Original News, Features & Opinion on Chicago, Illinois and America
Midnight Flight: Chapter 11 — Friends Left Behind One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved Rely on memory for inspiration, but always check it for perfection and accuracy. Memory is human. So, it is…
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 11 — Friends Left Behind” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 10 — The Sub-Urban Life One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “Wash your whiskey in your water, sugar in your tea …” “Wuz all this crazy questions you askin’ me …”…
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 10 — The Sub-Urban Life” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 9 — Midnight Flight One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “I’m gonna leave the city, got to get away. “I’m gonna leave the city, got to get away. “All this fussing…
Midnight Flight: Chapter 8 — In the Eye of the Storm One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “I can fly like a bird in the sky. “I can buy anything that money can buy….
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 8 — In the Eye of the Storm” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 7 — Bowen High School One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “Give me a head with Hair, long beautiful Hair, “Shining, gleaming, streaming, flaxen, waxen, “Give me down to there, Hair!…
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 7 — Bowen High School” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 6 — Alone in the Playground One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “There she was just a walking down the street, “singing do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do “Snapping her…
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 6 — Alone in the Playground” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 5 — Black is Bad One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2018 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “I’m from Milwaukee, and I ought to know. “It’s Blatz, Blatz, Blatz, Blatz, wherever you go. “Blatz is the…
Midnight Flight: Chapter 4 — Written Long Before One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2019 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved Chicago’s borders, literally, marked the end of civilization as we knew it. Beyond the city’s borders was a vast wasteland…
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 4 — Written Long Before” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 3 — A Beautiful, Idyllic Community One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2020 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “You don’t know, what we can find. “Why don’t you come home with me little girl, “on…
Read More “Midnight Flight: Chapter 3 — A Beautiful, Idyllic Community” »
Midnight Flight: Chapter 2, Dividing Lines One family’s experience of White Flight and the racial transformation of Chicago’s South Side (an online novel) By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2020 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved “You never really knew a man until you stood in his shoes and walked around in them.” — To Kill…
Midnight Flight: Chapter 1, Introduction By Ray Hanania Midnight Flight, (C) 1990-2020 Ray Hanania, All Rights Reserved This book is about one family’s experience of White Flight from a changing and great Chicago community, South Shore Valley (also called South Shore Gardens, Calumet Heights). It is also one person’s memory of living in a wonderful…
Will controversy follow recent sale of Palos Church to Muslims? The southwest suburbs have a history of community opposition to the building of a mosque or Muslim center, reflecting growing racism and discrimination against Muslims nationwide. Have things changed? By Ray Hanania More than 15 years ago, tried to purchase the abandoned Reform Church of Palos…
Read More “Will controversy follow recent sale of Palos Church to Muslims?” »
Great teachers are hard to find. Chicagoland schools in the city and the suburbs are deficient and not doing their jobs. A major responsibility falls on the teachers, whoa re not doing enough, and the excessive focus and resource commitments to school administrations. Cut the administrations and grade teachers for their work By Ray Hanania…
Common Core and our failing high schools. Too many high schools are graduating students who are “not ready” for college, achieving under 21 on ACT testing. By Ray Hanania When I was young, if my grade point average was under 60 percent, I flunked. The grading system we used then applies today: A=90+; B=80+; C=70+;…
Muslim, Christian and Jew to perform comedy for Interfaith group in Deerfield Oct. 24 Deerfield, Il. – An interfaith gathering of people committed to promoting religious tolerance and inter-cultural dialogue will host a comedy show in Deerfield Oct. 24 featuring three comedians of different faiths. The three performers at the show hosted by the Southeast…
Read More “Muslim, Christian and Jew to perform comedy for Interfaith group in Deerfield Oct. 24” »
First Arab Church opens in Southwest Chicago suburbs By Ray Hanania Oct. 10, 2005 Although most Americans believe the myth that all Arabs are Muslims, statistics show that the majority of Arabs in Chicagoland are Christian. There are several Arab Christian Churches in the Chicago area, but the first one to serve the huge Christian…
Read More “First Arab Church opens in Southwest Chicago suburbs” »
Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman resigned from her 13 year position on the board to take an important private sector job at a Fortune 100 company. It’s a loss for Cook County, a loss for moderation, a loss for Gov. Bruce Rauner and a loss for taxpayers By Ray Hanania Liz Gorman, the Orland Township…
Sandburg High school graduate Ashley Pickens authors a new illustrated children’s book inspired by her late father who pushed her to enjoy art as a young child. The new book, Waddle with Scuttle or Swim with Kim, will be featured at a book party Friday June 12 from 5 pm until 9 pm at Barraco’s in Mt. Greenwood….
Read More “Former Sandburg student authors children’s book” »