Chicago At The Tipping Point - FOX 32 News Chicago
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Chicago does not have the highest murder rate in America statistically, but the violence here has become part of our reputation around the globe. More>>
There are entire neighborhoods where old folks are afraid to come out of their homes, young people hang out at their own risk and strangers don't dare drive through. These are places that have our city at a Tipping Point between hope and despair.
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Hill Harper came to Chicago and paid a visit behind bars, hoping to strike a chord with young men at the Tipping Point. More>>
There's a growing anti-violence movement, led by young people, who are bringing their message into Chicago classrooms. More>>
In a FOX 32 News Special Report on Education, we explore K-12 education in Illinois -- what's good with it, what's bad with it, what's fixable, and maybe not fixable.
The emotion is real when you start messing with neighborhood schools. Parents are fed up with years of reforming, re-staffing, merging, closing, taking over and turning around with mixed results for students.
They are the most fiercely fought-over questions in Illinois politics. And they help to explain other fights, including the current battle over the state income tax. When it comes to public school funding, who should pay? And, how much is enough? More>>
Tots on laptops and tablets, they are masters at home and now they're swiping their way through school too. More>>
The wide range of needs in different schools, and even within schools, makes it tough to reach a consensus on how to improve education. More>>
Young individuals are masters of technology at home, and now, they're swiping their way through school too. More>>
A child growing up in the Austin neighborhood is getting a Chicago Public School’s education that costs about $9,500 a year. In Oak Park, a child receives an education worth more than $13,000 a year.
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On a recent Monday morning, while thousands of Chicagoans headed to work, seven Chicagoans who are unemployed met at a public library, to help each other find some work. More>>
The going certainly got tough this week if you were 'going' any place! In the city that works, we look at how public transportation worked during the deep freeze. More>>
A sign outside promised, "World's Finest Sandwiches," but inside, Snarf's was empty Monday. More>>
FOX 32 News explores the current and past state of the economy in Chicago and Illinois in a Special Report on the Economy: Chicago at the Tipping Point.
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One of the reasons why many people wonder if Chicago is going to be the next Detroit is both cities have massive unfunded government pensions. More>>
Music chart toppers like 'Lil Kim used to make a point to stop on Chicago's West Side years ago, mingling with their fans at George's Music Room. More>>
Manufacturing is not dead; it's just changing. More>>
For those who ask, "Why does Illinois have the highest unemployment rate in the Midwest?" this is why. More>>
Since the 1950s, Americans have been told that if you play by the rules, work hard, and get a good education or skill, you, too can enjoy the benefits of a middle-class lifestyle. More>>
DNAinfo Chicago's Mark Konkol wrote a two-part piece about how kids as young as 7 years old are getting pulled into a life of crime, contributing to violence that has Chicago at the tipping point. More>>
"Failing schools" have Chicago at the tipping point. The Illinois Policy Institute's Ted Dabrowski explained a new study's results and how to fix the problem.
