Help support individuals experiencing housing instability and homelessness with your purchase of a “$200,000! Bingo Tripler Instant Ticket” from the Illinois Lottery - Illinois news - NewsLocker (2024)

In 2019, the Illinois Lottery launched a new specialty Instant Ticket to help fight housing insecurity and homelessness throughout the state. In collaboration with the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS), 100 percent of profits from ticket sales are designated for a program that distributes grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Illinois through their homeless prevention […]
The post Help support individuals experiencing housing instability and homelessness with your purch

Biden Withdraws, Endorses Kamala Harris, Sparking Surge of Support

Not long after President Biden decided to withdraw from the presidential race, he immediately endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee and his successor.
“Today, I want to offer my full support and endorsem*nt for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden said in a statement that appeared on social media.My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nom

COLUMN: President Kamala Harris is For the People

As President Biden steps aside for the 2024 Democratic nomination, Vice President Kamala Harris emerges as his chosen successor. Kouri Marshall explains why she is the right choice (Photo Credit: The White House).
I had been “Riding with Biden” for quite some time. In 2012, while serving as the District Director for President Obama’s D.C. area election campaign, I had the honor of introducing then-Vice President Biden at an event at Howard University.
Since then, I’ve had

Studios violate contracts, unions look the other way

Rich Talarico is currently running for WGA’s West Board. Rich is an award-winning writer/producer known for his work on Key & Peele. He also wrote for MADtv, SNL, and The Tonight Show and is an alum of Chicago’s Second City and ImprovOlympic (iO Theater). Studios are exploiting the makers of sketch comedy/variety shows like Saturday […]
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President Joe Biden Withdraws from Presidential Race

It’s official. President Joe Biden is dropping out of the Presidential race.
Biden made the announcement nearly a month after his first debate against Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump. During that debate, the 81-year-old incumbent appeared listless and, at times, incoherent, sparking concerns over his age and ability to lead the United States for another four years.
His performance sparked panic among the Democratic Party’s upper ranks, with prominent leaders split

WNBA All-Star Game: Amid Ogunbowale’s Historic Performance, Reese Shines

The WNBA All-Star game featured a historic offensive performance, but our “Chitown Barbie” also held her own.
Team WNBA beat Team USA 117-109 thanks to the feats of Arike Ogunbowale, who blistered the Paris-bound Olympic squad by dropping 34 points, the most ever in a WNBA All-Star game.
Ogunbowale, who didn’t get any points in the first half, was breathtaking in the second. She scored all her points in the third and fourth quarters against a team that features several of

How Will Project 2025 Affect Black America?

The document, drafted by former Trump Administration staffers but which Trump disavows, means poorer public schools, worse health outcomes and aggressive police (Photo Credit: Elvert Barnes, Flickr).
This article was originally published onWord In Black.
By Joseph Williams
Project 2025, the far-reaching Republican Party plan to demolish and radically remake the federal government under a Trump presidency, has gotten a lot of attention lately, and not necessarily in a good way.
Presid

Harnessing the Economic Power of the African American Community: A Catalyst for National Prosperity

By James S. Bridgeforth, Ph.D.
In the intricate tapestry of the American economy, one thread stands out not only for its resilience but also for its potential to drive significant economic growth and social change.
That thread is the African American economy—a force that not only supports its community but also bolsters the broader economic fabric of the United States.
The narrative of African American economic power is often overlooked or underestimated, overshadowed by persistent dispari

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Beloved South Side Postal Worker Fatally Shot on Delivery Route

She was “a beautiful soul,” a wife, mother and grandmother with a dimpled smile as memorable as her spirit.
That was all taken away when, in broad daylight, someone shot and killed a 48-year-old woman identified as Octavia Redmond as she was delivering mail on her Far South Side route for the U. S. Postal Service.
According to Chicago police, the incident occurred in the West Pullman neighborhood in the 12100 block of South Harvard Avenue just before 11:40 a.m.
Neig

‘Rolling out’ and Lexus drive ‘Live Up To It’ program to extremes

Photo credit: Brianna Devons
Rolling outandLexushave partnered for the remarkably dynamic “Live Up To It” program designed byrolling outto celebrate adventurous Black Americans breaking barriers in their respective fields while introducing the luxurious all-new 2024LexusGX. Kavata Swimwear founder Nate Fluellen and Oyster Expedition founder Woodie White are “living up to it” and inspiring others to do the same.
Adven

Lexus and rolling out drive ‘Live Up To It’ program to extremes

Photo credit: Brianna Devons
Rolling outandLexushave partnered for the remarkably dynamic “Live Up To It” program designed byrolling outto celebrate adventurous Black Americans breaking barriers in their respective fields while introducing the luxurious all-new 2024LexusGX. Kavata Swimwear founder Nate Fluellen and Oyster Expedition founder Woodie White are “living up to it” and inspiring others to do the same.
Adven

Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Lands in Orland Park: Fans Flock to Grand Opening

Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty store opens at the Orland Square Mall, the first in Illinois (Photo Credit: Lashae Washington/Facebook).
Bad girl Riri did it again! This time, in south suburban Orland Park, with the Savage X Fenty brand gracing the shelves for lingerie lovers.
With a line wrapped around the mall nearly 30 miles south of Downtown Chicago, fans of the singer, actress, business owner and beauty mogul eagerly awaited the grand opening, hoping to grab the latest intimate apparel

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Has Passed At 74

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has passed at age 74. In June, Lee revealed that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“Today, with incredible grief for our loss yet deep gratitude for the life she shared with us, we announce the passing of United States Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District of Texas…A local, national, and international humanitarian, she was acknowledged worldwide for her courageous fights for racial justice, criminal justic

The Black fugitive who inspired ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ and the end of USslavery

