mitchell
Mary A. Mitchell biography
Mary A. Mitchell is an editorial board member and columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a recipient of numerous journalism awards, including the prestigious …
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Deplorable teaching conditions? Not at Crown Elementary Academy in North Lawndale
With the teachers strike history, both the Chicago Teachers Union and the Chicago Public Schools are taking bows. That’s OK. Both sides gave up something in order to get kids back in the classroom. But, it will be a while before anyone can say that …Read More
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West Side can do better than ousted state rep
A recent poll of West Side voters showing former state Rep. Derrick Smith swamping Lance Tyson, his third-party rival in the November election, is an embarrassment. Chicago Sun-Times columnist Rich Miller in his Capitol Fax newsletter reported the survey Monday. Although 43 percent of respondents …Read More
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Karen Lewis needs to start putting out the teachers union fire
MARY MITCHELL: Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis has created a monster. Soothing that monster won’t be easy. Indeed, Lewis’ rhetoric that Chicago Public Schools can’t be trusted worked too well. Now teachers don’t know a good deal when they see one.
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Owners cry foul over city plan to level crime-ridden buildings
In a crime-ridden stretch in South Austin, the City of Chicago is using a bulldozer to combat gang and drug-related activity. The city is turning to public nuisance laws to potentially demolish a square block that once contained 13 troubled row houses, stretching from Pine …
If CPS teachers strike, what will happen to the children?
MARY MITCHELL: A strike could further undermine public education in this city. Chicagoans are fed up. They are fed up with high gas prices and boarded-up homes. They are fed up with rowdy teens, gangs, shootings and homicides. They are fed up with schools that warehouse kids but don’t educate them.
Newly transfered students still want to play football for Chicago Vocational
I have no doubt that Fenger High School is a lot safer today than it was in 2009 when Derrion Albert was beaten to death near the high school. But let me be clear. I don’t care who was behind nine football players transferring from …
Former Fenger High School football players accused of following coach to CVCA
Gerrell Doss, 17, should be on the football field this weekend. But because a former football coach at Fenger High School is accused of persuading Doss and eight other players of following him to Chicago Vocational Career Academy, Doss and his teammates are barred from …
Conviction but no tangible evidence
This is not a story about the innocence of Darrell Williams. It is too late for that. Last month, a jury in Stillwater, Okla., found the former Dunbar High School basketball player guilty on two counts of rape by instrumentation. This is a story about …Read More
The presidential campaign has other issues besides rusty chains
There are certain words a politician can’t use if there are black faces in an audience. “Chains” is one of them. It doesn’t matter whether the politician is a Democrat or a Republican. There will be fallout. If a Democrat speaks the offending word, he …Read More
President Obama sent message to Chicago — but who heard it?
MARY MITCHELL: After enduring weeks of poking, on Saturday President Barack Obama finally addressed the violence taking place in his adopted hometown. Unfortunately, only a few people who needed to hear the president’s message likely heard it.
13-YEAR-OLD’S GANGSTA RAP VIDEO: ‘PROMOTING VIOLENCE FOR LOVE OF MONEY’
Speechless. That’s how a controversial gangsta rap featuring a 13-year-old South Side boy left Diane Latiker, founder of the celebrated “Kids Off The Block, Inc. The video shows the boy rapping about sex, drugs and guns. It has already gotten more than 300,000 hits on …
Where’s the public outcry over Chicago boy’s raunchy rap video?
MARY MITCHELL: 13-year-old “Lil’ Mouse” curses, raps about sex and drugs and poses with a gun in the popular YouTube clip “Lil Mouse Get Smoked.”
Why the big hairy deal over Gabby Douglas’ ponytail?
MARY MITCHELL: When gold-medalist Gabby Douglas stepped into the arena at the London Olympics, I knew black women were going to have something to say about her hair.
Chronic grief overtaking black communities
A photograph of the site in the Humboldt Park neighborhood where young people gathered after two teen boys were gunned down Thursday says a lot about the toll violence is taking. About a dozen or so teens kept a vigil on the steps of a …Read More
Stroger might have been easy pickings for anyone up to no good
If federal prosecutors are to be believed, former Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was being handled by a bunch of crooks. On Thursday, Eugene Mullins, a onetime spokesman for Stroger, was accused of accepting $34,700 in exchange for improperly steering four county contracts to …Read More
Ald. Sandi Jackson is accused of not meeting with residents
Most of the concerns about U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s health have focused on his ability to continue serving his constituents, but what about his wife, the alderman of the 7th Ward? With two children and an ailing husband, it’s a wonder Sandi Jackson can …Read More
A mental health facility in Jackson’s district is forced to stop services
While U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson is seeking treatment for mental problems at the famed Mayo Clinic, an iconic mental health facility in his district is being forced to stop providing services. This irony helps explain why agencies like the Community Mental Health Council Inc. are …
Caterpillar workers on strike in Joliet: ‘It’s corporate greed, plain and simple’
Champagne corks were likely popping last week at Caterpillar global headquarters in Peoria when the company announced second-quarter profits climbed 67 percent. Business writers reported that Caterpillar’s had rising sales in “every region worldwide” and that “higher sales volume and prices provided a $2 billion …Read More
Alderman going overboard on Chick-Fil-A bullying
MARY MITCHELL: I don’t have to shake the dust off my Bible when I go to church. But I’m not one of those people that oppose gay marriage. Still, some advocates for the gay community are going way overboard. For instance, Ald. Proco “Joe” Moreno’s threat to stop Chick-fil-A from opening a fast-food restaurant in his ward is not only ridiculous; it’s dangerous.
Death of Tonya Reaves after an abortion is a reminder that abortions carry risks
The death of Tonya Reaves after an abortion is a shocking reminder that abortions carry a real risk. The 24-year-old black woman died Friday night after having an abortion at Planned Parenthood’s clinic at 18 S. Michigan Ave. Now Reaves’ family is demanding answers and …Read More
