Dominick’s Closes Its Doors

Dominick’s store on Fullerton and Sheffield avenues. (Photo/Kelsey Miller)

By Amanda DeVoe and Kelsey Miller

As Dominick’s plans to close all of its stores in the Chicago area on Dec. 28, some customers are left wondering what will take its place.

The store’s parent grocery chain, Safeway, filed a notice through the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. According to the Chicago Tribune, Dominick’s lost $36.2 million in the first 36 weeks of 2013. Safeway accepted bids from competitors interested in buying the stores until Nov. 1.

According to reports, grocery store Jewel-Osco purchased four of Dominick’s 72 stores. After the holiday season, these stores will reopen as Jewel. Only about 450 employees will remain working at the new Jewel locations while approximately 5,000 employees will be left without jobs. Several news outlets report grocery stores Mariano’s and Kroger have also expressed interest in opening stores in Chicagoland. Neither company has given specifics on exact locations.

DePaul sophomore Samantha Carzoli anticipates a more reasonably priced store to occupy the empty space.

“I’m hoping that a Jewel does go in there,” she said. “I shop at Jewel back home so I’m not too upset about it.”

Women Veterans in Illinois: Often Overlooked, Often Unreported

By Amanda DeVoe

The VA has had to make changes in its services because of an increasing number of women veterans. While the changes are continuing to develop, research associate Lindy Carrow of the Heartland Alliance Social Impact Research Center, said it is still hard to gather data on women veterans because they are hard to locate.

Carrow said one of the major issues of new veterans is unemployment. She said many veteran develop skills in the military, but have trouble transferring those skills into civilian work. The Heartland Alliance Social Impact Research Center stated Illinois carries the fourth highest unemployment rate for veterans in the U.S.

The struggles of women veterans are at many times unprecedented. According to the Heartland Alliance Social Impact Research Center, 6,000 new veterans are single parents, and nearly half of that population is women. One out of four of these women have one or more children under the age of five present in their household.

Many Illinois residents are also surprised to learn about the veteran suicide rate. Carrow said eighteen veterans die of suicide each day. She also said some of the suicides could be due to unemployment and post-traumatic injuries.

Carrow said many women veterans want to forget the past and move on with their lives. The only problem is without the contribution of these women, it is harder to help women veterans of the future.

Trayvon Martin Controversy Continues

Although George Zimmerman was acquitted of killing 17-year-old unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in July 2013, controversy surrounding the tragedy continues to be the topic of discussion. The Storify below highlights recent Martin-related issues, including Sanford, Florida’s decision to change neighborhood watch rules, ‘Trayvon Martin Day,’ Sybrina Fulton speaking to Congress about ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws and Trayvon Martin Halloween costumes.

[View the story “Trayvon Martin Controversy Continues” on Storify]