• Identification00065123
  • TitleDescriptive inventory for the Chicago Reporter (periodical) records, 1972-1989
  • PublisherChicago Historical Society
  • Language
    • English.
    • English
    • Spanish
  • RepositoryChicago History Museum Research Center 1601 North Clark Street Chicago, IL 60614-6038
  • OriginationThe Chicago Reporter Community Renewal Society
  • Date1972-1989
  • Physical Description
    • 16 linear feet (38 boxes)
    • 7 cassette tapes
    • 1 folder photo negatives
  • Location
    • MSS Lot C
    • 0MM 331
    • PSM 1989.0472

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).

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

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

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

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.

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 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.

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

  • Names
    • McDermott, John A.--1949-1996--Archives
    • King, Martin Luther, Jr.--1929-1968
    • Community Renewal Society (Chicago, Ill.)--Archives
    • Catholic Inter-Racial Council (Chicago, Ill.)
    • Chicago Freedom Movement
    • National Center for the Laity
  • Subject
    • African Americans--Civil rights--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
    • Catholics--Illinois--Chicago--20th--century
    • Community organization--Illinois--Chicago--20th--century
    • Discrimination in employment--United States
    • Hispanic Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Economic conditions
    • Hispanic Americans--Illinois--Chicago--Social conditions
    • Journalism--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
    • Minorities--Illinois--Chicago
    • Periodicals--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
    • Poverty--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
    • Racism--Illinois--Chicago
    • Social service--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Geographic Coverage
    • Chicago (Ill.)--Social conditions--20th century
    • Chicago (Ill.)--Riots, 1968 (April)
    • Chicago (Ill.)--Race relations--20th century
    • Chicago (Ill.)--Ethnic relations--20th century

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.