Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Alden Loury | WBEZ

More ugly consequences for Black Chicago with Trump budget's passage

2025-07-12T06:00:00-05:00

It’ll be months before many provisions of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" will take effect, but the impact for some parts of Black Chicago can be seen a mile away.

It’s going to be bad, real bad.

It might be premature to make firm predictions on how the wide-ranging bill will affect individuals and their households. However, considering its historic changes to safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps, many are predicting the Trump administration’s signature legislation will have a dramatic effect on low-income Americans. Some say work requirements and other changes could result in households receiving fewer benefits or losing them altogether.

But even with the uncertainty, it’s safe to say that communities that have endured economic struggles for decades will likely see those struggles continue. And there are few places that rival parts of Black Chicago in terms of consistent disinvestment, segregation and other factors that contribute to long-term economic stagnation.

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That fact is clearly seen in a 2023 report from the Economic Innovation Group, a bipartisan economic think tank based in Washington, D.C. The report highlights the group’s measurement of "persistent poverty" in Census tracts and counties across the country. The group defines persistent poverty communities as those where poverty rates have exceeded 20% for at least three decades. The report documents poverty rates from 1990 to 2019.

It didn’t take long for Black Chicago to get a shout-out. Here’s the opening paragraph of the report’s preface: "In policy debates in the United States, poverty is often thought of as an individual or family issue: a condition of being low income, and oftentimes, dependent on public support to make ends meet. But poverty is also a spatial phenomenon. Numerous communities across the country have been poor for generations: think parts of Appalachia, the Mississippi Delta, the southern border, or Chicago’s South Side."

Indeed, according to my analysis of the report’s data, about 175 of the nearly 235 persistent poverty Census tracts in Chicago were majority-Black areas on the city’s South and West sides. They included all of the Census tracts in East Garfield Park, Englewood, Riverdale, Washington Park and West Garfield Park. They also included most of the Census tracts in Austin, Grand Boulevard, North Lawndale, South Shore, West Englewood and Woodlawn.

During a webinar this month sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau, Kenan Fikri, one of the report’s authors, explained that communities are much more likely than individuals to remain entrenched in poverty for decades. He said just 2.2% of individuals experience poverty for as long as three decades. Meanwhile, roughly 13.5% of neighborhoods experience such persistent poverty.

But the percentages are staggeringly higher for Native American and Black neighborhoods. Nationwide, more than 85% of majority-Native American census tracts and more than 50% of majority-Black census tracts experienced persistent poverty, according to my analysis of the Economic Innovation Group’s data. For majority-Latino census tracts, the figure was 34%. It was more than 5.5% for majority-white census tracts and just 4.7% for areas where Asian American and Pacific Islanders were the majority racial or ethnic group.

Fikri explained persistent poverty areas can be effectively disconnected from the broader economy — even a thriving one — due to a variety of economic and social factors. He displayed a graphic illustrating commuting patterns to Chicago’s central business district from the north and south showing how they largely bypassed the persistent poverty areas on the city’s South and West sides. The result is those areas aren’t participating in the predominant flows of the city’s economic life, he concluded.

He also spoke of the social isolation of individuals in persistent poverty communities due to spatial segregation and the lack of exposure to individuals in other social networks. He said research shows such disconnection limits access to social capital that helps foster upward mobility.

In addition to poverty rates, the group’s data included measurements of employment stability, education and broadband access — all of which were more strongly correlated with poverty in majority-Black areas than they were in majority-Latino or majority-white areas. It suggests that high rates of employment, college education and internet connectivity could help lift Black communities out of persistent poverty.

The report’s data also revealed several parts of the country where most Black spaces are not enduring persistent poverty. One of them is Prince George’s County in Maryland just outside of Washington, D.C. Just a fraction of the more than 150 majority-Black Census tracts there are experiencing persistent poverty.

Addressing poverty has never been easy. There are no quick fixes. But the first step to finding solutions might be realizing that the problems of persistent poverty are much more complex than people simply not wanting to work.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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Don't stereotype all Black youth based on 'teen takeovers'

2025-06-06T17:00:00-05:00

Way back in 2000, during an episode of his late-night talk show, comedian Chris Rock charted Black progress in America, essentially the back-and-forth of Black Americans in their efforts to reach the proverbial “there.”

In this hilarious bit, Rock spoke of the steps forward, which included advances Black folks made in civil rights, politics and other areas. But he also joked about the many steps backward, like embarrassing missteps of some Black entertainers, which seemed to negate that progress.

“We’re trying to get there, trying to get there on our own. But things just keep happening,” he said.

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And just when Black folks were a few steps from reaching their goal, the infamous melee at the 2000 Source Awards happened and knocked us completely off the board.

Until a few years ago, I’d completely forgotten about that routine. And then I saw news reports of Black teens running through the streets of downtown Chicago during a so-called teen takeover.

In a word, it was appalling.

I was left shaking my head at the sight of Black teens fighting in the middle of the street, dancing on the tops of cars and buses, and darting in and out of traffic. I was saddened by the reports of theft, vandalism, battery and shootings — including the death of one teen.

If Rock were to update his chart, surely he’d include these moments, which have become an annual ritual in our city as the weather gets warm.

As videos of the mayhem have gone viral, the takeovers might also serve as exhibits that just strengthen the case for many to fear and stereotype Black youth — a real-life interpretation of Rock’s comedic routine about missteps that impede Black progress.

Perhaps it’s not fair to place such a burden on the shoulders of young people, but that’s the unfair reality for Black people — the sins of a few are shouldered by the masses.

