The Debt Disease: Catch It at Any Class Level
April 11, 2005
Produced by Jonathan Menjivar

Becoming swamped in personal debt is an all-too-familiar nightmare for many of us. This report chronicles two debtors' attempts to work their ways out of the financial hole.

Related Links
Great Lakes Area Debtors Anonymous (GLADA)
North Lawndale Employment Network
Center for Economic Progress

Money Literacy: How We Learn to Manage Money—or Don't
April 12, 2005
Produced by Johanna Zorn

The financially literate have a distinct advantage in our money-centered world, and some money gurus say the sooner we get money-smart, the better. Our reporter examines how parents and teachers are instructing young people about financial literacy.

Related Information >>

Neighborhood Wrestling: When Big Money Knocks at the Door
April 18, 2005
Produced by Sandy Hausman

When big-money developers set their sights on a piece of land, there's typically little to stop them from getting their way. One small town weighed the benefits of development and discovered that the proposed deal wasn't in its best interest. Our reporter checks in on the town's continuing struggle to get a fair deal.

	Antonia Dempsey voluntering at the Interfaith Center for Worker Rights. For more photos >>

We begin with a story about traders flagrantly in pursuit of wealth, then shift to a scenario in which recent college grads move in together and take a vow of poverty. Two contrasting stories about how people structure their lives in relationship to money.

Related Links
Lutheran Volunteer Corps
Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Issues
Howard Area Community Center
AIDS Foundation of Chicago

The Tipping Point: Are We Hostages to a Culture of Tipping?
April 25, 2005
Produced by Sonari Glinton

Our reporter, a part-time waiter, takes the temperature of the tippers and of the tipped—and learns that there's plenty of angst on both sides when it comes to this ubiquitous tradition.

Related Links
Learn how to increase your tips if you're a waiter. (Adobe Acrobat .pdf format)

Documentary—“Chicago Hustles”
April 28, 2005 @ 6 pm
May 3, 2005 @ 10:30 am
Produced by Ann Heppermann and Kara Oehler
Edited by Jad Abumrad

A cigarette hustler takes us through Chicago's underground, where people use their own cars as cabs, drug dealers create mini-economies, and pharmaceuticals are sold door to door.

In God We Trust: Charity and Accountablity in One Chicago Parish
May 2, 2005
Produced by Monique Parsons

From the collection basket to the counting room, we go behind the scenes of one church to examine exactly how charitable contributions are spent.

Follow the Money: Our Reporter Is on the Trail of 140 One-dollar Bills
May 4, 2005
Produced by Linda Paul

We've sent 140 one-dollar bills into various Chicago neighborhoods, each with a stamped message asking its holder to call Chicago Public Radio. Follow the trail of these bills as we chronicle the money stories of those who find them.

Related Link
Follow the Money

Documentary—“Consuming Desire”
May 5, 2005 @ 6 pm
May 10, 2005 @ 10:30 am
Produced by Diane Richard and Todd Melby

	Katarina owns about 100 purses and buys a new one almost every time she shops.

We enter the world of passionate collectors and compulsive shoppers to find out why people spent money on objects they don't need.

Saving Their Way to the American Dream
May 9, 2005
Produced by Lynette Kalsnes

Finding affordable housing is a common problem in the expensive Chicago region. But the issue hits hardest in immigrant communities, where people often arrive without much education or training...and are forced to take low-wage jobs that Americans won't. The manufacturing base that once offered high-paying work to new immigrants has largely disappeared from the Chicago area. Yet advocates say Latino families are somehow finding ways to save money and eventually afford homes.

Related Links
The Resurrection Project
Institute for Latino Studies—University of Notre Dame
Institute for Metropolitan Affairs—Roosevelt University

Documentary—“Banking the Unbanked”
May 12, 2005 @ 6 pm
May 17, 2005 @ 10:30 am
Produced by Lex Gillespie

	At the Western Union money transfer office in the Mexican neighborhood of Little Village, customers send money, or remittances, to family members back home. As many as three-quarters of Mexicans who send remittances don’t have bank accounts and rely on neighborhood wire services instead. Photo by Lex Gillespie For more photos >>

This documentary examines how Chicago’s Mexican-American immigrant communities have developed their own ways of money management and saving, and how banks are trying to get them to change their ways to become more financially literate—American style.

	Charles Leeks of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago helps oversee the homeownership component of the Individual Development Account programs in North Lawndale. The IDA programs help low-income residents budget and save their money. Their savings are matched by money from the Steans Family Foundation as well as by federal money from the Assets for Independence Act. For more photos >>

The dream of getting ahead in this country is based on the belief that it's possible to move up in social class. But that's not likely for America's poorest. Seventy percent of those born into the bottom quartile of wealth distribution remain there all their lives. This report examines the growing popularity of government-assisted savings programs for low-income families, which claim to offer both a handout and a hand up.

Related Information >>

Making Ends Meet—Bill Thompson

A commodities trader raised on Chicago's affluent North Shore, Bill Thompson was accustomed to a moneyed lifestyle, to always getting everything he wanted. But after he lost his job, things started unraveling. Bills couldn't be paid. His already-unhappy marriage got worse. So he started looking for a way out.

Dialing for Dollars—Marty Oberman

Marty Oberman entered politics filled with idealism born of the 1960s anti-war movement. After serving as an alderman, he decided to run for higher office. But first he had to raise money—lots of money.

The Trouble with Money—Rachel Durchslag

Rachel Durchslag considers herself as having won the lottery at birth. She grew up with a lot of money, but always felt embarrassed by it. And by the time she got to college, she found herself going to great lengths to hide her wealth.

Related Link
Resource Generation

Five Dollars—Albert Ellis

Addicted to cocaine and desperate for every dollar, Albert Ellis’s life was a mess. Then he got into an argument over five dollars.

Human Commodity—Fanny Clonch

Money is a means of exchange used to acquire goods or even status. But what happens when a person becomes a form of wealth?

Fanny Clonch is now a high school teacher living in Chicago. But for a period in her childhood, after being orphaned in Morocco, she was trapped in households where she was nothing more than a commodity. The story of her grandmother, who as a child had been sold into slavery and eventually escaped, inspired Fanny to find a way out.

The Conned Artist—Tony Fitzpatrick

Tony Fitzpatrick is a Chicago artist. A big man in appearance and in words, he likes to consider himself pretty street-smart and savvy—not someone easily tricked. Then he was offered a chance for the money and glamour of the big-time art world.

Going Broke—Meg T.

Going broke is tough enough, but then friends—and even total strangers—want to tell you how to run your life. That's what happened to Meg T.

Meg graduated from law school, expecting to do fairly well in life. But she soon found herself thousands of dollars in debt due to student loans, infrequent work, and overspending. Meg eventually filed for bankruptcy, knowing there would be repercussions on her financial profile. But she didn't anticipate the effects on her own sense of self.

All The Pigs in Denmark Will Be Dead—Ted Fishman

Money isn't everything—except when you're a trader in Chicago.

Ted Fishman was a trader for almost nine years back in the 1980s. He fell into it by accident, looking to try it out for awhile before applying to law school. He was quickly swept up in the adrenaline rush of streaming numbers, waving hands, and ruthless competition for every dollar. Soon Ted was making money hand over fist. But he was losing touch with his own best sentiment.

Rolls Royce Rings, Gold Teeth, and Other Financial Investments—Dan Lebo

Dan Lebo works on Chicago's rough west side helping run the family business—a pawn shop. From women seeking cash for their kids' school supplies to sons pawning valuables stolen from fathers, day after day, Lebo has a unique window into people's lives...all over the exchange of money.