A year ago, Natasha McShane was savagely beaten with a baseball bat during a Bucktown mugging. She seemed well on her way to recovery when her parents brought her home to Northern Ireland for more medical attention. But McShane's father, Liam, tells the Sun-Times that his daughter has had to deal with a series of setbacks since and her recovery has actually regressed. more ›

After two years and at a cost of $140,000, Cook County Jail has opened a new facility to provide medical care and counseling to pregnant inmates. more ›

Near North Health Services Corporation (NNHSC) is one of the largest providers of community-based primary health care in the city of Chicago, serving members of our community in dire need. Simply stated, they're helping anyone and everyone. The communities they serve are, according to the organization, “characterized by large concentrations of CHA high rise apartments, abandoned residential buildings, blighted commercial properties, and an utter absence of basic services and health care resources”. It is the mission of NNHSC to provide services focused on the medically underserved using primary care concepts, advocate for safe and healthy communities, and acknowledge the environmental, social and cultural factors that influence one’s health. They stand as a positive force on the health status of the entire community and empower its members to take ownership of their health. more ›

Yesterday was, of course, Tax Day, the deadline for us to settle up our taxes with the government. But it's also the day on which the new Tea Party movement has chosen to hold rallies and protests against having a black president high taxes, government spending, and healthcare reform (we - and our pal Eric Zorn - think). While protests and rallies were held across the country, the Chicago rally was held in Daley Plaza, attracting a crowd estimated at over 1,500. Local political figures, including Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica, local Congressional candidate Joe Pollak, and former gubernatorial candidate Adam Andrzejewski were in attendance to support the Tea Partiers. more ›

The news that two main staffers at the Howard Brown Health Center were being placed on paid administrative leave came as a shock to Chicago's LGBT community last week. And in the days that have passed since the brief press release unveiled the news, it seems those involved with the Midwest's premier gay and lesbian health center remain tight-lipped on details. more ›

Now that the bill has passed and will be signed into law tomorrow by President Obama, what can we expect? That's a damn good question as the bill itself clocked in at over 2,000 pages. Here are a few links that are helping us sort out what's next. Feel free to add some you've found in the comments. more ›

Just because it was a holiday doesn't mean there hasn't been news going on. Here's a few samples of what you might have missed while eating, opening presents, and soaking in some holiday cheer. more ›

Today's Moment of Zen: Talking Points Memo brings us Sen. Roland Burris' reading his Night Before Christmas parody, regarding the health care bill, on the Senate floor. [via] more ›

The role of nutrition in the treatment and prevention of chronic disease is undeniable. During the 2008 presidential debates Barack Obama emphasized this fact. He urged the nation to save money by “paying for a dietitian for people to lose weight, as opposed to paying for the $30,000 foot amputation.” The American Institute of Cancer Research pinpoints healthy weight, physical activity, and diet as the best protection against cancer. Likewise, the American Heart Association preaches diet and lifestyle as the two crucial elements to preventing cardiovascular disease. more ›

With the Obama Administration and Senate Democrats courting Sen. Joe Leiberman for his support of the current health care bill before the Senate, Obama's replacement, our own (lame duck) Sen. Roland Burris is stomping his feet to get some attention is well. Burris was seeking to remind party leadership his vote is still important and the he won't vote for a bill that doesn't have a public option. According to the NY Times, Burris took to the Senate floor yesterday and said: more ›

Women, Infants and Children (commonly known as “WIC”) is a state-run supplemental nutrition program funded by the USDA. WIC serves infants and children under the age of five and pregnant and postpartum women who are at nutritional-risk. The menu of services provided by WIC includes nutritional counseling, breastfeeding support, health screenings and referrals. WIC has long provided vouchers for the purchase of cereal, juice, milk, cheese and eggs, as well as dried beans or peanut butter. As of this October, after decades of stagnancy, WIC finally expanded its food package to include fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. more ›

While the House narrowly passed health care reform over the weekend, both the president and Senate Democrats were looking ahead to the next round. And while it appears that there will be at least a cursory fight over abortion funding in the Senate version of the bill, there seems to be a real concern over the ability of lining up 60 votes to pass the bill. more ›

There was plenty going on this weekend in the news but we understand if you missed it and were, instead, outside enjoying the amazing warm weather. Here's your chance to catch up. more ›

• Sen. Burris continues to be in the health care debate spotlight thanks to his stance on a public option. Well, sort of.
• The Sun-Times discovers commuting by bike.
• Clean-up continues of a major freight train derailment in the Glenview area.