And for that reason, Chicago’s Black youth bear a heavier responsibility to be more mindful of their actions — because they won’t serve just as a reflection of their character but of their families and their entire community.

But Black youth aren’t the only ones who should take stock of the broader impact of their actions regarding teen takeovers.

As Chicago tries to figure out how to deal with the gatherings of hundreds of Black teens in our most decorated spaces, let’s also think about what we’re communicating to the vast majority of Black youth who show up just to hang out with friends, meet new ones and have fun. They’re not all stealing, brawling or toting weapons.

The city has made positive steps by partnering with community groups to help quell violent acts during the takeovers, and city officials have engaged with young people about how to address the gatherings.

However, our public discussions have mostly focused on how to prevent the takeovers altogether rather than how to manage them and prevent the violence that has occurred during some of them. With the use of geofencing and the talk of stricter curfew laws, in effect, we’re telling Black youth, “we don’t want you here.”

It’s as if there’s no other way to protect people and property than to discourage Black teens from coming downtown. Don’t get me wrong, the gatherings present a real public safety threat, but can’t we address the teen takeovers the way we handle even larger crowds that gather downtown?

Music festivals, concerts, parades and sporting events bring thousands of people to the places where Black teens have gathered downtown. Yet they don’t seem to draw the same level of feverish concern.

Those events, too, sometimes produce disturbing outcomes, and the potential threat to public safety is even greater considering the massive crowds they attract. But we know when they’re going to happen.

With teen takeovers, we don’t get much notice when they’re going to occur. Police and community groups are often scrambling to assemble once they catch wind of the takeovers on social media.

In the midst of all the controversy surrounding teen takeovers, we might forget they don’t all result in violence.

During a visit to a South Side beach with friends earlier this month, one of my daughters happened upon a teen takeover. It was the same beach where a teen takeover led to a chaotic scene two years ago.

Things were different this time. She witnessed dozens of teens listening to music, dancing, laughing and socializing. There was also a heavy police presence. But there was no fighting and no trouble.

“I actually had a pretty good time,” she said.

Like all of us, Black teens want to experience the sights, sounds and excitement of downtown. There’s a buzz you feel there that you won’t experience anywhere else in the city. No matter what we do, Black teens — like all young people in the Chicago area — are going to come downtown.

Maybe if we invite them and offer some level of structure in terms of space, programming and amenities, we can attract teens who just truly want to have fun, while giving police and others an opportunity to fully prepare in the event things go awry.

And even if they do, perhaps we can understand that the problems caused by some Black teens shouldn’t serve as justification to typecast them all.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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16 nuevas cámaras de velocidad en Chicago comenzarán a multar a los conductores

2025-05-28T15:02:32.201-05:00

Algunos conductores en Chicago recibirán multas inesperadas cuando 16 nuevas cámaras de velocidad comiencen a funcionar el 1 de junio.

Las nuevas cámaras, ubicadas principalmente en el lado norte, están a punto de terminar un período de advertencia de 30 días y un período de apagón de dos semanas para que se pudieran entregar las notificaciones.

La historia muestra que estas nuevas cámaras emitirán significativamente más multas en sus primeros días a medida que los conductores ajusten sus hábitos de velocidad. En los últimos cuatro años, la mayoría de las nuevas cámaras afectaron a los automovilistas con más intensidad en sus primeros meses de emisión de multas, según un análisis de Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ.

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Una de las nuevas cámaras en 4716 N. Ashland Ave. está pintada de negro y tiene un perfil más pequeño que las cámaras de velocidad grises más antiguas con las que los conductores están familiarizados.

La cámara, instalada en un poste de luz frente al Chase Park, ha estado tomando fotos en las últimas semanas mientras los conductores aceleran al pasar.

“Ellos aceleran aquí”, dijo Chris Wood, de 57 años de edad, dueño de casa en la cuadra donde estaba cuidando a su hijo, que estaba enfermo por no haber ido a la escuela. Espera que las nuevas cámaras eduquen a los conductores para que frenen antes de que alguien resulte herido.

Wood nota que más conductores aceleran por la noche cuando el tráfico es ligero.

“Es aterrador”, señaló.

Pero tomará tiempo para que los conductores aprendan a frenarse. El automóvil de su familia ha recibido al menos cinco advertencias de velocidad de una cámara nueva instalada más al sur de Ashland, cerca de la Secundaria Lake View.

Una nueva cámara de velocidad instalada en 7115 N. Sheridan Rd. cerca del Loyola Park en Rogers Park, en el lado norte, el miércoles 7 de mayo de 2025. Esta semana, dieciséis nuevas cámaras de velocidad comenzarán a emitir multas.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

Al principio la mayoría de las nuevas cámaras emiten más multas

Un análisis de datos municipales muestra que las cámaras de velocidad más nuevas tienden a emitir más multas en sus meses iniciales de operación. La disminución ha sido dramática para algunas cámaras instaladas en los últimos dos años.

La cámara que más multas emitió el año pasado, en 10540 S. Western Ave. en Beverly, comenzó a dar infracciones a finales de mayo de 2024. La cámara emitió casi 24,000 multas en sus primeros 30 días. Esa cifra se redujo a la mitad aproximadamente cinco meses después, cuando emitió 11,249 multas en el mismo período.

Incluso sin haber operado un año completo, esa cámara en Western Avenue emitió más violaciones que cualquier otra cámara de velocidad en la ciudad en 2024 —116,393 hasta el 28 de noviembre, según datos.

