Operation Clean Sweep, the CHA’s ballyhooed security program, did chase the gangbangers and drug dealers from the Prairie Courts high rise. But it also robbed innocent tenants of their freedom and dignity, and now it threatens to evict them from their hom
Author Archives: Jane Juffer
Posted inNews & Politics
Introduction to capitalism: suburban mentors work with west-side minorities in joint economic ventures
A visitor to this near-west-side neighborhood won’t be long deceived by the colorful sign at 2454 W. Harrison: “B and E Country Store: Specializing in Country Ham and Loose Chitterlings.” The door and windows are shuttered, testimony to a steady economic deterioration in the neighborhood that gives some streets an eerie ghost-town atmosphere. But inside, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Reading, writing, and decolonization: Albizu Campos High School, a controversial alternative for Hispanic youth
When Robertico Medina dropped out of Roberto Clemente High School four years ago to escape the gang warfare and the teachers’ inattention, he nearly joined the Army. Only at his mother’s urging did he enroll in West Town’s Doctor Pedro Albizu Campos Puerto Rican High School. But he was still reluctant to get up and […]