The American Dream in Chicago Heights

Since Chicago Heights Patch launched in December 2010, we've learned a lot about this amazing and historically valuable area. We've come to know a lot about your concerns and hopes.

We’ve tried our best to tell your story. In nearly 900 Patches across 900 American towns, we've come to see a larger vision. We see America changing before our eyes.

American families, businesses and neighbors are coping with tremendous challenges. National debates have been ignited about unemployment, debt, religion and the role of government. Businesses, big and small, have attempted to navigate an uncertain and sometimes terrifying future.

In Patch towns from coast to coast, college graduates are returning home unable to find jobs, senior citizens are struggling to pay the bills and businesses are cutting costs to stay alive.

But it's not all bad.

We also see bold new volunteer efforts, and residents who've decided now is the time to .

Already we've reported on . We've questioned the . We've even looked at .

At the core of these issues is a larger question: What has happened to the American Dream? Does it still exist? Is it still attainable? We at Patch want to explore that conversation more deeply and more frequently.

We want to dig further into the Heights and Olympia Fields and tell these stories on ground zero, the local level.

Nationally, Americans are debating the role of government.

Nationally, there's a debate about the education system, which is at the center of our dreams of a better life for our children.

The launch of Dispatches signals the start of a conversation that will be built upon the compelling vignettes and snapshots we unearth across all of our Patch sites across the nation.

We hope you'll join in the conversation and talk to us about the dreams you have for your country, your town, yourself — and the challenges you face in achieving those dreams.  Because, after all, your dream is the American Dream. Your story is the American story.

We're just here to help tell it.