Following is a selection of recent stories that chronicle the work of LISC Chicago and its neighborhood partners, ranging from a piece about how a Nor

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Following is a selection of recent stories that chronicle the work of LISC Chicago and its neighborhood partners, ranging from a piece about how a Northwest Side factory was transformed into a new work space for green-related businesses, to an account of the long and tangled effort to bring a new mixed-use development to the mid-South Side.

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Pipeline to paychecks

A year ago, he was out of work, homeless and sleeping on the floor of a friend's apartment. Now he's in training to become a software instructor capable of earning more than $50,000 a year. How did he do it? Through one of LISC Chicago's 12 Centers for Working Families, which bridge the gap from college to career at Kennedy-King College. Read about Terrence Prayer's experience.

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"Hoops" tips off vs. youth violence

A basketball program that began in Pilsen as a modest anti-gang tactic has spread to 11 additional communities in the past 13 years as residents, players, coaches and parents take over their streets to promote healthy competition, good will, physical fitness and safety. See what happened when more than 200 players, coaches, parents and community leaders gathered near 23rd Street and Kedzie Avenue to celebrate the sixth season of "Hoops in the 'Hood."

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At last, Bronzeville’s 'Alleluia'

For seven years, the Quad Communities Development Corp. tried to redevelop the strategic-but-blighted corner of 47th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue – a crossroads of Chicago’s historic Bronzeville neighborhood. Two previous deals for a mixed-use, residential-over-retail complex had fallen through. The banks weren’t lending; the condo market went kaput; a hoped-for supermarket chain changed its mind. But now, with QCDC, Mahogany Ventures is moving forward with a five-story, $46 million complex featuring a new Walmart and additional retail to boot. Here's the story.

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Green Exchange gets it right

When the old Cooper Lamp factory pulled up stakes in Logan Square, residents and neighborhood organizations feared developers would convert the abandoned industrial building into high-cost residential lofts, which were all the rage back in the mid-2000s. Determined to maintain the structure as an employment center, they worked with an innovative developer and community partners to transform it into a place that now employs 1,000 people in green-related jobs. Read all about it.

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Third quarter grants and loans

In the third quarter of 2012, LISC Chicago made grants and loans totaling more than $3.8 million to support community rebuilding efforts. See where the money's going.

Learn more about LISC Chicago.

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