Una cámara que comenzó a funcionar a finales de marzo de 2023 en 901 N. Clark St. expidió 13,755 multas en su primer mes. Eso disminuyó un 60% a cerca de 5,400 multas en el mismo período aproximadamente cuatro meses después.

Los conductores pueden esperar que muchas de las nuevas cámaras emitan más multas de lo habitual en sus primeros días.

Las cámaras que comenzarán a emitir multas el domingo están ubicadas en: Bickerdike Park Square, 1455 W. Grand Ave.; Escuela Primaria Lorenz Brentano, 2716 W. Logan Blvd.; Trumbull Park, 2310 E. 103rd St.; Palmisano Park, 2728 S. Archer Ave.; Senka Park, 3510 W. 55th St.; Secundaria Mahalia Jackson, 8740 S. Vincennes St.; Skinner Park, 1341 W. Jackson; Ole A. Thorp Elementary Scholastic Academy, 3665 N. Austin Ave.; y Winnemac Park, 5059 N. Damen Ave.

También se han instalado cámaras de velocidad en: Escuela Primaria John Garvy, 6824 W. Foster Ave.; Lincoln Park, 220 W. Fullerton Ave.; Escuela Primaria James Farnsworth, 5432 N. Central Ave.; Secundaria Lake View, 4118 N. Ashland Ave.; Chase Park, 4714 N. Ashland Ave.; Broadway Armory Park, 5857 N. Broadway Ave.; y Loyola Park, 7115 N. Sheridan Road.

Dinero vs. seguridad

El Departamento de Transporte de Chicago (CTA) anunció en marzo que 16 nuevas cámaras son las primeras de 50 que el alcalde Brandon Johnson se comprometió a instalar para generar $11.4 millones en 2025. Las cámaras son parte de un plan para equilibrar el presupuesto de 2025 de Johnson, aprobado por un estrecho margen, después de que el Concejo Municipal se negó a aumentar los impuestos a la propiedad.

Pero equilibrar las finanzas de la Municipalidad no debería ser el propósito de las cámaras, dice Stacey Sutton, profesora asociada de planificación urbana y políticas en la Universidad de Illinois en Chicago.

“La seguridad debería ser el enfoque principal, si no es que el único enfoque”, dijo Sutton.

En 2022, Sutton publicó una investigación que muestra que las multas de las cámaras de velocidad de Chicago afectan desproporcionadamente a las comunidades negras y latinas. La investigación también encontró una reducción del 15% en accidentes fatales y lesiones alrededor de las cámaras de velocidad. Aunque algunas cámaras en realidad vieron un aumento en los accidentes a su alrededor, dijo.

Por eso es importante que la Municipalidad estudie los datos de seguridad y, cuando sea necesario, mueva las cámaras para garantizar que se está mejorando la seguridad vial, dijo Sutton.

El Departamento de Transporte (CDOT) ha dicho que las 16 nuevas ubicaciones fueron elegidas “utilizando un proceso basado en datos que usa datos de accidentes y comentarios de interesados para identificar áreas que experimentan problemas de seguridad vial”.

Hay otros medios para aumentar la seguridad vial que no generan ingresos, destacó Sutton, como medidas de calmado de tráfico como los topes y las ampliaciones.

Investigaciones recientes incluso apoyan reducir el ancho de los carriles de la carretera para disminuir naturalmente la velocidad a la que conducen las personas.

Christina Whitehouse, del grupo de defensa Bike Lane Uprising, aprueba las cámaras como una herramienta adicional para alentar a los conductores a disminuir la velocidad.

“La gente está pagando el precio, y lo están pagando con vidas perdidas”, dijo.

Christina Whitehouse, de Bike Lane Uprising, aprueba las cámaras de velocidad.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Archivo Sun-Times

Cerca de las escuelas, las horas de control de velocidad son entre las 7 a.m. y las 7 p.m. de lunes a viernes en días escolares. El límite de velocidad es de 20 millas por hora cuando hay niños presentes y el límite de velocidad publicado cuando no hay niños presentes.

Las cámaras instaladas cerca de parques emitirá avisos de advertencia y multas cuando cada parque esté abierto. Eso normalmente es de 6 a.m. a 11 p.m., siete días a la semana.

Las multas son de $35 por viajar entre 6 y 10 millas por hora por encima del límite de velocidad. Aumenta a $100 si la velocidad registrada es de 11 millas por hora o más por encima del límite de velocidad.

Siete cámaras adicionales han estado emitiendo advertencias desde el 1 de mayo y comenzarán a multar el 15 de junio, según un portavoz de CDOT.

Esas cámaras están ubicadas en o cerca de: 559 Park, en 6146 N. Sheridan Road; Secundaria Hirsch Metropolitan, 7733 S. Cottage Grove Ave.; Green Briar Park, 2640 W. Peterson Ave.; Kucinski-Murphy (Vicki Rosebeth) Park, 3358 S. Ashland Ave.; Edgebrook Park, 6614 N. Central Ave.; Meyering (William) Park, 442 E. 71st St.; Cole (Nat King) Park, 8553 S. Martin Luther King Dr.

Según un comunicado de prensa del Departamento de Transporte, otras cuatro cámaras comenzaron a emitir advertencias el 15 de mayo y comenzarán a multar el 30 de junio. Estas cámaras están ubicadas en o cerca de: Escuela Perspectives, 49 W. 85th St.; Escuela Tilden, 614 W. 47th St.; Lincoln Park, 1635 N. LaSalle Dr.; Rosedale Park, 5941 N. Nagle Ave.

