chicago
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2 Moms Who Fought Gun Violence in Chicago Killed in Drive-By Shooting: 'Who's Next?'
Andrea Stoudemire and Chantell Grant dedicated their lives to combating the rampant gun violence tearing apart their neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, only to meet their untimely demise courtesy of stray bullets. CBS News reports that on July 26, Stoudemire, 35, and Grant, 26, were killed by gunfire intended for an alleged gang…
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Taraji P. Henson Is Victimized by Identity Thief Said to Have Made Off With at Least $12,000 in Ill-Gotten Gains
Maybe a Chicago mom thought she actually was the sometimes criminally inclined Cookie Lyon of TV’s Empire. But prosecutors beg to differ, accusing the pregnant mom of six of being an identity thief. Alicia Newby, 29, is accused of stealing the IDs of multiple people—including that of actress Taraji P. Henson, who brings Cookie to…
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Common Leads Proposal to Build Massive Movie Studio Complex in Chicago
During a rousing speech at the BET Awards in June, movie magnate Tyler Perry stressed the importance of becoming our own gatekeepers. “When I built my studio, I built it in a neighborhood that is one of the poorest black neighborhoods in Atlanta so that young black kids could see that a black man did…
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Jussie Smollett Case Crusader Files Court Papers Challenging Fitness of Actor’s Lawyers
In a case that just won’t seem to die, lawyers for Jussie Smollett filed court papers Thursday to answer a charge that they are not legally allowed to practice in the state of Illinois and therefore shouldn’t be able to fight to block a judge’s ruling appointing a special prosecutor in Smollett’s case. In response…
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Ebony’s Historic Photo Archive Sells for $30 Million to Group Led by J. Paul Getty Trust
Seven decades’ worth of historic Ebony magazine photos documenting black life, both the everyday and the extraordinary, sold for $30 million at auction to a group of philanthropic organizations led by the J. Paul Getty Trust. The photo collection was put up for sale to settle the debts of the magazine’s founding publisher, Johnson Publishing,…
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Co-Creator Diallo Riddle on How Comedy Central's South Side Incorporates Chicago Locals
The South Side of Chicago is bustling with hustlers. Ask me how I know. Well, I’ll tell you anyway. As a South Side Chicago native, I was not only around hustlers, I was raised by them. Whether it’s the beloved candy lady who sold those delightful Frooties and Chews out of her bungalow basement or…
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R. Kelly to Be Brought to New York in Cuffs to Face Arraignment on Federal Sex Crime Charges in That State
The screws are being tightened on embattled singer Robert “R.” Kelly. A federal judge has ordered that Kelly, currently being held without bail in isolation in a federal prison in Chicago, be transported to New York next month for arraignment on federal racketeering charges there that he recruited girls for sexual abuse, the Chicago Tribune…
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Chicago Police Board Fires 4 Officers Accused of Covering Up Laquan McDonald's Murder
An independent civilian board voted Thursday night to fire four Chicago police officers for their involvement in covering up the shooting death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The Chicago Police Board ordered Officers Janet Mondragon, Daphne Sebastian, Ricardo Viramontes, and Sgt. Stephen Franko to be discharged from the Chicago Police Department for making false statements about…
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The Second City Turns Complex Community: ComplexCon Brings the ‘Cultural Super Bowl’ to Chicago This Weekend
Real talk? I’m not terribly prone to FOMO—I’m grown, respectably connected and have done my share of thangs, so to speak. Nevertheless, I must admit to feeling some significant event envy last fall when my press invite to ComplexCon once again got lost in the mail (and I may or may not have sent a…