Christen A. Johnson – Page 5

Visitors walk along reopened Navy Pier on May 2, 2021, in Chicago.

Some people have been spat on over coronavirus mask disputes. Experts say this is a lack of empathy and to ‘worry about your own safety.’

July 14, 2020 at 4:59 p.m.

As more and more people have been going back out in public now that some of the state's restrictions have lifted, the presence, or absence, of a mask can often...

Hayk Ghazaryan is on the North Side of Chicago on July 10, 2020. Before the pandemic started, Ghazaryan was eager to buy his first rental property and start his real estate portfolio.

Between record-low interest rates and down payment assistance programs, the pandemic might be an opportune time for millennials to buy a home

August 10, 2020 at 12:10 p.m.

Hayk Ghazaryan was eager to buy his first rental property and start his real estate portfolio. The 28-year-old senior mortgage broker began his house hunt in February, and a month...

Here’s what to know about sex and dating in phase four of COVID-19 reopening

July 13, 2020 at 1:40 p.m.

In March, we got real. We talked about how we knew you all were having a lot of quarantine sex even though you were supposed to be social distancing (because...

Peter Hutcheon donates blood at Vitalant on June 29, 2020, in Chicago.

Illinois is facing a ‘critically low’ blood supply shortage and needs donors, including Black donors, who are essential to sickle cell patients

July 2, 2020 at 8:05 a.m.

Illinois' blood supply has been rapidly declining since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March, according to officials at the Illinois Coalition of Community Blood Centers (ICCBC), a statewide...

Black girls and women are often left out of the social justice movement. These 2 sisters have been fighting to change that.

June 19, 2020 at 7:15 p.m.

Two sisters, Salamishah and Scheherazade Tillet, have been fighting for decades to end violence against black women and girls. In 2003, the sisters founded A Long Walk Home (ALWH), a...

Ardre Orie, of Lindenhurst, is a social activist and publisher of 13th & Joan Publishing House. She started the 100 Seeds of Promise literary initiative to help 100 black men become authors.

‘We’ve been too busy trying to survive.’ Virtual event will be a healing space for black men.

June 18, 2020 at 4:41 p.m.

After Ardre Orie saw the video of Philando Castile, a black man in Minnesota who was killed by a police officer in front of his daughter and girlfriend in 2016,...

Juneteenth honors the day African Americans were freed from slavery.

Juneteenth honors the end of slavery. Here’s how you can join the celebration.

June 19, 2020 at 7:23 a.m.

When the Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 4, 1776, black Americans were still enslaved. For many African Americans, celebrating the Fourth of July as the day Americans became...

Social media is one way to get involved in the anti-racist movement, but it can also cause anxiety. And the rules of engagement seem to differ for black and nonblack people.

June 13, 2020 at 8:43 a.m.

Social media can be a scary, dangerous place under regular circumstances, but in a time of civil unrest due to the deaths of unarmed black men and women at the...

Rush Street near Cedar Street in Chicago. One of the street sections in the pilot program is Rush Street from Oak Street to Cedar Street.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot says Chicago will experiment with shutting down some neighborhood streets for outdoor dining options

May 30, 2020 at 9:54 a.m.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday that six streets in different neighborhoods throughout the city will be shut down to allow restaurants to set up tables for expanded outdoor dining....

People keep a safe distance while socializing at Washington Square Park on May 28, 2020.

How to hang out with 10 people or fewer as Illinois and Chicago reopen

May 29, 2020 at 9:18 p.m.

With the state on track to reopen Friday, and Chicago's reopening set for June 3, many folks throughout the city and state will now be able to gather in groups...

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