Traducido por La Voz Chicago con inteligencia artificial (AI)

16 new Chicago speed cameras to start ticketing drivers in June

2025-05-27T05:30:00-05:00

Some drivers in Chicago will be walloped with unexpected tickets when 16 new speed cameras go live June 1.

The new cameras, mostly placed on the North Side, are about to finish a 30-day warning period and a two-week blackout period so notices could be delivered.

History shows the new cameras will issue significantly more tickets in their first days as drivers adjust their speeding habits. In the past four years, most new cameras hit motorists the hardest in their first couple of months of issuing tickets, according to a Chicago Sun-Times/WBEZ analysis.

One of the new cameras at 4716 N. Ashland Ave. is painted black, and has a smaller profile than older, gray speed cameras drivers are familiar with.

The camera, attached to a light pole across from Chase Park, has been flashing in recent weeks as drivers sped past.

"They do fly down here," says Chris Wood, 57, a homeowner on the block who was caring for his child who was sick from school. He hopes the new cameras educate drivers to pump the brakes before someone gets hurt.

Wood notices more drivers speed at night when traffic is light.

"It's scary," he says.

But it will take some time for drivers to learn to slow down. His family's car has received at least five speed warnings from a new camera installed farther down Ashland, near Lake View High School.

A speed limit sign on the 1300 block of W. Jackson Blvd., on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times

Most new cameras issue more tickets early on

An analysis of city data shows that newer speed cameras tend to dish out more tickets in their initial months of operating. The drop-off has been dramatic for some cameras installed in the last two years.

The city's highest-ticketing camera last year, at 10540 S. Western Ave. in Beverly, starting giving violations in late May 2024. The camera shelled out nearly 24,000 tickets in its first 30 days. That figure dropped in half roughly five months later, when it issued 11,249 tickets over the same period.

Even without a full year of operating, that camera on Western Avenue issued more violations than any other speed camera in the city in 2024 — 116,393 through Nov. 28, according to city data.

A camera that went online in late March 2023 at 901 N. Clark St. gave out 13,755 in its first month. That dropped 60% to around 5,400 tickets over the same period roughly four months later.

Drivers can expect many of the new cameras to pump out more tickets than usual in their opening days.

The cameras that will begin issuing tickets Sunday are located at: Bickerdike Square Park, 1455 W. Grand Ave.; Lorenz Brentano Elementary School, 2716 W. Logan Blvd.; Trumbull Park, 2310 E. 103rd St.; Palmisano Park, 2728 S. Archer Ave.; Senka Park, 3510 W. 55th St.; Mahalia Jackson High School, 8740 S. Vincennes St.; Skinner Park, 1341 W. Jackson; Ole A. Thorp Elementary Scholastic Academy, 3665 N. Austin Ave.; and Winnemac Park, 5059 N. Damen Ave.

Speed cameras have also been installed at: John Garvy Elementary, 6824 W. Foster Ave.; Lincoln Park, 220 W. Fullerton Ave.; James Farnsworth Elementary, 5432 N. Central Ave.; Lake View High School, 4118 N. Ashland Ave.; Chase Park, 4714 N. Ashland Ave.; Broadway Armory Park, 5857 N. Broadway Ave.; and Loyola Park, 7115 N. Sheridan Road.

Money versus safety

The Chicago Department of Transportation announced in March that 16 new cameras are the first of 50 that Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to install to generate $11.4 million in 2025. The cameras are part of a plan to balance Johnson's narrowly approved 2025 budget after the City Council refused to raise property taxes.

But balancing city finances should not be the purpose of the cameras, says Stacey Sutton, associate professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago.

"Safety should be the primary focus — if not the only focus," Sutton says.

Sutton published research in 2022 showing that tickets from Chicago's speed cameras disproportionately burden Black and Latino communities. The research also found a 15% reduction in fatal and injury crashes around speed cameras. Though some cameras actually saw an increase in crashes around them, she said.

That is why it is important for the city to study the safety data and, when needed, move cameras to ensure that road safety is being improved, Sutton said.

The Transportation Department has said the 16 new locations were chosen “using a data-driven process that uses crash data and stakeholder feedback to identify areas experiencing traffic safety concerns.”

There are other means to increase road safety that are not revenue-generating, Sutton said, such as road calming measures like speed bumps and bump-outs. Recent research even supports narrowing road lane width to naturally lower the speed people drive.

Christina Whitehouse, of the advocacy group Bike Lane Uprising, approves of the cameras as an additional tool to encourage drivers to slow down.

"People are paying the price, and they are paying with lives lost," she says.

Christina Whitehouse of Bike Lane Uprising approves of the speed cameras.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times file

Near schools, speed enforcement hours are between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday on school days. The speed limit is 20 mph when children are present and the posted speed limit when no children are present.

Cameras installed near parks will churn out warning notices and tickets when each park is open. That’s normally 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

Fines are $35 for traveling between 6 and 10 mph over the speed limit. It jumps to $100 if the recorded speed is 11 mph or more over the speed limit.

Seven additional cameras have been issuing warnings since May 1 and will begin ticketing June 15, according to a Transportation Department spokesperson.

Those cameras are at or near: Park 559, at 6146 N. Sheridan Road; Hirsch Metropolitan High School, 7733 S. Cottage Grove Ave.; Green Briar Park, 2640 W. Peterson Ave.; Kucinski-Murphy (Vicki Rosebeth) Park, 3358 S. Ashland Ave.; Edgebrook Park, 6614 N. Central Ave.; Meyering (William) Park, 442 E. 71st St.; Cole (Nat King) Park, 8553 S. Martin Luther King Dr.

