Midwest

Chicago’s troubling homicide rate could be significantly reduced through a massive increase in state spending for Chicago schools.

Violent-crime arrests drop by 33 percent for program participants.

Researchers have shown — and teachers know — that schoolchildren exposed to neighborhood violence can have a tougher time learning, experiencing more stress and depression than their peers growing up in safe neighborhoods.

Why do some neighborhoods appear able to launch effective local improvement initiatives, while others are more hampered by fragmentation and mistrust? Why can some communities mobilize diverse constituencies to influence public policy, while others cannot?