New generation trying to revitalize North Lawndale
Talk to Marcus Betts about redevelopment in North Lawndale and you can feel his optimism. Drive around the beleaguered community and, with the exception of a few rays of hope...
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Indian dance binds mother, daughter
When Hema Rajagopalan was about 5 years old, growing up in 1950s India, she loved dancing so much that when her parents took her to performances, she would leap from...
Drag queen by night, single dad by day
By the time Marcus Parker left his hometown of Chicago in 2005 for California, he was well known around the city's drag-queen show circuit as Flame Monroe, the 5-foot-8, stacked...
New law woven specifically for hair braiders
Frances Simmons is a professional hair braider who has been honing her craft since she was a kid living on the West Side, braiding hair on her front porch. She...
Suburban mom will run Chicago Marathon to raise money for cancer research
Madelaine Reese started training in June to run Sunday's Chicago Marathon. But what she has learned about endurance and taking life one step at a time goes back to Oct....
Severe headaches can bedevil young people, baffle doctors
Peter Vertrees, 18, of Lake Forest, started having migraines two years ago after a bout with a virus. At the time, he was in boarding school in Maine. His headaches...
Students warn peers about cyberbullying
Tiffany Witkowski, 17, is a rarity in her school — maybe in the universe — because she doesn't have a Facebook account. A senior at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science High...
For HIV counselor, prevention begins with self-esteem
Ten years ago, when Evany Turk's doctor entered an examination room to tell her that she'd tested positive for HIV, she was devastated. "I sat there wondering, 'Why me?'" said...
Chicago woman helps bring clean water to residents in Bangladesh
Two years ago, Tasmiha Khan was visiting her extended family in Bangladesh, lounging around with cousins in a cushy part of Dhaka, when she couldn't shake a feeling of restlessness....
Language immersion program encourages participants to dive in headfirst
The summer before Leslie Lancry went off to college in 1986, she transformed the backyard and basement of her Winnetka home into her very own French language immersion school. She...