• At Illinois public universities, campus cops pull over Black drivers at higher rates — The Investigative Project on Race and Equity (repub. by the Chicago Sun-Times) — Campus police also ticketed Black drivers more often than white motorists who were stopped, a first-of-its-kind analysis of stops shows. 2025. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Illinois is the last state to unlawfully strip wealth from homeowners caught in tax foreclosure** — The Investigative Project on Race and Equity and Injustice Watch — A decades-old state law allows private investors to take people’s homes — and all of their home equity — over unpaid property taxes. Critics say it’s a racist policy most impacting Black communities. The nation’s highest court recently ruled homeowners are entitled to their fair share, but Illinois lawmakers have failed to act. 2025. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Black seniors in Chicago face 50/50 odds of getting home loans to make improvements** — The Investigative Project on Race and Equity — Chicago’s legacy of racial discrimination continues as Black seniors face more obstacles in improving their homes and neighborhoods. 2024. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• This is what safer communities look like’ // Advocates celebrate a year without money bond in Illinois — Chicago Reader — Advocates celebrate a year without money bond. 2024. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Bringing health equity to Chicago’s south side // Chicago South Side Birth Center Aims to address health inequitites —The Chicago South Side Birth Center—expected to open by the end of 2025—aims to create a holistic space for the whole community. 2024. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• A Whirlwind for Chicago Cease-Fire Politics — In These Times — Mayor Brandon Johnson announces support for a cease-fire as the city council delays a vote on a cease-fire resolution. 2024. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Cicero Residents Reeling From Summer Floods Blame City’s Poor Communication — Borderless Magazine — As Cicero recovers from historic summer floods, some residents believe the city fell short in communicating support and resources for the town’s majority immigrant population. 2024. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• After Racist Video, Threats And Slurs, Students Walk Out At East Side High School: ‘Something Needs To Be Done’ — Block Club Chicago — Chicago Public Schools is investigating after George Washington High School students reported racist incidents, including someone writing in a bathroom that a Black student would be burned and hanged. 2022. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Timuel Black Honored At Homegoing Funeral Service In Hyde Park: ‘He Had An Unquenchable Spirit Of Hope’ — Block Club Chicago —Black, the iconic civil rights activist and educator, died just shy of his 103rd birthday earlier this month. 2021. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Chance The Rapper And Common Push For Parole In Illinois: It ‘Will Begin To Correct The Harms Of Long-Term Incarceration’. — The rappers urged state lawmakers to pass a bill to make people eligible for parole after they’ve served at least 20 years in prison. 2021. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Illinois Bill Seeks To Bolster Language Services At State Agencies — Borderless Magazine — A language access bill making its way through Springfield would create a new office tasked with bringing interpretation and translation services to state agencies for many non-native English speakers. 2023. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Chicago religious leaders urge peace after killing of six-year-old Muslim boy — The Guardian — Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders shook hands, talked and prayed together after the killing of Wadea Al-Fayoume. 2023. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• Activists, inmates and family members discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Illinois jails and prisons — The TRiiBE — 2020. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

• West Side residents reflect on historic election — Austin Weekly News — Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot’s rise to office prompts praise, questions from residents. 2019. Read a preview. ✦ View as PDF.

**Double asterisks indicate a story where Maia contributed reporting.