GREENE COUNTY DEMOCRAT — The cost of childcare has placed a serious financial burden on Black parents who are two times more likely than White parents to have to quit, turn down, or make a major change in their job due to childcare disruptions. In addition, only 26.8 percent of Black 3- and 4-year-old children are enrolled in publicly funded preschool, while the average cost of preschool for those without access to publicly funded programs is $8,600. Most families will save more than half of what they currently spend on childcare, and the vast majority of families will pay no more than 7 percent of their income for childcare. It will also reduce the cost of home-based care for the hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities who need it but lack access. Investment in home care will raise wages for home care workers, 28 percent of whom are Black.
House passes transformational Build Back Better Act but will the Senate follow suit?
Posted in#LetItBeKnown, #NNPA BlackPress, Black Experience, Black History, Community, Crime, Featured, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire, Stacy Brown
Investigators exonerate men convicted in the 1965 assassination of Malcolm X
NNPA NEWSWIRE — The stunning reversal recasts history and reopens the case of the slaying of Malcolm X, who died in a hail of gunfire at the old Audubon Theater in New York’s Harlem area. The exoneration of the two men, Muhammad A. Aziz, and Khalil Islam, represents a “remarkable acknowledgment of grave errors made in a case of towering importance: the 1965 murder of one of America’s most influential Black leaders in the fight against racism,” the Times reported.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Large crowd gathers for Joliet’s Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting
Hundreds lined the streets of downtown Joliet this past Friday for the annual tree lighting and Holiday Parade. Local officials gathered on a stage prior to the start of the parade for the ceremonial tree lighting.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Victim Advocate Jessica Gil receives award from Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists
State’s Attorney James Glasgow recently honored Victim Witness Advocate Jessica Gil for receiving the Diane Mains Award from the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists (AAIM) for her dedication in assisting impaired driving crash victims and their families.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
More than 70 percent of Will County residents 12 and older vaccinated
While the case positivity rate is up a bit in Will County, there is good news on the vaccination front. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, 70.7 percent of Will County residents 12 and older are fully vaccinate as of Nov. 25. At the same time, the rolling seven-day test positivity rate for the county is 5.24 percent. Residents should continue to wear masks while indoors in public places, IDPH officials said.
Posted in#NNPA BlackPress, Business, Commentary, Community, Featured, Media, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire, Op-Ed
OP-ED: An Unfair Attack on an Organization Making a Difference
NNPA NEWSWIRE — For more than a decade, the nonprofit CORE Services Group has been an effective partner to New York City’s Department of Homeless Services. It runs dozens of emergency or transitional housing centers, where clients receive skills training, substance abuse treatment, shelter and other critical services. Time and again, the city has turned to CORE to help fight the chronic problem of poverty and homelessness.
Posted in#NNPA BlackPress, Black Experience, Black History, Business, Commentary, Community, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Coronavirus, COVID-19, Economy, Featured, James Clyburn, Law, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire, Op-Ed, Politics
COMMENTARY: Build Back Better balances Joe Biden’s 3-legged Stool
NNPA NEWSWIRE — In March, Democrats passed President Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) without a single Republican vote. In addition to making sure we had enough vaccines and getting them out quickly and equitably, the ARP scaled up testing and tracing and addressed the shortages of personal protective equipment. The ARP expanded the Child Tax Credit, which lifted nearly half of America’s children living in poverty out of poverty, and the Earned Income Tax Credit; the House-passed Build Back Better legislation will extend these expanded tax credits through 2022.
Posted in#LetItBeKnown, #NNPA BlackPress, Black Experience, Black History, Community, Crime, Featured, Law, National, News, NNPA, NNPA Newswire, Politics, Stacy Brown
After Guilty Verdicts, Civil Rights Leaders Exhort Black America to ‘Never Stop Running for Ahmaud’
NNPA NEWSWIRE — A Glynn County, Georgia, convicted Travis McMichael, Gregory McMichael, and William Bryan of felony murder. “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty,” civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump exclaimed. “Nothing will bring back Ahmaud, but his family will have some peace knowing the men who killed him will remain behind bars and can never inflict their brand of evil on another innocent soul,” Crump continued.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Pritzker signs Congressional Maps that preserve minority representation
SPRINGFIELD — After reviewing the General Assembly’s congressional maps drawn with 2020 U.S. Census data, Governor JB Pritzker signed the new U.S. House district map that reflects Illinois’ diversity and preserves minority representation in Illinois’ delegation in accordance with the federal Voting Rights Act.
Posted inTimes Weekly News
Local families are looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday
Unlike last November’s small gatherings, this week’s Thanksgiving celebrations across the country have many people saying “go big or go home.” As many in this country have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, residents in Will County are confident celebrating the holiday with family and friends will not cause medical issues for them. Marisha Jackson of Joliet said she plans to go all out this Thanksgiving. “Besides my family, I am having my cousins, aunts and uncles over,” she said. “I love to cook so this holiday is ideal for me. Last year, it was just my husband, myself and our two children. I would rather cook for a large group than a few. It makes the holiday much more special when we can pass the food around and share laughs.”