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The federal food stamp program is losing $5 billion this week. A smaller food budget for thousands of Illinois families puts Chicago at the tipping point. More>>
Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to raise the cigarette tax by 75 cents a pack — leaving Chicago with a combined state and local tax rate of $7.42 a pack, the highest in the nation. More>>
An abandoned firehouse on the West Side is now burning up with creativity -- or at least it will be soon, if the fundraising is successful. More>>
Mayor Emanuel is pushing state lawmakers for tougher gun penalties to help stop the violence putting Chicago at the tipping point. More>>
Arabic is not the usual language you hear around North Lawndale, but then again, Cortez Alexander is not the usual kid you see around North Lawndale, either. More>>
There is a new focus Wednesday, on crime in Chicago. Police are pointing the finger at Cook County judges. A retired general also spoke to the use of state police as a viable solution. More>>
Thursday night's park shooting made headlines everywhere and gave Chicago a negative image on the world stage. More>>
Gov. Pat Quinn is ready to talk with Mayor Rahm Emanuel about bringing in reinforcements from the Illinois State Police to help stem the violence in Chicago. More>>
Chicago has been called The City of Big Shoulders, The Windy City and even The Second City. But according to a newly released report by the feds, our city is now the murder capital of the United States. More>>
Chicago is at the tipping point, and Joaquin Guzman is largely responsible. The Mexican drug lord's cartel floods the Chicago area with nearly $3 billion worth of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and more each year. More>>
Gang violence in Chicago is at the tipping point. The Lincoln Square neighborhood has taken an active role to prevent crime from escalating in their community. More>>
Even if you don't happen to live in one of the hotspots for violent crime in Chicago, wherever violence happens, we're all paying. More>>
More than 300 inmates packed into a room that used to be a kitchen. Welcome to Division 2 at the Cook County Jail. More>>
In a secure conference room at Police Headquarters, Chicago's top cops assess what's working and what's not in their long struggle to reduce the toll of bloody murder here. More>>
The lure of the gangs often stems from the money, clothes and cars that seem to come easy with a life tied to selling drugs. More>>
The walk to and from school and church wasn't always pretty---or perfect. More>>
Any kid accused of a serious crime in Cook County is almost sure to set foot in the Juvenile Detention Center. More>>
FOX 32 previously reported about a big drop in murder in the North Side Rogers Park Police District. Chicago police statistics show that, since 1990, homicide's declined by 71% in the 24th District. More>>
Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said Tuesday that progress is being made combating gun violence – progress, but not success, because even one murder is one too many. More>>
Eight people were killed and at least 25 other people were wounded in shootings across the city since Friday night. More>>
After a long slow decline, Chicago had slipped to fifth place in a business where it was once the American leader, but a new national survey finds the city is a top convention destination. More>>
While violence is a major problem in Chicago, one neighborhood has made real progress against it. More>>
Chicago Public School students go back to class in five days, on Monday, Aug. 26. Concerns remain over Safe Passage routes, and community groups plan to take action in a big way. More>>
FOX 32 News is starting a new series: "Chicago at the Tipping Point." We know -- as you do -- that Chicago is at a critical point, where things can either get better, or much worse. We want to know what you think.
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Chicago is making New York's front pages for all the wrong reasons. More>>
It's a topic we don't often discuss in the media: the mental impact that comes along with being a victim of a gun crime. More>>
Four men were killed and at least 33 other people --including a 4-year-old girl-- wounded in gun violence across the city since Friday night. More>>
Thousands of residents across the city of Chicago and the suburbs stood up to crime at Tuesday night's National Night Out event. More>>
While Chicago has spent much of this year coping with an epidemic of violence, Illinois' second largest city, Aurora, is quietly enjoying a big reduction in shootings and homicides. More>>
If you have dreams of working the police beat on Chicago streets, you'll soon have your chance. Superintendent Garry McCarthy will start accepting applications for the force on Aug. 1. More>>
As the pension crisis in Illinois moves even closer to the tipping point, a milestone of sorts has been crossed without notice -- until now. More>>
Retired city workers are asking a judge to block Mayor Emanuel from making them rely on Obamacare for their health insurance.
Chicago teachers staged a demonstration that temporarily halted traffic in the Loop Wednesday morning, outside school board headquarters, as the fight over city schools continues. More>>
One of Chicago's most popular tourist attractions is receiving negative publicity. The Magnificent Mile is no longer making headlines for its shopping experience, but rather for its crime rate. More>>
Illinois Congressman Bobby Rush says he has introduced legislation seeking funds to build hospital trauma centers in places like Chicago's South Side that needs them the most. More>>
Illinois became the latest state Monday to implement a central part of President Barack Obama's health care law by expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults who don't have children at home.
