Donations at Illinois food pantries during the holiday season helps them stay open year round.
The line was out the door at a large food pantry in Chicago ahead of Thanksgiving, which isn’t unusual, according to Greater Chicago Food Depository executive director Katie Maehr.
She says reliance on food banks like hers is at a record high, and increased holiday donations make up a significant amount of the food it’ll distribute for months afterwards.
Maehr says more and more people coming to food banks are people with jobs, sometimes several of them, but who still struggle to afford basics like food. Demand rose sharply during the recession, and Maehr says it shows no signs of decreasing.
In other State news, politicians from both parties are hoping for calm after a video showing a Chicago police officer shooting a black teenager 16 times is released. The white police officer, Jason Van Dyke, has now been charged with first-degree murder for killing 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Police have maintained McDonald was behaving erratically and was refusing commands to drop a knife. The city of Chicago lost a court battle over keeping the dash-cam video out of the public eye, arguing it shouldn’t be released while the criminal investigation against Van Dyke was ongoing. The video reportedly shows McDonald was walking away when Van Dyke began shooting. None of the five other officers on the scene fired a shot. Gov. Bruce Rauner expects reaction to be strong, but hopes it remains peaceful. When asked if he was ready to call in extra state troopers or the Illinois National Guard, he wouldn’t give any details on his contingency plans. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel met with pastors and activists from African-American communities on Monday to try to ensure protests after the video’s release remain peaceful.
