Community News

Chicago Spent $510.9M on Overtime in 2024, Including $273.8M for Police, Down Slightly From Last Year
Heather Cherone | Jared Rutecki | July 22, 2025, 4:38 pm The city of Chicago spent approximately $510.9 million on employee overtime in 2024 — 1.5% less than in 2023, with more than half of the total amount used to compensate Chicago Police Department officers for working extra hours, according to records obtained by WTTW News. The…

Chicago Eliminates Parking Minimums Near Transit
Changes to a city ordinance make it easier to build ‘by-right’ car-free developments near train stations and pave the way for more affordable housing. July 23, 2025, 6:00 AM PDT By Diana Ionescu Writing in Streetsblog Chicago, Steven Vance and John Greenfield praise the city of Chicago’s recent move to eliminate parking minimums near train stations…

Illinois officials express concern over Medicaid, SNAP cuts in new budget law
by: Jenna Barnes, Ethan Illers Posted: Jul 8, 2025 / 07:22 PM CDT CHICAGO (WGN) – Elected officials and local leaders gathered in downtown Chicago Tuesday to discuss their concerns now that President Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” is law. WGN-TV listened in on a roundtable discussion with the American Civil Liberties Union and several Democratic members…

LGBTQ+ health centers brace for Trump’s attacks
Chicago-area research labs and community health clinics are navigating illegal funding stoppages, censorship, and increasing anti-LGBTQ+ violence under President Donald Trump. by Devyn-Marshall Brown (DMB) June 25, 2025 John Peller’s two decades as an AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) staff member have been marked by highs and lows. In 2010, after President Barack Obama signed the…

What’s next for CPS?
New leadership and looming budget problems are on the horizon for Chicago Public Schools. by Maureen Kelleher June 26, 2025 June 18 was the last day on the job for Pedro Martinez, the long-embattled chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. Only a week before he left, the Chicago Board of Education narrowly voted to appoint…

Hundreds march in Chicago Disability Pride Parade that celebrates diversity, demands accessibility
Katherine Weaver, Chicago Tribune Sat, July 26, 2025 at 2:31 PM CDT You wouldn’t guess that Matt Keeth has a severe visual impairment from the way he skateboarded up and down Chicago’s Disability Pride Parade in the Loop — if not for the red-and-white striped cane he rolls in front of him. Keeth, 31, a…

Mother shares struggles obtaining help for her children through early intervention disability program
By Lauren Victory July 11, 2025 / 6:45 PM CDT About 60,000 children with developmental disabilities qualify for a free Illinois program that provides speech, physical therapy, and other services. It’s called “early intervention” and can be a game-changer. The problem is that the service is delayed for more than 2,000 kids. Meet the Heath…

LGBTQ+ health centers brace for Trump’s attacks
Chicago-area research labs and community health clinics are navigating illegal funding stoppages, censorship, and increasing anti-LGBTQ+ violence under President Donald Trump. by Devyn-Marshall Brown (DMB) June 25, 2025 John Peller’s two decades as an AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) staff member have been marked by highs and lows. In 2010, after President Barack Obama signed the…

What’s next for CPS?
New leadership and looming budget problems are on the horizon for Chicago Public Schools. by Maureen Kelleher June 26, 2025 June 18 was the last day on the job for Pedro Martinez, the long-embattled chief executive officer of Chicago Public Schools. Only a week before he left, the Chicago Board of Education narrowly voted to appoint…

Chicago’s Black-owned businesses hope Juneteenth support extends year-round
When Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, many Black-owned businesses reported strong sales. Now, Chicago companies say they hope the trend continues. By Mariah Rush Jun 19, 2025, 7:00am CDT For years, Essential Elements owner Melanie Whaley sold bedazzled Juneteenth T-shirts, with sayings like “Juneteenth Queen” and “Free-ish and fierce.” This year, the items are…
Local Organizations
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Rainbow PUSH Coalition - We protect, defend, and gain civil rights by leveling the economic and educational playing fields, and to promote peace and justice around the world.
Chicago Urban League - Since 1916, the Chicago Urban League—through collaborative community, corporate and civic relationships—has helped people find jobs, secure affordable housing, enhance their educational experiences, and grow their businesses. One of the oldest and largest affiliates of the National Urban League, we promote strong, sustainable communities through advocacy, innovation, and collaborative community, corporate and civic relationships.
Grassroots Collaborative - Grassroots Collaborative builds power with working families through strategic community-labor organizing, grassroots leadership development, civic engagement, and training. We started in Chicago and our 9 member organizations and their 125,000 members, along with an effective and diverse set of ally organizations across movements create transformative change to win fully funded resources for our public schools, social services, and affordable housing that working families depend on.
First Defense Legal Aid - First Defense Legal Aid provides free, 24-hour legal representation to people in Chicago Police custody and educates Chicagoans about how to protect their constitutional rights. We undertake these activities to promote fairness and accountability in the justice system.
Inner-City Muslim Action Network - The Inner-City Muslim Action Network is a community organization that fosters health, wellness and healing in the inner-city by organizing for social change, cultivating the arts, and operating a holistic health center. IMAN incorporated as a nonprofit in 1997 through the drive of people directly affected by and deeply invested in social issues affecting communities of color living on Chicago’s South Side.
One Northside - Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality: Northside is a mixed-income, multi-ethnic, intergenerational organization that unites our diverse communities. We build collective power to eliminate injustice through bold and innovative community organizing. We accomplish this through developing grassroots leaders and acting together to effect change.
Polished Pebbles - The mission of the Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring Program is to provide girls (7-17 years old) with the opportunity of learning the vital life skill of effective communication. Our Polished Pebbles Girls Mentoring program instills confidence in girls to face the challenges of daily life by substituting aggressive forms of communicating and problem solving with new strategies that allow them to gain a solid reputation and respect without retaliating.
Restore Justice Illinois - Restore Justice Illinois believes in the possibility of rehabilitation, redemption, and reunification with the community for all incarcerated people, even those who have committed the most serious crimes.
Safer Foundation - Safer Foundation is one of the nation’s largest not-for-profit providers of services designed exclusively for people with criminal records. We focus on helping our clients secure and maintain jobs because we understand that employment offers the best chance at successful re-entry.
Dovetail Project - We give young African American fathers – ages 17-24 – the skills and support they need to be better fathers for their children and better men in their communities.
Black Youth Project 100 - BYP100 is National, member-based organization of Black 18-35 year old activists and organizers, dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. We do this through building a network focused on transformative leadership development, direct action organizing, advocacy, and political education using a Black queer feminist lens. BYP100 envisions a world where all Black people have economic, social, political, and educational freedom.
Upcoming Events