The national debate over health care reform has dragged on for so long, across so many different proposals, that it's hard to keep track of what the Senate or the House might be considering this week. But here in Chicago, the very real cost associated with covering employees is manifesting itself in very direct ways. Unite Here Local 1, the union that represents hotel and hospitality workers in the city is in negotiations over the labor agreement that will cover 6,000 workers downtown, and 15,000 workers in the area. And while the contract expired in August, both the union and the hotels around town are still far from an agreement. Like they did three years ago, the union is negotiating with the major hotel chains separately this year, starting with Hyatt. Unlike in 2006, when Unite Here was able to make gains on the wage increases they bargained in 2003, employers are pushing for concessions this time, due in part to the recession. "Things have gotten really bad," Unite Here Local 1 spokeswoman Annemarie Strassel told the Tribune. "I think that employers see the bad economy as an opportunity to ram through proposals." Hyatt's proposal would leave half of their unionized employees ineligible for health insurance. more ›

Remember U.S. Sen. Roland Burris? He was all the talk here, there, and everywhere in the first half of 2009 for all the wrong reasons. But now he finds himself in the Capitol Hill spotlight once more but this time for reasons actually pertaining to legislation. Burris is now making waves for his refusal to support any health care reform plan that doesn't include a public option. Why does this matter? Because if Burris sticks to his gun - and why not? He's not running for re-election and has nothing to lose - that could mean Senate Democrats won't have the 60 votes necessary (there are 58 Dems and two independents in the U.S. Senate, currently) to stop a Republican filibuster. The Associated Press says this in a profile (via Crain's): more ›

• In light of yesterday's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, a bankruptcy court judge has once more given the okay for the Cubs to be sold to the Ricketts family.
• If, in a few months, you feel like your copy of the Chicago Tribune is shrinking, you're not imagining it.
• An Indiana National Guard soldier committed suicide in a Muncie, Indiana movie theater last night.

As we listed in yesterday's "Extra Extra," seven protesters were arrested yesterday in the sales office of Cigna Insurance at 525 W Monroe. Participants of a nationwide campaign for single-payer health care called Patients Not Profits formed a small picket line outside of the office. Seven picketers then entered the building and demanded to speak with Cigna's CEO. When denied, they sat down in the lobby and chanted “patients not profits” and "Cigna is the real death panel" until they were escorted out by police. more ›

T-Pain gives President Obama a hand making his health care proposal sound better. more ›

President Barack Obama is on a whirlwind media tour this weekend to help promote his health care reform bill. Below is his appearance on NBC's Meet The Press, one of the many stops he made for this morning's news shows. He'll also be the lone guest tomorrow night on The Late Show with David Letterman. more ›

Last night, President Obama addressed a joint-session of Congress and the American public to make his case for his health care reform plan, addressed controversies such as the "death panel" accusation, and mixed the usual Obama pragmatism with a bit more of a hard-line stance (the Sun-Times' Lynn Sweet called it "a magnificent balancing act"). You can watch the speech below in its entirety and read the full text here. more ›

9th District Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky held a town hall meeting on health care reform this week, where she was met by both supporters and opponents of the legislation. Among the opponents of reform were several in the crowd that booed the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. more ›

"Man, November 4, 2008 seems so far away now. Try to set up a little universal health care and everyone goes crazy..." more ›

While the national news has been chock-full of stories of angry anti-health care reform activists storming town hall meetings with congressmen, the local news won't be carrying any of those stories soon, at least not starring U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and 19th District Congressman John Shimkus. “I won’t be doing sucker-punch town hall meetings,” Democrat and Senate Majority Whip Durbin said. “They can do all the political theater they want, but I don’t have to supply the stage for them.” more ›

With all the hubbub over Wal-Mart going on in these parts recently, we're not surprises there's more news to add and this time it'll raise even more eyebrows. According to WBEZ, Dr. John Agwunobi, a senior vice-president of the company whose unit includes the company’s health clinics, spoke in Chicago at this weekend's National Council of La Raza and said the company supports a part of President Obama's healthcare proposal that includes coverage for all workers. But Agwunobi also said the company wants healthcare for illegal immigrants. When asked if they support healthcare for illegal immigrants, Agwunobi answered, "We believe strongly that everyone should have access to affordable health insurance. Everyone." [WBEZ] more ›

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NBC Nightly News last night featured a pair of local doctors giving back to the community. more ›

President Obama is about to start a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, his first from that location. Expected topics of interest will include Iran and health care. You can follow it here starting at 11:30 a.m. more ›

Much was made yesterday morning about the cost of President Obama's quick trip back to Chicago for his speech before the American Medical Association's annual meeting, pitching his proposed health care reform plan. But the speech itself was received warmly for the most part. Calling the current cost of health care a "ticking time-bomb" and while not supporting caps on malpractice lawsuits, Obama did call for improvements to the system that would: more ›

With health care always in the news, President Obama is going to make a return trip to Chicago next week to address the annual meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates in person. Last week, the AMA - along with several other supporting organizations - published an open letter to President Obama [PDF] about their hopes and suggestions for health care reform. The House of Delegates meeting takes place June 13 through 17th, following on the heels of the general AMA convention, which begins tomorrow and runs through Saturday. more ›