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Politics

Chicago mayor reportedly only giving interviews to Black or Brown reporters

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Local journalists are accusing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot of refusing interviews from white journalists, opting instead to be exclusively interviewed by Black or Brown journalists.

NBC’s Mary Ann Ahern was the first to bring light to the situation. Ahern tweeted “As [Lightfoot] reaches her two year midway point as mayor, her spokeswoman says Lightfoot is granting 1 on 1 interviews – only to Black or Brown journalists.”

Afterwards, it was also confirmed by political reporter Heather Cherone and WTTW Chicago Tonight anchor Paris Schutz.

Lightfoot appeared on MSNBC for an interview with Stephanie Ruhle Monday. But, in a two-page letter to local media, she verified that this is a standard she will stick to from now on, in commemoration of her second anniversary.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism

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Economy

White House announced $6 billion student loan forgiveness for 78,000 public service workers

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The White House recently announced a $6 billion loan forgiveness program. Nurses, teachers and firefighters are among the 78,000 public service workers who will qualify. Fox Business reports:

Due to fixes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, workers that never received forgiveness are now having their debts partially forgiven or canceled. Only about 7,000 public service borrowers received forgiveness prior to the Biden Administration, now that total hovers closer to 870,000, the announcement said.

“Today’s announcement comes on top of the significant progress we’ve achieved for students and student loan borrowers in the past few years,” the announcement stated. “This includes: providing the largest increases in Pell Grants in over a decade to help families who earn less than roughly $60,000 a year; fixing Income-Driven Repayment plans so borrowers in repayment for years get the relief they earned; and creating the most generous Income-Driven Repayment plan in history – the SAVE plan.”

However, there is concern over fairness that older generations are still paying off student loans and could risk losing Social Security. A group of representatives wrote a letter to Congress, hoping to address the issue of seniors still paying down student loans. Currently, under the Treasury Offset Program (TOP), the government can collect funds, such as tax refunds and Social Security, to pay outstanding student loan balances, reports Fox Business.

“Under the TOP, the federal government can withhold up to 15 percent of monthly Social Security or disability benefits for defaulted student loans,” the lawmakers explained in their letter.

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