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1601 N. Clark Street Chicago, IL 60614
Access to archives and manuscripts at the Research Center.

Chicago Reporter (periodical) records

Descriptive Summary

Repository
Chicago History Museum
Research Center
1601 North Clark Street
Chicago, IL 60614-6038
Creator
The Chicago Reporter, Community Renewal Society
Bib number
00065123
Title
Chicago Reporter (periodical) records
Dates
1972-1989
Quantity
16 linear feet (38 boxes)
Quantity
7 cassette tapes
Quantity
1 folder photo negatives
Call number
MSS Lot C
Storage Location
0MM 331
Storage Location
PSM 1989.0472
Language
English Spanish

Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Terms governing use

The donor deeded all rights owned by the donor to this material, including copyright, to Chicago Historical Society.

Provenance statement

Gift of The Chicago Reporter, 1989 (accession #: 1989.0472).

Please cite this collection as

Chicago Reporter (periodical) Records, Chicago History Museum, Research Center, plus a detailed description, date, and series/box/folder of a specific item.

Collection Summary

Correspondence, reports, research files, periodicals, news releases, news clippings, interview transcripts, mailing lists, data sheets, and other materials related to the Chicago Reporter organization as well as its publications concerning civil rights issues within the Chicagoland area. Contained are several research documents on Chicago’s handling of race relations, involving the minority populations’ rights and roles as they relate to city infrastructure. Several drafts, potential story suggestions, and outlined investigations written by the staffed reporters are present as well with handwritten notes along with revisions. Also included are the Chicago Reporter's own records pertaining to the publication’s organizational affairs dealing with staff guidelines, salaries, fundraising, awards, and direct interactions with the readership. Audio material includes cassette tapes while the visual material includes photo negatives.

Biographical/historical note

The Chicago Reporter was founded in 1972, under the direction of civil rights advocate John A. McDermott, as a monthly publication by the Toward An Open Society Division of the Community Renewal Society, a non-profit urban mission agency of the United Church of Christ. The paper's reporting focused on race and poverty issues in Chicago with a particular focus on African American and Latina/o communities, including discrimination within the city in several departments of city infrastructure; discrepancies in minority healthcare services, education, and employment; exposure of mistreatment of elderly African American people within nursing homes; and under-reporting of fire deaths in poor and minority neighborhoods.

Related material

Related collections at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the John A. McDermott papers (2010.0029.1) and The Chicago Reporter (periodical) photograph collection (1989.0136), and copies of the publication cataloged separately.

Processing Note

Processed with support from the Black Metropolis Research Consortium Archie Motley Archival Internship program.

Indexed Terms

Organization and Arrangement of Collection

The collection is arranged in four series. The first series, Research Materials, has three subseries. The overall arrangement of the collection closely reflects the original order of the materials.

Series 1. Research Materials, 1972-1985

This series is comprised of correspondence, clippings, reports, mailing lists, notebooks, data tables, dossiers, and handwritten notes used as reference for several of the Chicago Reporter's publications. Annotated documents of several Chicago government plans are present that are especially relevant to issues related to Chicago’s minority populations. Analysis of reports and statements of city officials as well as statistical fact sheets are contained; largely from the mid 1970’s to early 1980’s. Contained also are annotated documents concerning Chicago administration and how it affected the city’s public services.

Subseries 1. Education, 1975-1982

This subseries consists of Correspondence between Chicago Reporter staff and several Chicago city officials related to the Chicago board of education as well as Chicago Public School district representatives. Included as well are research documents made up of fact sheets and reports related to minority enrollment in schools, statewide standardized testing results, public versus private education, bilingual education, school budgeting, and Chicago school desegregation. Several clippings and notes regarding the impact of changes in education throughout Chicago are also present.

Subseries 2. Health, 1972-1982

This subseries contains research material utilized by the Chicago Reporter for their writings on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Chicago Area Committee on Occupational Safety and Health (CACOSH), Medicaid, health systems budgeting, state comparisons of health care, abortion data in relation to the Hyde Amendment, sterilization, and the Chicago Health Systems Agency. Included are also annotated Documents related to former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne’s own health care plan for Chicago. correspondence between several reporters and Chicago or Illinois health care representatives is also contained.

