We were scared and devastated. Doctors had just diagnosed our daughter Melanie with advanced Stage 3 chronic kidney disease in August 2021. Doctors told us that she would need a kidney transplant to survive. I could either sit and cry over the devastating news, or I could prepare to fight for my daughter’s life. And like any mother, I found the strength to support her fight.

I was a compatible kidney match for Melanie, so in October of last year, doctors at Lurie Children’s Hospital removed one my kidneys and successfully transplanted the organ into Melanie. God prepares us for these heavy, challenging times. It was nearly overwhelming at the beginning, and I felt like the weakest person, but I knew I had to be tough when I fought for my daughter’s wellbeing.

The CTA is holding an event today meant to help connect people interested in careers and training opportunities for the transit agency's ongoing and upcoming larger projects including the Red and Purple Line Modernization, the Red Line Extension, the Western Brown Line station rehabilitation project, the Forest Park Branch Rebuild and the All Stations Accessible Program, according to a CTA news release. Various unions and agencies will have representatives available to talk with attendees. The event runs from 4-6 p.m. at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave. Additional information and registration is available online.

The Daily Line team was in attendance at the UIC Pavilion for the rally with Bernie Sanders and Brandon Johnson for Chicago's Mayor. Check out a few of the moments we captured at the event. 

Ald. Sophia King (4), one of several progressive challengers in this year’s mayor’s race, has said tackling violence and creating a better relationship between the City Council and mayor are two top priorities should she win the crowded election.

King was appointed to her aldermanic seat in 2016 by former Mayor Rahm Emanuel but has maintained her position with a wide margin in elections in 2017 and 2019. Prior to serving on the council, King worked in education as a chemistry teacher at Chicago’s Latin School and an administrator at Northwestern University and Chicago Public Schools. She also has been involved in several philanthropic organizations.

She has chaired the City Council Progressive Reform Caucus since 2020. King has used her prominent City Council role to push for the inclusion of a non-police emergency response program in Lightfoot’s 2021 “pandemic” budget. She was also a leading proponent of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) civilian police oversight ordinance, which created the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability. King was also one of five Black alderwomen to introduce the proposed “Anjanette Young Ordinance” to reform the police department’s home raid protocols. As an alderman, King has presided over the “Bronzeville Lakefront” mega-development plan, which aims to build a new mixed-use campus on the former Michael Reese Hospital site, and she has touted it as an example of how community-driven developments can be more popular.

Activist Ja’Mal Green is making another attempt to become top Chicago executive after he ran for mayor last cycle and failed to make the ballot. Businessman Willie Wilson, who ran in the 2019 field and has also filed for the 2023 election, got Green kicked off the ballot nearly four years ago after he challenged Green’s nominating petitions.

While Green endorsed Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 runoff election for mayor against Cook County Board Pres. Toni Preckwinkle, he’s clashed with her on issues throughout her term.

Among the most notable, Green tweeted false rumors in 2021 that the mayor was resigning though he later apologized. Soon after, however, Green crashed a news conference Lightfoot was holding to call out the mayor for allegedly “not backing his efforts to bring a youth center to Auburn Gresham” because of his involvement in the proposal, according to the Sun-Times.

Green would become the city’s youngest mayor if elected, according to WTTW. He told WTTW he was “uniquely qualified” to be mayor as someone who grew up on the South and West sides and had been kicked out of nine schools while he was growing up. “I was a troubled kid, before, but I turned my life around and became a successful businessman,” he told WTTW.

Following reporting from WBEZ and City Bureau in 2020 which showed JPMorgan Chase Bank had been significantly disproportionately investing in white neighborhoods over Black communities in Chicago, Green organized demonstrations against the bank. But his actions led to him being banned from Chase property and his account being closed over what the company deemed harassment.

Illinois state Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) is one of several progressive candidates looking to unseat Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Recently reelected for a second full term in the state legislature, Buckner was first appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives in early 2019 and currently chairs the Illinois House Black Caucus.

During his campaign announcement, Buckner called for an approach to public safety that incorporates justice as much as safety. As a state legislator, Buckner has sponsored successful bills to crack down on organized retail crime and ban the sale and possession of ghost guns, or guns without serial numbers. He has also filed bills to ban no-knock warrants and establish a task force on missing and murdered Chicago women.

Buckner has also put forth legislation to make the City Colleges of Chicago Board elected rather than appointed and helped lead a successful Chicago Teachers Union-backed effort to chart out an elected school board for Chicago Public Schools. Buckner is also a strong supporter of the SAFE-T Act, which he helped pass.

He has also promised to have a better relationship with the City Council than Lightfoot, saying he’d engage each alderman in conversation and give them more independence. “I think we’ve got to spend more time talking about how we put forth real City Council reform to give the 50 alderpeople the ability to do their job,” Buckner  . “They do not work for the mayor; they work with the mayor.”

Buckner is a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and DePaul University’s College of Law. He previously worked for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and a New Orleans mayor. Buckner grew up in the Roseland and Washington Heights neighborhoods on the South Side.