According to a Transportation Department press release, another four cameras started issuing warnings May 15 and will start ticketing on June 30. Those cameras are located at or near: Perspectives High School, 49 W. 85th St.; Tilden High School, 614 W. 47th St.; Lincoln Park, 1635 N. LaSalle Dr.; Rosedale Park, 5941 N. Nagle Ave.

How Chicago’s alternate realities crushed a dream of homeownership

2025-05-09T17:46:18.818-05:00

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I still remember walking through my first home — my only home — back in 2005.

It had hardwood floors, a garage with a covered deck, a backyard, an enclosed back porch that could be used as an additional room and a finished attic featuring a master bedroom and a family room.

In the partially finished basement, there was a laundry room and enough open space for my three young daughters to run laps, play hide-and-seek and perform other feats of mischief.

And the icing on the cake was this cherry brick, Chicago-style bungalow was about a mile away from the three-flat — and the third-floor apartment my mother rented — where I spent most of my childhood.

I’d returned to my old neighborhood, Auburn Gresham on the South Side, but this time I was a homeowner. It was a dream come true.

A few years later, my dream had become an economic nightmare.

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When the mortgage-lending crisis and the Great Recession landed on America, it stunted economic growth practically everywhere across the country. Recovery was slow, but things eventually bounced back for most Americans. Not so for many Black Americans.

In predominantly Black communities, like mine at the time, recovery never seemed to come. By 2017, I’d invested heavily in my home from the rooter to the tooter. The screen doors and practically all of the windows had been replaced. The enclosed back porch had been renovated, central air conditioning and a new roof had been installed.

After all of that, the estimated worth of my upgraded home — which I bought in 2005 for $165,000 — was $75,000. My dream was $90,000 under water. And there was no lifeguard on duty to rescue me. I’d sought repeatedly to refinance the home to help slow the bleeding, but the lender kept losing the paperwork or presenting some other problem that prevented things from moving forward.

I was frustrated. That frustration turned to anger. And finally, that anger fizzled into resignation. Ultimately, I gave up and walked away from the home. I figured foreclosure was worth it just to get out from under what seemed like an albatross around my neck.

Almost a decade later, I’m at peace with that decision, though I still question if it was the right move. Maybe things would eventually get better. I no longer trusted what I’d always been told. I became disillusioned with the so-called American dream.

What I’ve taken away from it is that the tried-and-true beliefs we hold about American capitalism just don’t apply quite the same for Black Americans. Black people live different lives than other Americans, and Black communities occupy alternate realities. It’s like a real-life multiverse where the laws of physics shift when you visit an alternate world, especially when you go from a white one to a Black one.

What’s marketable in one North Side universe — proximity to downtown, public transit and the lakefront — doesn’t seem to attract the same level of interest in an equally positioned universe on the South Side.

The invisible barriers that prevent people — and their hard-earned dollars — from traveling North to South don’t block travelers and commerce from moving in the opposite direction. As a result, billions of dollars shift from one universe to another each year. It should be enough to wash away the notion that there’s no buying power on the South Side, but it isn’t.

Chicago’s racial wealth gap is mind-boggling. The typical Black family reported virtually no wealth, while the typical white family reported more than $200,000 in wealth, according to the "Color of Wealth" report released last year and recently referenced by the Chicago Urban League’s "2025 State of Black Chicago" report.

Some might view that gap as evidence of underachievement, financial mismanagement or spendthrift habits. For sure, there’s some of that, but I’d argue it’s not significantly greater than what you’d find elsewhere. What’s missing from that analysis of Black Chicago’s lack of wealth is the alternative reality in which Black communities exist.

From restrictive covenants to redlining to contract buying to subprime lending (or no lending, at all) to segregation to disinvestment to gentrification, Black Chicago has lived a reality that no other community in this city can claim — no one.

Black communities aren't privileged to live by the same rules as everyone else, and thus they shouldn’t be judged by comparing them to communities that don’t exist in the same universe and don’t have to live by the same rules.

At the same time, the remedies to address the racial wealth gap in Chicago might also have to look different than they would in another universe — and so should the effort.

Then again, that’s something that Black folks in Chicago’s multiverse should know all too well — you have to work twice as hard to get half as far. By that math, maybe if we work four times as hard, we can get what everyone else gets.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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Breaking down the Bears' draft record under Ryan Poles using playing-time stats

2025-04-23T11:29:49.563-05:00

Bears general manager Ryan Poles is predicting a “wild” Day 1 of the NFL draft on Thursday. With the number of elite players in the single digits but as many as 75 potential starters on the board, he sees fewer impediments than ever for teams to be aggressive.

Perhaps even the Bears.

“I feel really confident where we're at,” Poles said Tuesday.

The last three years, though, that’s yielded nothing more than league average production. The Bears need to do better than that Thursday, when they’re slated to pick 10th, before making three more picks on the second day of the draft.

Despite holding the No. 1 overall pick at one point in two of his three drafts, Poles has posted pedestrian results — at least when it comes to playing time.

Players Poles drafted the last three years have taken 35.1% of the Bears’ snaps, which ranks 19th among NFL teams and third in the NFC North, according to data from Stathead.com. Players drafted in the last three years by all four NFC North teams have played 35.3% of the time, which matches the league average in that time frame.

The Buccaneers, who made a quick transition out of the Tom Brady era into a new competitive one led by Baker Mayfield, have had the highest percentage of snaps from their rookies at 47.1%. The Dolphins are at the bottom at 16%.