Subseries 3. Other/Civil Rights, 1972-1982

This subseries is comprised of documents annotated and analyzed for research as they pertained to the Department of Human Rights, Chicago Police Department, Jane Byrne’s handling of race issues in Chicago, Harold Washington’s mayoral campaign, Illinois and Chicago job programs, workfare programs, the illinois workers rights coalition (IWRC), section 8 subsidies, and Ruth B Love. correspondence involving staff of the Chicago Reporter reaching out to request information of officials related to the above groups are contained within as well.

Series 2. Administrative Files, 1972-1989

This series consists of files related to administrative or otherwise organizational issues of the Chicago Reporter. It includes correspondence amongst staff that largely dealt with reporter guidelines concerning the design of the publication itself and deadlines for reporters throughout. A large portion of the documents have to do with negotiating salary contracts for staff positions from 1978-1998. Miscellaneous administrative files such as party invitations, award invitations, and fundraising discussions are present also. Survey data and analysis of the readership coupled with a master circulation file are included among the administrative files as well.

Series 3. Story Processing, 1972-1985

This series contains documents that showcase different stories in their own respective stages of the process to become published. This includes many drafts written by staff that could relate to the above research materials, with most containing hand written suggestions for revision. Included are outlines for many of the Chicago Reporter’s stories along with beat reports notating reporter findings from their beat. Interview notes and transcripts that are compatible with the research materials are also contained within. Correspondence between staff requesting feedback and giving suggestions on one another’s writing. Additionally completed Issues of the monthly periodical are present.

Series 4. Reporter files, 1974-1987

This series is arranged in alphabetical order by the last name of the reporter and contained within each reporter file are miscellaneous documents such as personal requests concerning vacation days as well as correspondence more pertinent to the processing of research materials and story processing. Documents include materials sent and received by the respective reporter by staff at the Chicago Reporter or city officials reaching out to the periodical.

Detailed list of contents of the collection

Series 1. Research Materials
1972-1985
Subseries 1. Education
1975-1982
MSS Lot C
Box 1
Title
School Reports
Box 2
Title
Reporter Notebooks
Box 3
Title
Schools, Teachers, Enrollment reports and impact
Box 4
Title
Minority Enrollment
Box 5
Title
Adult Education and Test
Box 6
Title
District Comparison/ Bilingual Education
Box 7
Title
Literacy and Enrollment Report
Subseries 2. Health
1972-1982
MSS Lot C
Box 8
Title
Medicaid Budget Cuts, Data, Containment Costs
Box 9
Title
Medicaid
Box 10
Title
Occupational Health
Box 11
Title
Medicaid and Hospitals
Box 12
Title
Miscellaneous and State Comparison
Box 13
Title
Occupational/Minority Illness
Box 14
Title
Abortions
Box 15
Title
Clippings
Box 16
Title
Abortion Data and Sterilization
Box 17
Title
Health Systems Agency
Subseries 3. Other/Civil Rights
1972-1982
MSS Lot C
PSM 1989.0472
Box 18
Title
Illinois Department of Human Rights
Box 19
Title
Personnel
Box 20
Title
Clippings
Box 21
Title
Illinois Workers Rights Coalition, Jane Byrne Track Record
Box 22
Title
Workfare
Box 23
Title
Welfare and Budgets
Folder 1
Physical Location
PSM 1989.0472
Title
Salvation Army photos
Box 24
Title
Clippings and welfare study
Box 25
Title
Latinas/os
Box 26
Title
Section 8 Subsidies, Chicago Police Department, Chicago Teachers Union
Box 27
Title
Human rights
Box 28
Title
Job programs and impact
Series 2. Administrative Files
1972-1989
MSS Lot C
0MM.331
Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Box 38
Physical Location
OMM.331
Size
7 cassette tapes
Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Box 29
Title
Administrative materials
Box 30
Title
Contracts and staff memos
Box 31
Title
Circulation and readership analysis
Series 3. Story Processing
1972-1985
MSS Lot C
0MM.331
Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Box 38
Physical Location
OMM.331
Size
7 cassette tapes
Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Box 32
Title
Completed issues and drafts
Box 33
Title
Ideas and beat reports
Box 34
Title
Outlines and drafts
Box 35
Title
Interview notes and drafts
Box 37
Title
Mockups and templates
Series 4. Reporter Files
1974-1987
MSS Lot C
0MM.331
Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Box 36
Title
Reporter files
Box 38
Physical Location
OMM.331
Size
7 cassette tapes
Restriction(s)

Advance appointment required to view cassette tapes. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original sound recording (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).