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Sen. Dick Durbin unveiled new legislation on Monday, which would give law enforcement more incentive to report guns recovered from violent crimes to a national database. More>>
State Rep. Monique Davis initially claimed that Chicago police are secretly killing African-American children. More>>
Chicago Police are set to kick off an experiment Friday on the city's West Side, hoping to alert would-be criminals that they're being watched and face stiff penalties if they're convicted of crimes. More>>
More than 2,100 school employees will get layoff notices Friday. Among them will be 1,077 support staff and 1,036 teachers. More>>
Moody's Investors Service is downgrading its debt rating for Chicago because of the city's "very large and growing" pension liability. More>>
The debate over what should be in the 16 hours of training each must receive for conceal carry, rages on. More>>
Chicago is at the tipping point when it comes to violence. In a rare special session, City Council took up two ordinances Wednesday: one on the assault weapons ban and the other on Safe Passage. More>>
Chicago police say they've linked to a majority of the violence that has tarnished Chicago's image around the world to 450 criminals. More>>
Chicago is at the "Tipping Point" when it comes to violence. One solution to help decrease the inclination of Chicago youth to get roped into violent incidents is simple – keep them busy. More>>
Gov. Pat Quinn moved to halt Illinois lawmakers' pay Wednesday, following through on his warning of consequences if they failed to come up with a solution to the state's nearly $100 billion pension crisis.
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Chicago saw more than 500 murders in 2012. More than 200 people have already been killed in the city in 2013, and it's only July. DNAinfo.com's Chicago team spoke with the families of every victim. More>>
CPS students' families say kicking misbehaving students out of school makes a bad situation -- worse. They call it a school-to-prison pipeline. More>>
Even some of the governor's allies concede that the General Assembly will likely vote Tuesday to reject Pat Quinn's proposed rewrite. More>>
Police and people in neighborhoods like Englewood are hoping to see a calmer Monday than what they had to deal with over the weekend. More>>
Fewer than 2,000 utterly ruthless, well-armed bad guys may be causing a majority of Chicago's homicides. More>>
The last several days in Chicago have been especially violent bringing the issue to a "tipping point." More than 50 people have been shot since Friday. But what can be done to stem the violence? More>>
Illinois's credit rating was downgraded once again today, after the General Assembly went home Friday without doing anything about $100 billion in unfunded pension liabilities. More>>
In a FOX 32 News Special Report on Education, we explore K-12 education in Illinois -- what's good with it, what's bad with it, what's fixable, and maybe not fixable.
In a FOX 32 News Special Report on Education, we explore K-12 education in Illinois -- what's good with it, what's bad with it, what's fixable, and maybe not fixable.
The emotion is real when you start messing with neighborhood schools. Parents are fed up with years of reforming, re-staffing, merging, closing, taking over and turning around with mixed results for students.
The emotion is real when you start messing with neighborhood schools. Parents are fed up with years of reforming, re-staffing, merging, closing, taking over and turning around with mixed results for students.
| Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has the toughest job in America—rescuing one of the country's most attractive and largest cities from disaster. Among its problems: |
| Money: Potentially catastrophic tax increases loom due to hundreds of billions of dollars in unfunded public employee pension liabilities. Public employee union leaders have launched increasingly desperate counter-attacks on once-friendly Democratic Party politicians. Those politicians are moving to reduce public employee retirement benefits and other costs because taxpayers cannot afford them. |
| Schools: One consequence: facing an estimated $1 billion budget shortfall, the Board of Education just voted to close 49 under-performing schools. The vast majority lie within the gang/drug zone that families and business are fleeing as fast as they can. The president of the Chicago Teachers Union routinely denounces the school closings by accusing Mayor Emanuel of being a "racist" and a "murderer." It might be laughable were it not so disgusting and potentially destabilizing. |
| Crime: Police claim 80% of the Chicago's murders are driven by drug-dealing street gangs with billions of dollars in annual revenue and an estimated 100,000 members or sympathizers. Until that contagion is cleansed, those neighborhoods will see little if any private sector investment or job growth and continued residential flight. The street gang population plays into the concerns over crime as well as the closing of schools in gang infested neighborhoods. To many, it appears Chicago Police do not have control over these neighborhoods. |
| Jobs: Metro Chicago's dismal 9.5% unemployment rate ranks 315th in the US, just barely ahead of #327 metro Detroit. Factory jobs that remain are increasingly automated and intellect-intensive. Ford Motor Co's South Side Assembly plant at 126th & Torrence prefers to hire workers with at least two years of college. High school dropouts can't even find work in a factory any more. It is Chicago's shame that so few in these dying neighborhoods have sufficient skills to enable them to move Downtown. |
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