Kari Lydersen is a Chicago-based journalist, author and assistant professor at Northwestern University, where she leads the investigative specialization at the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. Her books include Mayor 1%: Rahm Emanuel and the Rise of Chicago’s 99%.

Labor
Community Members, Including Former Chicago Bull, Unite To Save School From ‘Turnaround’
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Chicagoland, Episode 5: Startups vs. Shootouts
The latest episode of the CNN miniseries ultimately lets Mayor Rahm Emanuel off the hook for Chicago's rifts.
Kari Lydersen
Feature
The ACA Could Be the Death Knell for Chicago’s Public Mental Health Clinics
In 2012, Mayor Emanuel's budget forced half the city's public mental health clinics to close; now the remaining six are in danger, too.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Candlelight Vigil at Cook County Jail Shines Light on Chicago’s Mental Health Crisis
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Taking the Gloves Off in Chicagoland
Even as it celebrates Chicago's 'toughness,' CNN's mini-series doesn't confront the real reasons behind the city's inequality.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Riding Herd Over Workers’ Rights?
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Who’s Afraid of Rahm Emanuel?
Amara Enyia, who plans to run for mayor of Chicago in 2015, certainly isn’t.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Oil Boom Raises Safety Concerns for Whistleblower Railworker
Kari Lydersen
Labor
A Tale of Two Jobs Forums: Rahm Emanuel and Unions Take Contrasting Approaches
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Chicago Youth Theater Refuses To Be Silenced
Teens in Chicago are overcoming censorship to share their perspectives on the city's social issues.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Our Home Is Not a Dumping Ground, Say Chicago’s Southeast Side Residents
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Princes of the City
From Rahm Emanuel to Rob Ford, today's mayors increasingly run their cities like fiefdoms.
Kari Lydersen
In Honduras, Resistance Against Ruling Party Continues Despite Peril
Kari Lydersen
Labor
As One Window Closes in Chicago, Another One Opens
Kari Lydersen
Feature
How Mayor Rahm Emanuel Awoke a Progressive Resistance in Chicago
The war between Chicago's 99% and its latest mayor.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Railroad Worker: BART Fatalities Show We Still Aren’t Safe
Kari Lydersen
Labor
A Train Bound for Tragedy
Kari Lydersen
Labor
A Resounding Vow To ‘Take Back Chicago’ From Its Mayor
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Janitors Strike in Columbus, Ohio
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Columbus Janitors Won’t Be Taken to the Cleaners
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Lawsuit to Keep 49 Chicago Schools Open Faces Setback
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Labor and Civil Rights Groups Descend on ALEC Conference
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Chicago Rail Workers Strike, Alleging Shady Layoffs and Poor Safety Conditions
Kari Lydersen
Labor
In Streets of Chicago, Fast Food Workers Celebrate Small Victories
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Chicago Teachers Protest Layoffs, Chanting ‘Emanuel Has Got To Go!’
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Award-Winning Chicago Teacher Gets Pink Slip in Round of 2,113 Layoffs
Kari Lydersen
Labor
New Report: The Pulp and Paper Industry Can Save Jobs by Becoming More Energy Efficient
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Why a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Laid-Off Photojournalists Defend Their Field
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Blues Go Green, Applaud Obama’s Climate Action Plan
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Chicago’s $2 Billion Decision: Will it Buy U.S.?
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Exxon Mobil Sued for Anti-Gay Hiring Practices
Kari Lydersen
Feature
A New Era for Worker Ownership, 5 Years in the Making
The New Era Windows Cooperative opens its doors (and windows) for business.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Columbia College Chicago’s Adjunct Faculty Poised to Strike
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Mining Giant Sued Over Silicosis Epidemic
Kari Lydersen
Labor
More Blood on the Tracks
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Blood on the Tracks
Railway whistleblowers get some federal protection at last.
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Los Mineros’ Leader-in-Exile
From Canada, Napoleón Gómez Urrutia seeks justice for the deaths of 65 miners.
Kari Lydersen
Feature
Chicagoans Flood Streets To Protest ‘Racist’ School Closings
City leaders' plan to close 54 public schools, primarily in black communities, was met with defiance.
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Inspired by Teachers and Janitors, Security Officers Take Fight to the Streets
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Chicago Police Sergeants Reject Rahm’s Offer
Kari Lydersen
‘Let’s Run Amok in This Pit’: For Anne Scargill, The Fight Goes On
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Surrounded by Industry and Out of a Job in Indiana’s BP ‘Boomtown’
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Chicago Middle-School Students Berate Officials: ‘Don’t Close Our Schools!’
Kari Lydersen
Modeling Capitalist Dystopia: Honduras OKs Plan for Private Cities
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Fracking ‘Boom Towns’ Rife with Workplace Accidents
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Labor Takes Hard Line Against Social Security and Medicare Cuts
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Midwest Generation and 100 Workers Plead with Illinois Pollution Control Board
Kari Lydersen
Labor
Laid-Off O’Hare Workers Call for Rebid After Irregularities Surface
Kari Lydersen
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