The Fight Over What It Means To Be Homeless — And How That Could Affect Illinois
Just because someone has four walls around them every night, that doesn’t mean they’re housed. That’s what Paul Hamann believes. He’s the president and…
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Ask the Newsroom: What Are Champaign And Urbana Doing To Create More Affordable Housing
Illinois Newsroom has been covering the struggle to find affordable housing around the state. The lack of funding to build housing for people with low-incomes is one challenge. But city governments can influence where and how housing is built through their zoning rules. Allowing more multi-family structures opens neighborhoods up to people who cannot afford…
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New Medicaid Coverage for Transgender Illinoians
The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services will soon allow gender confirmation surgery to be covered by Medicaid. That procedure, most…
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Schools Can Help Homeless Kids — But Only If They Find Them
Melissa Esparza fled her home in west suburban Chicago two years ago. Then 16, she said her parents became physically violent after years of verbal…
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Silicon Valley Startup Aims For Transparency, One Seed Price At A Time
A Silicon Valley startup is pitting itself against major seed companies, alleging that those companies are price gouging in the Heartland. Farmers…
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Why Does Affordable Housing Matter?
News & Brews: Why does affordable housing matter? event on Tuesday, March 26 at Riggs Beer Company in Urbana.
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Struggling for Housing
In the course of reporting my previous story on the gap between wages and the cost of housing, I spent time following a case manager with the Southern…
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Ask The Newsroom: Section 8 Housing
In Illinois, there are only 35 affordable housing units for every 100 families considered extremely low-income, according to Housing Action Illinois, a…
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‘If You Build It, They Will Come’: Saving Pollinator Habitat With Solar Power’s Help
From bees to butterflies , a worldwide decline in pollinators has entomologists trying to figure out how to help those bugs and the plants that rely on…
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For Low Wage Workers Housing Is Out Of Reach
An estimated 10,643 people in Illinois are homeless according to federal data. Many of those are working – but still can’t make ends meet. For the…
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Illinois lawmakers may regulate midwives in home births
A small but growing number of U.S. women are choosing to have their babies at home. In more than 30 states, including most of the Midwest, it’s legal for certified professional midwives–trained specifically in home birth–to assist them. Illinois is not among them; but the state Senate wants to study the issue. Carrie Vickery, vice president of the Illinois Friends…
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How One Illinois Nonprofit Supports New Mothers, Promotes Safe Sleep
Across much of the Midwest, maternal and infant death rates are high—especially among African-Americans. So doctors, public health agencies and non…
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‘Crime-Free Housing’ Rules Spread In Illinois
Many communities in Illinois have rules that say renters can lose their housing if someone in the home is connected to a crime. City leaders who back…
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Fentanyl Can Lead To Overdoses In Hospitals, Too
Experts often blame the painkiller fentanyl for skyrocketing overdose deaths among illegal drug users. Now a series of deaths at an Ohio hospital is…
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Farmers Dig Deep To Weather Slumping Ag Economy, But Don’t Call It A Crisis
Farm income has taken a long, hard fall, dropping 50 percent since hitting a high point in 2013. Add to that near-record levels of farm debt, and you…
