On the heels of Hurricane Helene, the Chicago-area will see windy conditions throughout the evening. DuPage County saw a huge jump in people showing up to cast their ballot on its first day of early voting. The Chicago Sky have fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.
Emmanuel Gomez is the 23-year-old street artist responsible for designing and creating the artwork for Vocalo’s Summer Finale concert last weekend, including a poster with an “ice cream head” of each performer. In today’s episode, Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez talks with Gomez, also known as Clue, about his burgeoning career in art, from his start as a graffiti artist, to his mentorship under acclaimed local street artist Sentrock, to his collaborations with the WNDR Museum and the National Museum of...
CPS Chief Pedro Martinez is still on the job. A federal judge in Chicago is weighing whether the notorious leader of the Gangster Disciples should have another chance at freedom. The Banned Book Wagon is coming to the Chicago Public Library's Woodson Regional Library today.
Illinois voters take note: an advisory referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot will ask whether individual earnings above $1 million should be hit with a 3% surcharge, to generate revenue that would go toward property tax relief. A hearing for Larry Hoover, the notorious leader of the Gangster Disciples, wrapped up this afternoon in a federal courtroom in Chicago. Former Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose is retiring.
The head of Chicago Public School is fighting to keep his job. His contract may help. A new lawsuit about special education in prison could become a class action case. New polling shows widespread support for an Illinois law that prohibits some credit card swipe fees.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is nixing a plan to turn a vacant National Guard armory near Midway into a new police station. The Greater Chicago Food Depository said it distributed more food in the last fiscal year than it has in its 45-year-history. With five games remaining, the White Sox remain tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record of 120 losses in one season.
Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary art has billed itself as a space where new ideas are shown and tested since its inception in 1967. “What many people don't know is we also have a 300-seat theater in the basement of the museum,” said Laura Paige Kyber, the performance curator at the MCA. The museum will put that theater to use this weekend with the return of its third annual “Chicago Performs.” “Chicago Performs is a mini-festival,” Kyber said. “Each year, it just features a cross section of cont...
The Chicago Teachers Union is continuing to lambast the head of Chicago Public Schools as he fights to hold on to his job. Two Springfield insiders are being named as alleged financial winners from a controversial state program. New lawsuits are attempting to get two incarcerated students in Illinois re-enrolled in their college program.
The number of hate crimes against Jewish people increased nationally last year. People who live in Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa on Chicago’s northwest side hope a new ordinance can protect their homes from gentrification. Travelers heading from Chicago to Florida can soon opt to travel by Amtrak.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is trying to find new technology to replace ShotSpotter. Northwestern researchers found that a federal assault weapons ban was effective in preventing mass shootings. The FDA holds a food safety hearing this week – and an Illinois initiative could get some attention.
A report released today says Chicago police are asked to do too much and it’s damaging public safety. Former Chicago Alderperson Ed Burke has reported to federal prison to serve a two-year sentence for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. With six games remaining, The White Sox are now tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season.
Black women are “superlative participators in American democracy,” according to Northwestern professor Sally Nuamah, yet they remain underrepresented in national politics. “Post-Reconstruction, we've had two elected Black women senators,” Nuamah said. “And at the gubernatorial level, we've had no Black women governors. And then we obviously have had no Black women presidents. If you consider the fact that Black women vote more than most Americans – at least for the past 20 years – and if you con...
A memorial service for deceased Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was standing room only on Sunday. Gun control advocates are confident the courts will uphold an Illinois law banning assault-style firearms. Shotspotter is being dismantled in Chicago as Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to veto a City Council attempt to save the gunshot detection technology.
Sources tell WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has told schools chief Pedro Martinez that he wants him to resign. Chicago is ending use of the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter on Sunday. The Chicago-area is in the midst of a drought.
Vocalo and WBEZ are hosting a party tonight in Millennium Park and, obviously, we hope you check it out. “This concert is kinda more than a concert,” said Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez, who’s co-hosting the event. “I feel like it is a Chicago homecoming for a lot of artists.” The lineup features DJ Lady D, KAINA, Marquis Hill, Pivot Gang and some surprise special guests. Co-hosting alongside Hernandez is Stephen Bekoe, the founder of iLLANOiZE Radio , a platform that showcases Chicago’s creative tale...