In this drawing from ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin,’ a Black child is taken from his mother by a White man. Culture Club/Getty Imagesby Susanna Ashton, Clemson University
In or around 1825, John Andrew Jackson was born enslaved on a plantation in South Carolina and trained to spend his life picking cotton.
But instead of living a life as a slave, he escaped bondage and became an influential anti-slavery lecturer and writer. He also had a key role in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s celebrate

‘Disappointing’ Settlement Reached After White Woman Spat On Black Teen

Photo: Getty Images
A lawyer for a 22-year-old Black man who was spat on during a Black Lives Matter protest as a teen said a “disappointing” settlement was reached in the case, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Eric Lucas, who legally changed his name in 2023 due to publicity from the case, was 18 when he initially filed a civil lawsuit against Stephanie Rapkin. Rapkin spat in Lucas’ face during a BLM protest in the summer of 2020.
Last month, a jury supported Lucas’ c

Justice40 DOE Architect Shalanda Baker Set to Speak at RECESS24

The RECESS24: National Black and Brown Clean Energy Conference is pleased to announce that Shalanda H. Baker, a distinguished expert in energy justice and equity, will be a featured speaker at this year’s event. Baker recently served as the Senate-confirmed Director of the Office of Energy Justice and Equity at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she was also the Advisor on Equity to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

Prior to her pivotal role in the Department of Energy, Baker

Lady in the Lake (Miniseries)

streaming on Apple TV+
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At Omarion’s Concert, I Made Water

By Kiayla Ryann
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Common’s Renaissance: A New Album and Upcoming Millennium Park Show

With over 30 years in Hip-hop, Common’s illustrious career continues to shine. The release of “The Auditorium Vol. 1” with Pete Rock, his performance with the Grant Park Orchestra, and his role in the Apple TV show “Silo” mark a season of gratitude and artistic growth for the South Side Chicago native (Photo Credit: Tacuma Roeback).
To have a 20-plus year career and a stellar discography in Hip-hop is a rarity, like a quarterback winning multiple Super Bowls or an M

Navy Exonerates 256 Black Sailors Unjustly Punished After 1944 Explosion

Photo: Getty Images
The Navy has exonerated 256 Black sailors who were unjustly punished following a deadly California port explosion in 1944.
On Wednesday (July 17), the Navy announced the exonerations exactly 80 years after an explosion at Port Chicago Naval Magazine left 320 people dead and 400 others injured from ammunition that detonated while it was being loaded onto a cargo ship, per The Hill.
Following the incident, white supervising officers at Port Chicago were given hardship leave, bu

ShotSpotter sparks a political power struggle

This story was published by the Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering gun violence in America. Sign up for its newsletters here. In February, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announced his plan to decommission ShotSpotter, a controversial gunshot-detection technology that alerts police to shootings by using hundreds of acoustic sensors throughout the city. Johnson’s plan, which would […]
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Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Opens First Illinois Store at Orland Square Mall

In suburban Chicago, Orland Square Mall in Orland Park will open the state’s first brick-and-mortar store for Rihanna’s famous apparel brand, Savage X Fenty.
Known for its inclusive approach to lingerie and apparel, the store’s grand opening event begins this Friday at 10 a.m. and will feature giveaways and more.
The store will be located on the mall’s lower level near the Coach store and will join 148 other retailers.
NBC 5 Chicago contributed to this report.The post Rih

Chicago Football Classic Announces Upcoming HBCU Showdown at Soldier Field

Chicago Football Classic Co-founder Larry Huggins with Rev. Jesse Jackson, flanked by Ald. Lamont Robinson (4th) (L), Co-founder Tim Rand and Brianna Moreland (R) (Photo Credit: Chicago Football Classic).
On Tuesday (July 16), The Chicago Football Classic hosted a press conference at Soldier Field to announce and promote the upcoming HBCU football showcase between the Morehouse Tigers and the Kentucky State Thorobreds on Sept. 21.
While many of us are familiar with the impressive history o

The waves of history

The ocean is an obsession for 18-year-old Dontrell Jones III (Blake Dupree) of Baltimore, a high school graduate mere weeks from starting his full ride to Johns Hopkins, with the vastness of his last summer at home and the vividness of uncanny dreams tempting him with impulse to adventure. “Future generations,” he intones episodically into […]
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Comfort food

In the tradition of rom-coms like the 1998 Gwyneth Paltrow vehicle Sliding Doors, Audrey Cefaly’s The Last Wide Open uses the conceit of what-ifs to take us through a missed-it-by-that-much romance. But Cefaly’s play, directed at American Blues Theater (ABT) by Gwendolyn Whiteside, offers something that feels more rooted and real. That’s thanks to its […]
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The keys of life

Being a musician can be a lonely business. Want even a wisp of a prayer of making it into one of the world’s professional classical orchestras? Be prepared to spend five hours or more a day—from the time you’re around 12 or so—by your lonesome, obsessively memorizing the treacherous fingering of Liszt’s “Mephisto Waltz No. […]
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A last hurrah for Haven

Haven Chicago is going out the way they came in 11 years ago—sweaty, sexy, sinuous, and unapologetic. In 2013, the company announced their presence with a production of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch (first produced off-Broadway in 1998 and later turned into a 2001 film, both starring Mitchell as […]
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It’s Bronze Age food for the soul when Meze Table return to the next Monday Night Foodball

“I at last realized that eating was a spiritual function and that meat, bread, and wine were the raw materials from which the soul is made.” That was the unnamed narrator in Nikos Kazantzakis’s Zorba the Greek, just after he housed a couple of chargrilled chicken kebabs. Probably. Souvlaki’s been around since antiquity, so that’s […]
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Review: Widow Clicquot

now playing at the Gene Siskel Film Center and in limited release in theaters
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Review: Twisters

in wide release in theaters
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