Poles has used every first-round pick of his career on offense. In 2022, his first year with the team, the Bears didn’t hold a first-rounder as a result of Ryan Pace’s trade for quarterback Justin Fields a year earlier.

In 2023, Poles traded out of the No. 1 spot, determined to give Fields another year to prove himself, and, after trading back to allow the Eagles to draft all-world defensive lineman Jalen Carter, drafted right tackle Darnell Wright 10th overall. Last year, Poles drafted quarterback Caleb Williams first overall — with the pick the Panthers sent him in the blockbuster deal a year earlier — and receiver Rome Odunze ninth overall.

No offensive player on the Bears' 53-man roster took part in more plays last year than Williams, who played 98.9% of the time. Odunze ranked seventh, at 84%. Still, Bears offensive players drafted over the past three years have appeared in 31.6% of the team’s snaps, which ranks third in the NFC North and 24th in the NFL.

Playing time is a better measure of production than Pro Bowl berths, particularly for young players. So is starts.

Poles' first- and second-round picks have started more frequently than the league-wide average. In three years, though, none of the Bears’ Round 3 picks entrenched themselves atop the depth chart — offensive tackle Kiran Amegadjie, defensive tackle Zacch Pickens and returner/receiver Velus Jones have combined to start just six games. The Bears cut Jones in the middle of last season. Bears drafted in the last three years have started 44.6% of the games they’ve played in, which ranks 18th in the NFL.

That’s not the ranking Poles wants, given how high he’s picked.

“You get three starters in a draft and a couple of other contributors, that's a really good draft,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. “You get four starters, you know, that's outstanding.”

The Bears have four cracks this week — at Picks 10, 39, 41 and 72 — to pick a starter in the first three rounds. Poles needs to do better than he has the last three years.

There's more to Black men's stories than bleak statistics

2025-04-11T15:50:26.98-05:00

"Black men are in trouble. Serious trouble."

Those were the words I led with for my first cover story with the Chicago Reporter, a nonprofit news organization covering issues of race, poverty and inequality. Published this month 25 years ago, the story was a first-person account of the challenges confronting Black men in Chicago and across the country.

I cited statistics about how often Black men are arrested and imprisoned. I shared figures on how often Black men are murdered, including data showing how often Black men kill each other. I highlighted the shorter life expectancy and lower levels of education achieved by Black men compared to others. And I wrote about how some Black men, including myself, grew up without their fathers and the indelible marks left behind by their absence.

My editor asked me to write the story in the first person to personalize and humanize the experiences of some Black men. I described the shared turmoil that many Black men feel when our lives are depicted in film and our struggles are highlighted in the media.

The public is bombarded with images and portrayals of Black men that fuel preconceptions about our morals, our abilities and our character. And the stark numbers and disparities about crime, unemployment and fatherless homes reinforce those perceptions.

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I still cringe when I hear news accounts of violent acts perpetrated by Black men. That has never been my story, but I know that I can’t fully escape those negative portrayals. No matter how I dress, how I talk or what I say, some will still have doubts.

Those grim figures haven’t disappeared. But no matter how discouraging, the data simply confirms that a disproportionate number of Black men are having a rough time, making bad choices or committing violent acts. However, those depressing numbers don’t tell the full story of the lives and actions of Black men, and they don’t offer the complex web of factors that contribute to those negative outcomes.

In the 3,500 words I was afforded for my story, I tried to offer context for the plight facing Black men and the dedicated and passionate work being done to address those conditions.

I spoke to dozens of Black men about their own experiences, their thoughts and their research. They spoke of limited opportunities, the lure of fast money, and the pursuit of manhood by mimicking immature and superficial examples of masculinity, among other reflections.

I also met Black men working with Black boys in local schools, churches, community organizations and mentoring programs. They dedicated several hours each week teaching and training young Black men to handle the world around them — preparing them for the inevitable suspicions, low expectations and harsh reactions that awaited them, particularly when they stumbled.

"If we can develop a black boy from infancy, then we wouldn’t have a problem. We would take them out of the city and not give them back until they were 18," said one educator who led a mentoring group. "We have to strengthen our boys so they can protect themselves. They don’t have any armor."

Some Black men told me their lives were forever changed because they were guided by elders who steered them away from trouble, inspired them and bolstered their confidence to take a better path.

Without question, the plight demands our attention and our efforts. More of us need to get involved, but this isn’t a hopeless pursuit.

Others have written us off. For them, the statistics serve as proof of the depravity of Black men. Their solution is to lock us out of their neighborhoods and lock us up in their prisons. But their judgments aren't equally applied.

From colonization to slavery to genocide, white men have committed some of the most grotesque atrocities in human history. And yet, white men don’t universally spark the fears of strangers when encountered in a dark alley. Indeed, white men shouldn’t be judged by the crimes of other white men. But Black men aren’t typically given that sort of grace. It doesn't matter who’s on the FBI’s most wanted list, Black men have always been viewed as public enemy No. 1.

Stereotyping — on the basis of a few, self-selected statistics, a limited sample size of real-life experiences, or the narrow interpretations of Black life in mass media — only adds more weight to the burdens Black men are already carrying.

If you are troubled by the struggles of some Black men, and you’re not willing to work on the front lines to help address the structural racism and socioeconomic disparities they face, stop hating.

Instead, be silent, be still, and let brothers work it out.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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Chicago's rising rents aren't just a problem for those living in poverty

2025-03-10T12:05:20.991-05:00

For many lower-income households in Chicago, making ends meet can seem like an eternal struggle.

