Judith Crown

Chicago

Contributing Editor, Notables at Crain's Chicago Business

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Articles

Worker co-ops aim to make a dent in the persistent wealth gap

3 weeks ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

Finding a job can be difficult after serving time in prison, especially one that pays a living wage. The first barrier is having to check the box on a job application that says “formerly incarcerated,” says Kimberly Britt, an owner of the five-year-old South Side worker co-op ChiFresh Kitchen. “The jobs we were able to get were $10 an hour.
Chicago working-class communities see opportunity in alternative wealth-building models

3 weeks ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

A group of South Shore residents hope that their plans to take shared ownership of a rundown building on 71st Street will serve as a blueprint for revitalizing the neighborhood’s commercial corridor. The South Shore Community Development Corp. recently closed on the property, west of Jeffrey Boulevard, and expects to begin a nearly $3 million rehab.
Chicago makes its move to get in on the data center boom

1 month ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

Microsoft last year acquired more than 500 acres for a data center in southwest suburban Plano. Compass Datacenters is building a five-building campus on 200 acres at the former Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. CyrusOne is also developing a 230-acre complex near Yorkville.
Storied Donnelley printing plant revamped into a hulking data center

1 month ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

Inside a building not far from the lakefront is where you can clearly see the industrial age meet the digital. A 109-megawatt data center operated by Austin, Texas-based Digital Realty, the 1.1 million-square-foot space serves as a connection point for 600 tenants such as Comcast, Microsoft and Amazon. A series of eerily empty corridors inside the building leads to locked closets housing stacks of servers and networking equipment. But the eighth floor of 350 E.
Five years later: How the pandemic changed Chicago

2 months ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

By Judith Crown February 19, 2025 In the five years since the COVID-19 lockdowns upended lives and businesses, many have returned to what looks like a pre-pandemic “normal.” But not all. The pandemic’s effects still weigh on Chicago in numerous ways. Memories may have faded with time, but who can forget worrying about not having enough face masks? Or whether "contact tracing" worked?
Impending expiration of federal tax credits could leave more Illinoisans uninsured

2 months ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

It isn’t just the lowest-income Americans at risk of losing health care if Congress votes to reduce benefits. Lower- and middle-income Americans who buy insurance on the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, marketplace face higher costs that could cause some to drop the coverage and become uninsured. That’s because enhanced tax credits started during the COVID pandemic are set to expire at the end of the year, making them an easy cost savings for Republicans because there’s no vote or action required.
What Illinois faces if congressional Republicans slash Medicaid

2 months ago | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

By Judith Crown February 24, 2025 On a typical day at his Sinai Chicago clinic, Dr. Michael Malone sees patients with chronic health problems — diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, congestive heart failure and asthma. A majority of them are on Medicaid. Without that safety-net insurance, Malone worries how his fragile patients would get the medications, tests and other care they need. “How am I going to help someone with congestive heart failure?” he says.
Amid climate of DEI opposition, firms weigh legal and business risks

Jan 6, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, large public companies are going underground. Under pressure from conservative activists, they’re rolling back their most public initiatives. But in so doing, they risk antagonizing employees and investors who see spineless corporate bureaucracies. “The companies are finding themselves between a rock and a hard place,” says attorney Lauren Hartz, co-chair of Chicago-based Jenner & Block’s DEI Protection Task Force.
Contractors brace for the demise of diversity initiatives

Jan 6, 2025 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

With diversity initiatives under sweeping attack nationwide, minority and women contractors in Illinois are bracing for changes, or even the elimination of the government set-aside programs that for years have ensured a steady stream of work.
Chicago's Black population loss amounts to a gain for Southern metro areas

Nov 4, 2024 | chicagobusiness.com | Judith Crown

When Black residents decide to move out of Chicago, Atlanta is the top city destination, while Texas is the most popular state, according to a study by the University of Illinois Chicago Institute for Research on Race & Public Policy. While Chicago’s Black population has dropped by a third since 1980, the population of Black residents in the greater metro area has remained stable in the range of 1.5 million. In 1980, less than a quarter of Black area residents lived in the suburbs.