Matthew Blake is a freelance journalist based in Chicago. He has written for the Chicago Journal, Washington Monthly, Washington Independent and The Nation, among other publications.

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Web Engineer: ‘I Started Making Websites in Middle School’

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Pharmacist: ‘I Always Tell My Children That I Took the Practical Route’

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Actor: ‘The Roles Get Fewer and Farther Between’

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Flight Attendant: ‘The Job Itself Is Almost Therapeutic’

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Hairstylist: ‘It’s Like Being on a First Date All the Time’

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Organic Farmer: ‘There Are a Lot of Things I Can’t Control’

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Chicago Unions Divided Over Emanuel’s Move To Gut Pensions

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Will Bruce Rauner Be Scott Walker 2.0 for Illinois Unions?

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U.S. Chamber of Commerce ‘Exposes’ Union Backing of Worker Centers

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The Worst Long-Term Unemployment Crisis in 80 Years

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Illinois Caregivers Press Governor Quinn for a Living Wage

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Don’t Call It a Comeback, Quinn

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Protestors Brave Sub-Zero Weather in Bid To Freeze Chicago’s Charter Expansion

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On National Day of Action to Reclaim Public Education, Some Chicago Politicians Get Lumps of Coal

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Will Power: 16-Day Strike Helps Public Workers Win Wage Increase

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How To Save Chicago Schools? Fix the Flat Tax, Say Community Members

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Progressive Chicagoans Take Budget Hearings into Their Own Hands—No Emanuel Necessary

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Putting the Brakes on Privatization

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‘People’s Board’ Takes On Rahm Emanuel’s Handpicked School Board

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After Largest School Shutdown in History, Spared Schools See Few Financial Benefits

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Fight Against ‘Right-to-Work’ Not Over in Michigan

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Will Illinois ‘Ban the Box?’

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Task Force Probes Sexual Harassment in Byzantine Warehouse Sector

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Can Illinois Public Employees Win a Fair Pension Deal?

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What’s Next for the Chicago Teachers Union?

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New CPS Board Member Vows Not To Rubber Stamp School Closings

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In Zero Sum Game, Rick Perry Courts Illinois Businesses

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At School Closing Hearings, Chicago Officials Give Residents the Silent Treatment

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Unions Greet ‘Right-to-Work’ with Defiance—and in Some Cases, Adaptation

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Will Chicago Save Money From School Closings? The Evidence Is Thin

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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn Narrowly Avoids Public Employee Strike
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Cops and Firefighters: The Public Sector’s New Untouchable Upper Class?