washington
Laura S. Washington biography
Laura S. Washington, a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times , brings more than two decades of experience as a non-profit professional and multi-media journalist who …
Read More-
Cornell Park no stranger to violence
Changing times, changing crimes, but guns still rule. On the evening of Sept. 19, five alleged gang-bangers, aided by an AK-47-style rifle, were involved in an attack that sprayed bullets into a crowd at Cornell Square Park, according to charges filed last week by Cook …Read More
-
Fat Nag takes ‘SNAP Challenge’
For years The Fat Nag, yours truly, has been nudging, cajoling, pleading, that we all get the fat off. Obesity rates in America are through the roof. “The fat is killing us,” is her mantra. Last week, the Nag was challenged to reconsider her crusade …Read More
-
For once, diplomacy winning over war
‘It’ll be OK, Sis. I’m out now.” Last December, those were sweet words of comfort to my eager ear. Today, they echo fears, mine and many others, as America awaits another run-up to war. Drew’s words. You may remember my regular tales of the long …Read More
Search recent columns
More Columns
Kids need to know why Owens matters
It’s bad enough that some Chicago neighborhoods have become nationally known ‘‘food deserts.’’ Now our schools are turning into ‘‘culture deserts.’’ That sentiment came last week from a reader in response to my column on a burgeoning controversy over the elimination of the name ‘‘Jesse …
‘Jesse Owens’ is a name worth keeping around
The Jesse Owens Community Academy elementary school is now called “Gompers South,” becoming another casualty of the Chicago Board of Education’s decision to close 50 public schools this fall.
Roseland area seeking a turnaround
One of every two African-American men from Chicago’s South Side will die before the age of 64. One of three black women will face that fate. In Chicago, 3,200 more blacks than whites die every year. Those dire statistics hung in the air last Monday …
Raoul for gov? Spoiler, not winner
For a Democrat, the black vote in the 2014 gubernatorial primary is crucial. In the two-way contest between Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Bill Daley, the former White House chief of staff/banker, there is no contest. The Daley name carries no water with African-American voters. …
Senate panel votes to authorize force in Syria
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel has voted to give President Barack Obama the authority to use military force against Syria in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack. The vote Wednesday was 10-7, with one senator voting present. The full Senate is expected to …
Syria resolution sets deadline, bars ground forces
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate resolution authorizing President Barack Obama to use military force against Syria would bar American ground troops for combat operations and set a deadline for any action. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the draft resolution that the Foreign Relations …
Politics rev up in dog days of summer
It’s mid-August, the traditional dog days of summer. Not this time around. Look for plenty of action in the never-never land of Illinois politics. From the Washington Beltway to Spring Patch to Crook (er, Cook) County, it’s going to be wild. First thing Wednesday morning, …
Lawmakers begin to grapple with Syria question
Members of Congress, abruptly handed exactly the war powers many had demanded, grappled Saturday with whether to sign off on President Barack Obama’s plan to punish Syria for an alleged chemical weapons attack.
Why is Josina Morita running for reclamation board? ‘I care about water’
Board members are elected countywide and charged with processing and routing sewage waste and stormwater in Chicago and suburban Cook County. Political insiders call it a “down ballot” race. Way down. Yet, at least five aspirants are considering bids for three MWRD seats.
‘Fruitvale Station’ has parallels to Trayvon’s case
If you care about the traumas of America’s cities, you will remember Oscar Grant.
Jubilant Daley camp still faces uphill climb for governor
It’s gonna be Ugh-LEE. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has demurred. Her exit from the 2014 gubernatorial sweepstakes sets the stage for a mano a mano between Gov. Pat Quinn and William M. Daley. It’s a bitter bummer. A Madigan-Daley-Quinn triage would have been a …
Ald. Deb Mell? Not so fast, Rahm
It’s a triple threat. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is up against a trio of political tribulations as he mulls his appointment of a new alderman in the 33rd Ward. After 38 years, Ald. Dick Mell is retiring, and he is going out as only Mell can. …
Shoddy landlords costly to everyone
Decaying porches. Gaping holes in the ceiling. Mold running rampant. Rodents. Chicago Housing Authority residents may be moving on but not necessarily up. In 2009, LaWanda Dean left public housing in search of a better life. Instead, she ended up in a South Side apartment …
Public leads the Supreme Court on gay marriage
Even the Supreme Court of the United States gets it. The SCOTUS double thumbs-up for same-sex marriage shows even the justices understand that a vote for gay marriage is a vote for justice. Last Wednesday, in a two-fer for gay rights, the Supreme Court ruled …
US launches program to help Afghan women
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Agency for International Development is launching a program to educate, train and empower at least 75,000 women between the ages of 18 to 30 in Afghanistan.
Not too early to say it’s Hillary’s time
If Hillary Clinton can best Florida’s two favorite sons, it’s all over but the inaugural hullabaloo. In a matchup between Sen. Marco Rubio and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Clinton reigns supreme. In that crucial state, the former secretary of state would conquer both Rubio …
Daley no longer waiting for Lisa
Waiting, waiting, waiting. They are anticipating, instigating, speculating, but mostly, waiting. Waiting for Lisa. Illinois’ entire political intelligentsia, and not-so-intelligentsia, are waiting for the Illinois attorney general to decide. Will Lisa Madigan run in the March 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary? A gaggle of political careers …
