AS I SEE IT For some, police 'a force of fear'
In a small, South Side Waukegan church, where the Jesus who hangs on the cross is a brutalized black man, family and friends of Aaren Gwinn poured out their anger and their grief.

The complexities of our hearts and souls
We rush to bury our dead, to incinerate the remains that remind us of our own creeping end.

Construction jobs and math
One of the reasons young black men have trouble getting good- paying jobs in the construction industry is a lack of math skills.

Bowen Park echoes with laughter
One of my favorite photos was taken 19 years ago at beautiful Bowen Park in Waukegan. My oldest child, then a fearless 1-year-old, had just discovered the towering dual slides at the park's playground, which spreads over a hilltop. The camera captures him on all fours about to climb off after his first slide. His expression is pure joy.