E-SIDE STORY- a dramatization and fundraiser to prevent teen Gun Violence.
E-SIDE STORY is a contemporary dramatization about Black /Latina teen life in urban cities in a season of social media beefs & gun violence A NITE OF THEATER THERAPY… LIVE STAGE VIGNETTE & BONUS “TALK BACK”- HOSTED BY DR. GEORGE JAMES, LMFT…EXEC. DIRECTOR C/O GEORGE TALKS, LLC. ALL UNDER THE STARS @ THE AFRICAN AMERICAN…

Opera in the Park – Fairmount Park Conservancy
Join the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Opera Philadelphia for free performances at FDR Park on September 10 from 6:30—9:00 PM. Bring out the whole family for an evening of live music sets, food trucks, and opera on the big screen! This event is a partnership between the Fairmount Park Conservancy and Opera Philadelphia. 7:00: Live performances by…

Garden Tenders: How to Start and Sustain a Community Garden
Are you involved in a new community garden or looking to start one? Join us to learn what it takes to get a community garden started, and how to keep it going. This is not a gardening class — we will cover recruiting and keeping volunteers; assessing and finding resources in your neighborhood; garden management; land ownership/security;…

WPSR’s 2023 Health Justice Gala
About the eventWPSR’s 2023 Health Justice Gala Join WPSR for our annual Health Justice Gala on September 22, 2023! At WPSR’s annual fundraising gala, WPSR supporters like you gather to support and celebrate our work. This year, with your help we will raise $200,000 to fund our critical work confronting the gravest threats: the climate…

Poets Laureate Reading
This event is FREE and ADA accessible. Laura Da’ is a poet and teacher. A lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Da’ studied creative writing at the University of Washington and The Institute of American Indian Arts. Da’ is Eastern Shawnee. She is the current Poet Laureate of Redmond, Washington and Poet Planner for King County, Washington. Her…

“On the Edge: 2nd International Latinx Performance Art Festival”
On the Edge: 2nd International Latinx Performance Art Festival is the second Latinx performance art festival based in Seattle, showcasing a wide range of experimental performance grounded in the themes of inclusion, identity and intersectionality. Featuring a wide range of pan-Latine/x artists and supporters, these performances will range from intimate, single-person storytelling, to medium-length, mixed-media group performances,…

The Social Justice Film Festival
Through strategic partnerships with Pacific Northwest organizations working on issues of social justice, the Social Justice Film Festival features short and feature-length documentaries and narrative films related to social justice. As a movement, social justice promotes a global culture where equality is achieved on all levels. This includes issues pertaining to incarceration, the environment and…

Seattle Broadway Inclusion Program
STG’s Broadway Inclusion Program provides theatre arts programming to neurodivergent and/or disabled community members and their families and caregivers. Participants tend to be between 8-50 years old, but all ages and abilities are welcome! Participants meet once a week to explore musical theatre and movement-based activities in a creative and safe environment. At the end…

CL56: Heeding the Call of the Student
Where do the voices of students call you to take them? What do you hear that points to a path where their concerns and passions can drive a richer exploration of what you had hoped to cover anyway? Join us as we kick off our 8th season of Collab Labs with a discussion focused on…

Forest Rescue at North SeatTac Park
“North SeaTac Park is a 200+ acre urban oasis four miles south of Seattle filled with creeks, wetlands, towering trees, and amazing recreational amenities. Tub Lake, thought to be the last true peat bog left in the Seattle area, is also in this park, Join us at this Green SeaTac Partnership event to help free…
Local Hero Spotlight
Members can nominate a local hero for recognition on their local LoveJustice.com city page!
Anyone and everyone can make an impact, and at LoveJustice we believe that they deserve to be recognized for their good, necessary work!