Imagine paying for housing, utilities, groceries, transportation and other essential costs for your family each year on just $32,150. That’s the poverty threshold for a family of four, according to the federal government’s latest poverty guidelines.

It’s hard to save or get ahead when every cent that comes in the door ends up going right back out to cover the rent, pay bills and buy food.

But there are far fewer poor families in Chicago waging that fight these days.

There were close to 600,000 city residents living below the poverty line in 2010, according to Census data. By 2023, that number fell to nearly 440,000, a staggering decrease of more than 36% during that 13-year span.

That’s progress, right? Well, not so fast.

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Unfortunately, the decline of poor Chicagoans since the Great Recession is not due to some economic boom. It’s more likely that the city’s lowest-income residents simply can’t afford to live here anymore.

That seemingly never-ending struggle to just get by has now become an impossible task altogether for many.

A recent WBEZ examination shows the cost of rent and utilities has grown three times faster than income over the last two decades. And the tidal wave of rising rents has come crashing down hardest on Chicagoans who are least able to pay. Before the surge in rent prices, most of those struggling to get by were already spending more than half their income on housing costs and barely keeping their heads above water.

Now, they’re sinking.

A city that nearly everyone could afford

But it hasn’t always been so hard for lower-income households to afford Chicago. In fact, there was a time when poor families could reasonably afford half the apartments in communities throughout the city, data shows. As part of its coverage of the city’s rising rents, WBEZ built the Chicago rent time machine, an interactive online tool that shows the community areas that would be affordable for a given income level, dating back to 1930.

The tool shows, when adjusted for inflation, today’s poverty threshold for a family of four — $32,150 a year, or about $2,700 a month — back in 1950 would reasonably cover the cost of rent and utilities for half the apartments in most Chicago community areas. "Reasonably cover" is defined to mean spending less than 30% of household income on rent and utilities.

However, that affordability footprint has gradually evaporated over time. By 2000, it was down to a handful of communities. And by 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, it was down to just two communities — Fuller Park and Riverdale on the South Side.

There’s research which suggests that building more housing can keep rent prices from spiraling out of control. But new apartment construction in the Chicago area tanked during the recession, and it hasn’t come close to rebounding to prior levels.

In addition, much of the building that has occurred has largely been for higher-income renters in trendy, gentrifying neighborhoods. Meanwhile, there’s been a net loss of housing units in neighborhoods that have been affordable for decades. Most South Side and West Side neighborhoods have witnessed much more demolition than construction since 2000.

But if you think the city’s lack of housing affordability is a problem for just the poor or those on the verge of homelessness, you’d be wrong. While Chicago offers more than you’ll find in some other cities struggling with soaring rents, the affordability footprint here is shrinking for everybody.

Even for a household earning the citywide median income, just under $75,000 in 2023, affordability is also evaporating — and fast.

In 2000, the Loop was the only community area where a household earning the citywide median couldn’t reasonably afford to rent half the apartments. By 2022, that list had grown to seven communities.

Regardless of whether it’s too expensive to build, there’s too much red tape in public financing or there’s a lack of widespread support for it, we need to figure out how to build and preserve housing within reach for the masses.

A good place to start is by realizing that the poor aren’t the only ones in need of affordable housing.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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Searching for reasons behind opioid deaths of Black men born 1951-70

2025-02-08T05:30:00-06:00

The Chicago Sun-Times has long been known for its headlines.

They’re often clever, catchy and bold. But the one I read for a story published in December grabbed my attention for other reasons.

“Opioids have been killing the same generation of Black men in Chicago for decades,” it read.

I was deeply intrigued, so I read on.

“Black men born 1951-1970 always have had the greatest risk of dying of overdoses, even in their 20s, 30s and 40s,” the story continued.

Immediately, I stopped reading. I was frozen.

“Wait. Like what?” I thought to myself. “That’s my generation.”

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Born in October 1969, I was astonished to realize that I’m a part of that group — and to learn that so many of us have been dying of drug overdoses.

I began racking my brain for memories of rampant drug use or drug-related deaths among my peers. Marijuana had always been the drug of choice, but I had no recollection of the heroin and fentanyl usage described in the story.

And while I’ve attended a number of funerals and lost far too many members of my generation prematurely, usually the reasons for those deaths have been heart-related ailments, not opioids.

But after an analysis of millions of death records nationwide, the stunning discovery was reported by the Sun-Times and nearly a dozen other news organizations across the country. They partnered to examine the disproportionate impact of drug abuse on Black men born during that 20-year span and to show how those individuals were being impacted in their coverage areas.

My thoughts began to zoom out in search of answers to the question: why has this particular generation of Black men been so affected by drug overdoses?

Little has been done to address the addiction issues of this particular group, largely because government and private agencies hadn’t recognized the need, the Sun-Times story pointed out.

But the story also mentions that this generation of Black men was born during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, encompassing the height of the Civil Rights Movement and an intense period of racial unrest in America.

A generation comes of age while fighting social ills

My thoughts turned to all of the things that were happening around this generation of Black men in the decades that followed. The gains of the Civil Rights Movement were met with great resistance as we came of age, and even started our own families, in the 1980s and 1990s.

We endured white flight from the neighborhoods our parents integrated, and de-industrialization that closed or relocated the plants and factories that employed our parents. The disinvestment rocked the economy in our neighborhoods, and as the jobs went away, many young Black men turned to the underground economy to make ends meet. Black communities were a prime target for the illegal drug trade — the perfect storm of a young labor pool in desperate need of economic opportunity and neighborhoods traumatized by years of oppression and poverty.

