Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will disconnect the controversial gunshot-detection system called ShotSpotter until later in the year. Flight attendants picketed at O’Hare Airport Tuesday and thousands of ride-share and delivery drivers plan to strike at O’Hare and nine other airports on Wednesday. Blackhawks rookie Connor Bedard will return to action next week following a jaw injury.
Tricia Hersey organizes communal naps through the Nap Ministry. Her New York Times bestselling book “Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto” came out in 2022, and we’re still thinking about it. In this episode, host Erin Allen continues the conversation with Hersey. They talk about rest within the framework of Black liberation—and how resting affects the world around us. This episode originally aired on April 12, 2023.
The longtime chief of staff to ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan has been sentenced to multiple years in prison. Chicago Public Schools might finally be getting rid of the custodial management company that has long been accused of leaving some schools filthy. After the head of Chicago’s Howard Brown Health centers has stepped down, workers say they hope the new leader will prioritize their union contract.
Timothy Mapes, the longtime chief-of-staff to former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, has been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison. The outage at Lurie Children’s Hospital continues – it’s been going on for nearly two weeks. New analysis shows nearly half of renters in Chicago are spending too much of their income on rent and utilities.
If you don’t know Tricia Hersey’s name, you’ve probably seen her work. Hersey founded The Nap Ministry, perhaps best known for its popular Instagram account, with the hope of teaching others how to rest in a society that glorifies grind culture. Hersey’s New York Times bestselling book “Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto” explores her lifelong project of resting under capitalism. In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Hersey about how rest and community care can be acts of resistance. This episo...
Chicago’s multi-million dollar contract with the company that runs the gunshot detection technology known as ShotSpotter expires on Friday. Black health advocacy groups are calling on the state to properly fund Black-led HIV and AIDS treatment providers. If you watched the Super Bowl last night, you may have seen some Illinois farmers during a commercial break.
Authorities say an overnight fire caused extensive damage to the Palace Grill on Chicago’s Near West Side, an iconic Chicago restaurant known for its breakfasts and filled with decades of memorabilia. Starbucks workers in the southwestern Illinois town of O'Fallon are seeking to unionize. Illinois House Republicans say they want to put money back in your pocket at tax time next year through a measure that would once again tie the state’s standard income tax exemption to inflation.
Black History Month is a time to look back at the big names that changed history, but also the smaller names that are making Black history right now, according to Arionne Nettles, director of Audio Journalism Programming at Northwestern University’s Medill School. “The people who are living legends to me are perhaps everyday people,” Nettles said, nodding to the Black teachers, journalists and everyone else who shows up in small ways for their community. “Those are the people that are making suc...
A new Illinois state senate bill would require a lawyer for anyone under age 18 throughout an interrogation in police custody. Illinois Republicans are hoping that they’re not entirely shut out of this year’s state budget process – again. A union that represents 3,800 Illinois Department of Transportation workers has voted to authorize a strike.
Lurie Children's Hospital confirmed its network was accessed by a “known criminal threat actor.” ComEd is trying to entice businesses to buy electric vehicles while the Chicago Auto Show is in town. A downstate Illinois funeral home director had his license revoked last year after a state investigation found he had given dozens of families the wrong cremated ashes.
Rundown host Erin Allen joins a conversation of three generations of Black women to talk about Black History Month – how we celebrate it and learned about it – by looking at the historic "firsts" of the past and those we should honor in the present. Weighing in on the topic are the crew from WBEZ’s sister podcast, When Magic Happens.
Mail ballots for Chicago’s March primary election are starting to be sent to voters today. Three Democratic lawmakers in Springfield are pushing to make fertility services more accessible. A judge is denying former President Donald Trump’s bid to stall an objection to his place on Illinois’ primary election ballot.
A new report says the medical care provided in Illinois prisons is so bad that people are dying. The deadline to file papers to run for seats on Chicago’s Local School Councils has been extended to Feb. 14. New research from Northwestern University says artificial intelligence is improving doctors’ accuracy when they diagnose certain skin diseases.
These days, it feels like there are two options if you want to get out of the house for Valentine’s Day: gooey couple’s outings and anti-Valentine’s singles events. But on The Rundown, we’re always looking for new and interesting ways to spend your time. Enter Crying at the Shed, a three-day film festival at the Salt Shed that combines film, music and Valentine’s vibes. In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to festival curator Kris English and Douglas McCombs, one of the musicians in the festiv...
Some new intel on the troubled prison healthcare provider that just got a $4 billion contract from the state of Illinois. Progressive lawmakers and activists are trying to make Illinois the eighth state to eliminate the subminimum wage for tipped workers. Staff at two Little Village charter schools continue striking today.
Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago is on its seventh day of dealing with a cybersecurity matter that has crippled communications. Actor Jussie Smollett is asking the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn his disorderly conduct convictions for falsely reporting to police he was the victim of a hate crime. The Chicago area could see record-breaking temperatures in the upper 50s this Thursday and Friday.
Best Spoken Word Poetry Album was a brand new category when Chicago poet J. Ivy won it at the 2023 Grammy Awards. At this year’s Grammys, J. Ivy won the award again, for his poetry album “The Light Inside.” “When I’m creating an album, I don’t listen to anybody else,” the multi-hyphenate artist said on The Rundown back in 2023. “If I found myself sounding like anybody else, I switch that up real quick.” Today, we’re bringing you Erin’s conversation with the writer, narrator and poet – about the ...
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency wants southern Cook County residents to apply for relief funding by the end of the week. A housing advocacy group in the north suburbs has reached a deal in a federal lawsuit against a company that used artificial intelligence to discriminate against renters. After taking a two-week break, Illinois lawmakers are back in Springfield today with some unfinished business to attend to.
Metra has still not been able to fix glitches on the Ventra app that have prevented riders from buying tickets. The editorial board of the student newspaper at Northwestern University is urging its parent company to drop criminal charges against two Black students. The Chicago Red Stars continue to rebuild under new ownership.
Chicago has had a system of “school choice” for decades. That’s where, instead of sending students to schools in their neighborhoods, families can apply to send their kids to magnet, charter, test-in or even other neighborhood schools across the city. But change may be afoot. The Chicago Board of Education voted to move away from school choice in a resolution passed late last year. Further complicating the matter, the Board is about to pivot from having appointed members to having elected member...
Chicago voters will start to receive their mail ballots this week – with one referendum question that is facing a lawsuit to throw it off. A new report on the racial wealth gap outlines steps for corporations and business leaders. The Latino Policy Forum has selected a new cohort of Chicago leaders expected to build bridges between Black and Brown communities.
Lurie Children’s Hospital is working to address a cybersecurity issue. A vigil was held Thursday night in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood to honor the three Senn High School students who were shot this week. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is promoting federal legislation to crack down on social media companies that allow online abuse and mistreatment of children.
Sufjan Stevens’s 2005 album “Illinois” is the source material for a new musical at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. It’s called “Illinoise,” and it’s the only time you’ll hear us pronouncing the “s” at the end of the state. “I always felt like there was something to discover in a stage work that derives from this album,” said Justin Peck, the director, choreographer and co-writer behind the show. Peck identified the album as part of his own coming-of-age story when it came out in 2005, so it’s f...
A succession of recent fatal shootings of high schoolers has some pushing for violence prevention workers to get into Chicago Public Schools – even if those workers have a criminal record. Chicago-based McDonald’s says it’s looking into a report that the fast food giant is connected to prison labor. A Dallas pastor has succeeded Reverend Jesse Jackson as head of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
Chicago Public Schools is proposing a later start date for the school year to avoid overlapping with the Democratic National Convention. Chicago’s top cop says the department is doing a better job solving homicides so far this year. Despite a history of lawsuits and damning assessments by experts, Illinois is re-upping its prison healthcare contract with a private provider.
The legendary performance artist Pope.L died in December 2023 at 68, and many of his contemporaries agree it will take years to unpack his work and its influence—if that is even possible. “At the basis of the work, I would say, is a riddle,” said curator Hamza Walker, the director of LAXART. “He was always full of questions.” Walker first met Pope.L in the early aughts and said he found his work both confounding and brilliant. We could dedicate a whole podcast to understanding Pope.L’s work, so ...
Chicago is now the largest city in the country to pass a resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. One teenager is dead and two are wounded following a daylight shooting yesterday in Chicago’s North Side Edgewater neighborhood. About 150 migrants staying in west suburban Oak Park were supposed to vacate their temporary shelters yesterday, but now have until the end of February.
The Chicago City Council passed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the war in Gaza by a vote of 24-23. Journalists at the Chicago Tribune plan to go on strike Thursday for the first time ever. Attorneys for people in Illinois prisons are decrying the state’s decision to award another multi-billion-dollar contract to a controversial prison healthcare provider.
Many migrants new to Chicago cannot work legally, yet they still have to eat, find housing and just get by in a big city. So how are they making money? “Manicures, cutting hair, cooking food, delivering food,” said WBEZ immigration reporter Adriana Cardona-Maguidad. “People really want to work and they want to have financial stability. And the path to get there, especially from the shelters – like you're new, you don't know your way around – can be extremely difficult.” Cardona-Maguidad brings u...
The Illinois State Board of Elections voted to keep Donald Trump on the state’s primary ballot. Organizers of a protest march planned before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago are fighting City Hall after their application was denied. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he supports the forced removal of police officers from schools.
