The Rev. Leon Finney Jr. built a name for himself in the 1960s by fighting slumlords and helping to save his Woodlawn community from being swallowed by the University of Chicago. But now Finney's business dealings are being questioned on a number of fronts. Federal housing authorities are investigating allegations Finney's Woodlawn Community Development Corp., and a lawsuit filed by Finney's former chief financial officer says Woodlawn engaged in ghost payrolling and used government money for Finney's private pursuits, including a family-owned restaurant.
An alderman who represents the University of Chicago area is threatening to hold up parts of a massive university development deal brokered by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, saying school officials have not addressed community concerns. Ald. Leslie Hairston, 5th, said university leaders have been vague about their architectural standards for new buildings in Hyde Park.
Dr. James E. Bowman, a widely recognized expert in inherited blood diseases and population genetics, was the first tenured African-American professor in the University of Chicago's Biological Sciences Division. Dr. Bowman, 88, died of renal cancer Wednesday.
A trial program to analyze and hopefully reduce youth shootings in two of the city’s most violent neighborhoods was endorsed today by a City Council committee.
The Chicago Youth Shooting Review would look at all shootings, fatal or otherwise, involving people under 21 in the 11th District on the city’s West Side and the 4th District on the Southeast Side, said Commissioner Evelyn Diaz, who runs the city’s Family and Support Services Department.
Teachers and students at more than 280 Chicago Public Schools indicate they need more support to improve their performance, according to the results of a survey conducted by the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research.