City and state officials now have a set of clear recommendations on how to create a combined shelter system for both unhoused Chicagoans and recently arrived migrants. A federal judge declared a mistrial in the case of a former AT&T Illinois executive accused of bribing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Jurors couldn’t agree on a verdict. The CTA chief has ideas to improve service – but he thinks the state needs to fairly fund it first.
A federal jury is stalemated over whether a former phone company executive tried to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Illinois could see major cuts to the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by the end of the month. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is defending his decision to not say whether he’s taking a pay raise.
Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’ll issue the first veto by a Chicago mayor since 2006. A fight between politicians about the impacts of ending cash bail in Illinois. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says the state needs to do more to meet its climate goals.
The Chicago Board of Education has approved a new five year strategic plan that envisions more students learning a second language. The Chicago City Council has approved an $11.6 million settlement for Anthony Jakes, who spent two decades in prison after detectives under the disgraced late commander Jon Burge beat a false confession out of him in a 1991 murder case. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch says it’s too early to say what lawmakers will do during the fall veto session in Spri...
Illinois has the capacity to meet just 24% of the mental health needs of the state, according to a 2021 analysis by The American Association of Medical Colleges. To help close the gap in the city, a pilot program called “Healing Arts Chicago” is getting creative by training local artists to serve as community health workers. “The premise was like, we already knew that Chicago has really a wealth of community-based artists who think about their work with community as healing,” said Meida McNeal, ...
A gun design expert took the stand yesterday in a federal trial over Illinois’ ban on assault-style weapons. A politically fraught debate over the gunshot detection technology, ShotSpotter. WBEZ examines year one of Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act.
Chicago has seen an uptick in voter registrations with about seven weeks left until Election Day. A commission created in response to the killing of Sonya Massey held its first listening session last night. Chicago elected officials are slated to receive a 4 percent raise next year – but Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn’t said whether he’ll take it.
A federal trial in Southern Illinois over a state gun ban gets underway with more witness testimonies. The Massey Commission holds a listening session before selecting commissioners… and before technically forming. There’s been a decline in biking deaths across Chicago– but some cycling advocacy groups say more protections are needed.
A Chicago City Council panel today signed off on nearly $15 million to settle four police misconduct lawsuits. The Chicago Board of Education caused a stir in December by saying it intended to shift away from school choice, but now the board says it is not planning on making any big changes to charter or selective enrollment schools. Tito Jackson, the Gary, Indiana-born older brother of Michael Jackson and guitar-player for the Jackson Five, died Sunday at 70 years old.
Here are some reasons you might want to found your tech startup in Chicago: 1) it’s a great place to live, 2) it’s not as expensive as New York or Silicon Valley and 3) the city is not already over-saturated with tech companies vying for investors. That’s all according to Griffin Cox and Haydée Marino, two of the founders behind ezbot.ai , a Chicago-based tech start-up that uses machine learning to optimize e-commerce websites. Cox and Marino are both Chicagoans who admit the city is not the fir...
A federal judge in East Saint Louis is hearing arguments today in a trial over an Illinois gun control law. A Chicago City Council panel is scheduled to vote on a deal that could lead to dozens of settlements in wrongful convictions tied to a corrupt former sergeant. People from all over the country flock to celebrate Mexican Independence Day at Grant Park.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is appointing Walter Burnett, the City Council’s longest-serving alderman, to be the next chair of the powerful Zoning Committee. Mexican Independence Day celebrations kick-off across Chicago this weekend and the Fire Department is warning drivers that caravans could make it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass through. Black fraternities and sororities are hosting community blood drives across Chicago during Sickle Cell Disease and Blood Cancer Awareness Month.
It’s nearly Libra season, an astrological sign known for patience. Loona Dae is a Chicago-based musician (and a Libra) who has waited until this weekend to perform songs from her 2023 debut album, ATARI . “I’m a very patient person,” she told Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez, referring to both releasing and performing songs from that album, but also to her long-term friendship-turned-relationship with her producer, Ashwin Torke. In this episode, the St. Louis-born artist talks about giving time for her ...
Illinois public defenders are feeling the squeeze, one year after the state eliminates the cash bail system. Some changes are coming to Illinois’ Bright Start college savings program. A group of environmental activists is working with state lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at protecting a large, underground water source.
Illinois public defenders are feeling the squeeze, one year after the state eliminates the cash bail system. Some changes are coming to Illinois’ Bright Start college savings program. A group of environmental activists is working with state lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at protecting a large, underground water source.
