Are Numbered

The Days of Lying to Protect Killer Cops Are Numbered

Right around Thanksgiving, the city of Chicago released a dash-cam video showing the cold-blooded murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald at the hands of a Chicago Police Department officer. The very next day, the Chicago Urban League — supported by my organization, the...
Pay Fair or Pay Up

Pay Fair or Pay Up

Have you ever complained about the cost of funding social programs for the poor? Then you should support a living wage for workers. That’s the message supporters of the Responsible Business Act are sending employers in Chicago. The bill would charge Cook County...
The Great Pumpkin Shortage Is Coming

The Great Pumpkin Shortage Is Coming

Pumpkin fever is back. The latest bout of this seasonal disorder has infected Hostess Twinkies and moved Starbucks to put a smidge of real pumpkin in its pumpkin spice lattes. Previously, the ubiquitous coffee purveyor used a common ploy: It evoked agrarian and...