Media Justice Blog

Kids killing kids

March 15, 2010 - no comments

Over the past 10 years, Bigeck and Morfin have traveled annually from a downstate prison to talk with Chicago-area school and youth groups. They explain,
mostly in calm terms, what it's like to spend their decades doing penance for gunplay. They try to press home to young audiences an underappreciated concept that Illinois law calls "Accountability for Conduct of Another." Its essence: You were.


Tags: 15-19, African American, chicago tribune, CPS, criminal charges, Englewood, englewood high school, female, gang violence, gun violence, male, march 2010, murder, police involvement, school violence, southwest side, street violence

Juvenile Probation-A Day on the Front Lines

February 26, 2010 - no comments

Rodney Purdy is a Cook County Juvenile Probation officer. His job kicks in after a young person is found delinquent, or guilty, by a judge. Probation officers, or P.O.s, are, in a way, the eyes and ears of the court, making sure the kid follows through on the judge’s orders. Maybe to go through drug rehab or do community service or attend anger management class. The P.O is supposed to make sure the young person’s getting what’s needed, to stay out of prison and get a new footing in life.

Tags: 15-19, 848, African American, Chicago, CPS, criminal charges, drugs, Englewood, female, gang violence, government involvement, gun violence, january 2010, male, NPR, police involvement, poverty, prison industrial complex, roseland, school violence, south side, youth voices

Home from war, vets keep peace in Chicago streets

February 23, 2010 - no comments

Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans are returning home from one combat zone to fight a different battle. This time, they are manning city streets to fight against youth violence.

Tags: 15-19, bronzeville, community involvement, CPS, fenger high school, finalcall.com, gang violence, gun violence, january 2010, male, murder, police involvement, poverty, south side, street violence, wartime violence

Lesson from the street - don’t back down

February 21, 2010 - no comments

Youth violence has claimed the lives of 18 city students this school year and left more than 110 shot. To stem the scourge, the Chicago Public Schools have launched an unprecedented campaign to intervene in the lives of the most at-risk children and create peaceful environments at the most troubled schools.



Tags: academia involvement, chicago tribune, church involvement, community involvement, corliss high school, CPS, february 2010, gun violence, manley high school, marshall high school, murder, north riverside, police involvement, poverty, street violence, west side, youth voices

Chicago’s real crime story – City Journal

January 30, 2010 - no comments

This past September, a cell-phone video of Chicago students beating a fellow teen to death coursed over
the airwaves and across the Internet. None of the news outlets that had admiringly reported on Obama’s
community-organizing efforts mentioned that the beating involved students from the very South Side
neighborhoods where the president had once worked. Obama’s connection to the area was suddenly lost
in the mists of time.

Tags: 10-15, 15-19, African American, carver high, chicago reader, church involvement, city journal, CPS, criminal charges, drugs, family violence, fatherlessness, fenger high school, gang violence, government involvement, gun violence, invisible boundaries, january 2010, male, murder, police involvement, poverty, robeson high school, roseland, school violence, sexual violence, south side, street violence, the ville, west side

Getting Out and Staying Out

January 27, 2010 - 1 Comment

Half the young people who get out of Illinois youth prisons end up back inside. They
just can't make it outside. When Illinois broke off its youth prisons from adult ones
three and a half years ago, it vowed to change that.

Tags: 15-19, 848, Chicago, criminal charges, female, gang violence, hispaniclatino, january 2010, non CPS, NPR, police involvement, prison industrial complex, school violence, south side, stealing, youth voices

Marcus on the Run

January 25, 2010 - no comments

We start our series with Marcus, a 14-year-old boy who's struggling to graduate from grade school. Marcus is a pseudonym we're using to protect the young man's
identity.

Tags: 10-15, 848, African American, criminal charges, gang violence, january 2010, male, murder, NPR, police involvement, poverty, prison industrial complex, street violence, youth voices

Woman shot outside Gage Park High School

January 22, 2010 - no comments

An 18-year-old woman was shot in the leg outside of Gage Park High School this afternoon, officials said.
Two Gage Park sophomore girls, both 16, were at the scene after the shooting, waiting to be picked up by a parent around 5 p.m.
They said violence is commonplace at the campus. "I need to get out of this place," one girl said.



Tags: 15-19, chicago tribune, CPS, female, gage park high school, gun violence, january 2010, male, non CPS, police involvement, street violence, youth voices

School districts struggle to deal with dating violence among students

January 20, 2010 - no comments

Simeon is one of many high schools in Illinois to come under fire for their handling of student sexual assaults and dating-related violence. There are no state laws or policies governing how school districts should respond to these sensitive issues. Administrators often face he-said, she-said cases in which no
criminal charges have been filed, and so they must balance protecting alleged victims versus the rights of the accused.

Tags: 15-19, chicago tribune, community involvement, CPS, criminal charges, Dating Violence, female, january 2010, joliet, plainfiels school district, police involvement, princeton high school, quincy senior high school, school violence, sexual violence, simeon career academy, south side, youth voices

student seriously wounded outside SW side high school

January 20, 2010 - no comments

Outside school Tuesday, students said that though they feel safe at school, they cannot say the same for the streets around the building.
"It's like a war," said freshman Crystal Fernandez, 14.
Fernandez said police and security were increased Friday.
"On Friday, I was scared," she said. "We thought, yeah, there's going to be fighting but not (shooting).

Tags: 10-15, 15-19, chicago tribune, CPS, gun violence, hubbard high school, january 2010, male, police involvement, school violence, southwest side, street violence, youth voices