The epidemic of crack cocaine and gang violence that resulted was met with a racially-disparate war on drugs and mass incarceration. This generation of Black men were then serving prison sentences for using or dealing crack or heroin, and those sentences stretched into the 2000s. Many of them were stuck in a perpetual cycle of addiction or making bad choices to earn a living, going back to prison and then returning home to face the same sickness and limited opportunities — only this time, with a longer rap sheet and an outlook that grew darker with each conviction.

As the Sun-Times story notes, today’s higher rates of opioid overdoses among this generation of Black men — now in their 50s, 60s and 70s — illustrates the impact of racism and segregation.

The story closed with insightful comments from a Chicago-area woman who lost her 70-year-old father last year to an opioid overdose. She noted that most folks associate the opioid crisis with younger white people instead of people like her father — older Black men who are marginalized and often blamed for their addiction.

Whether meth labs in rural communities or prescription drugs in suburban enclaves, drug addiction among white Americans has more often been met with responsible care, compassion and understanding than it has for Black Americans struggling with addiction to crack or heroin.

In spite of our proclamations of being colorblind, it seems the only thing that some of us fail to see is the depth of suffering endured by Black people, and other people of color.

We judge them for their mistakes, but we often fail to see society’s hand in the poor choices they sometimes make.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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Derrick Rose shows our city the resilience of Englewood

2025-01-11T06:00:00-06:00

Thanks to the generosity of a good friend, I scored a ticket to a sold-out United Center earlier this month for Derrick Rose night.

The scene was electric. More than 22,000 fans lavished the Chicago Bulls legend with rousing bursts of applause and multiple chants of “MVP.” The crowd erupted the moment Rose walked onto the court, and the energy remained high throughout the night — from Rose’s pregame shootaround with his kids, through the touching halftime tribute to the final moments of the Bulls thrilling comeback win over the New York Knicks.

Over the years, Chicago has shown a lot of love and pride for Rose.

Rose earned the love with his play. His lightning-quick first steps, stunning crossovers, amazing no-look passes, fearless drives to the basket, astonishing leaps and thunderous dunks made him a fan favorite. The NBA’s rookie of the year in 2009 and most valuable player in 2011, Rose was “too big, too strong, too fast, too good,” as Bulls color commentator Stacey King often reminded fans during the team’s local broadcasts.

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But Rose also won over the city with his story. Chicagoans feel pride in Rose because he’s one of our own. A local high school basketball phenom, Rose won back-to-back state titles with Simeon Career Academy on the South Side. After a year at the University of Memphis, he returned to Chicago after being drafted first overall by his hometown team, and his electrifying play had Chicagoans dreaming of a return to the glory days of the ‘90s when the Bulls won six championships. Rose helped the Bulls reach the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011, but a devastating knee injury at the end of the following season crushed those dreams.

While Rose was never quite the same player after that, his legend continued to grow, even after the Bulls traded him to the Knicks in 2016. He, arguably, had even better seasons after he left Chicago than his final year with the Bulls. Rose averaged 18 points a game in three consecutive seasons with New York, Minnesota and Detroit, a feat he hadn’t done since the year he suffered his first major knee injury. Rose even got votes for MVP, including one first-place vote, in 2021.

The pride and fire inside Englewood

In his post-Bulls career, Rose had moments where he showed flashes of his old self on the court, but he never stopped displaying the same toughness and tenacity that brought him to prominence. That’s actually the part that I love most about Rose. It’s that grit, that self-determination that reminds me of the greater Englewood area — the communities of Englewood and West Englewood — that crafted and molded him.

Bulls pull out win over Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks on ‘Derrick Rose Night’

That aspect of his story is captured beautifully in a decade-old Powerade commercial featuring Rose with narration by the late Tupac Shakur. We hear Shakur reading excerpts from his poem “A rose that grew from the concrete” and how we’d celebrate the rose’s tenacity and love its will to reach the sun. As we listen to the words of the hip-hop icon, we see scenes of a teenager riding his bike through Englewood on his way to the United Center. Those neighborhood scenes feature glimpses of the vacant lots and boarded-up properties that proliferate in the area, signs of the devastation wrought by years of subprime lending and the foreclosures and demolitions that followed. The commercial closes with Rose walking onto the United Center court. I still get chills when I watch it on YouTube.

The words and images serve as a metaphor for Rose and others who hail from communities like Englewood and West Englewood. While Rose was blessed with physical gifts, the extra stuff that truly made him a legend came from the people and the community that raised him. It’s the same kind of mettle and fortitude a rose would need in order to achieve greatness, in spite of the damaged petals it suffers while trying to grow through concrete.

For many Chicagoans, Englewood and West Englewood are only known for their struggles. Both communities are among the city’s perennial leaders in many negative public safety, economic, and public health indicators. But those statistics just highlight the community’s struggles, not its heart.

The fire inside Englewood is often on display in countless acts of activism and advocacy. Residents show it by standing up to both the gangs and the police in demanding safer streets and greater accountability. The community made a passionate stance in opposition to the city’s decision to close several Englewood area schools. They didn’t stop fighting after the schools were closed, launching efforts to restore those buildings.

And I don’t know if anyone feels more community pride than Englewood residents. Just ask one of them.

If Chicago can show admiration for one of Englewood’s favorite sons, surely it can resist the urge to fixate on that community’s struggles — and instead show admiration for how Englewood continues to bounce back in life, just as Rose did on the basketball court.

Alden Loury is data projects editor for WBEZ and writes a column for the Sun-Times.

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