President Biden’s budget includes a $350 million dollar grant for the Red Line extension south. Chicago mayoral candidates squared off in another heated debate last night. Daylight saving time and St. Patrick’s Day are coming up this weekend.
The two mayoral runoff candidates vowed they’d remain independent from their biggest supporters if elected. Abortion rights activists and the state of California are taking shots at Walgreens. Today is the funeral for slain Chicago police Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso.
“The Negro Motorist Green Book” helped Black Americans travel safely to and between thousands of businesses during America’s Jim Crow era. The Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie has a new exhibit focused on its history, including an interactive simulation where you pack your car and hit the road, making stops based on the Green Book’s recommendations. Arielle Weininger is the Chief Curator of Collections and Exhibitions. She talks about how Chicagoans used the book and why its purpose still res...
Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will face off today in the first debate before runoff elections. A new report highlights the impacts of soot pollution in Cook County. A proposal to relocate the Annual Taste of Chicago to Navy Pier this summer is causing tension among City Council members.
Chicago's theaters continue to struggle post-pandemic. Endorsements are rolling in for Chicago’s runoff elections for mayor. The president of Northeastern Illinois University has alleged gender and race discrimination by board members.
Beatrice Scescke was born and raised in Chicago but always dreamed of those greener pastures – something she had been drawn to since her visits to Kentucky as a child. Years later, she founded the Chicago Rewilding Society , a non-profit urban nature sanctuary that allows city residents to connect with nature, animals and therapeutic healing. The Society is located in Garfield Park and houses rescued horses, goats, chickens and more. To learn about her story, visit Vocalo’s Chi Sounds Like....
Chicago turns 186 years old. Unionized concession workers at the United Center staged a one-day strike during the Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers game. Experts are analyzing why most Chicagoans stayed home on election day.
J. Ivy is a writer, narrator and poet who recently took home the first Grammy ever awarded in the new category of Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. “When I’m creating an album, I don’t listen to anybody else,” the multi-hyphenate artist said on The Rundown. “If I found myself sounding like anybody else I switch that up real quick.” He came by WBEZ and talked with Erin about the differences between rap and spoken word poetry, his influences and inspirations, and about how he produced the tracks on h...
Former Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is throwing his endorsement into the Chicago mayor’s race. A ballot measure passes on Chicago’s South Side that calls on the City Council to address affordable housing near the Obama Center. Illinois launched a website for a newly created commission on reparations.
Chicago’s Police Superintendent David Brown will step down. We hear from one of the newly-elected, and first-ever Chicago police district councilors. Illinois lawmakers are raising concerns over how long it takes to fill job vacancies at the state’s child welfare agency.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her re-election bid Tuesday night. It’s the first time in 40 years a sitting mayor in Chicago won’t see a second term. Instead, Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson have advanced to the runoff election in April. We’ll get you context on the mayoral race, along with the competitive aldermanic contests and the results of the first-ever police district council races.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot lost her reelection bid Tuesday making her the first elected mayor in 40 years to not win a second term. Former Chicago Public School CEO Paul Vallas will face Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson in Chicago’s mayoral runoff. Drivers should anticipate major delays on the Kennedy starting March 20.
It’s election day, and hundreds of teens are serving as election judges. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments today in a case that could impact more than one million student people in Illinois with college debt. Local groups are stepping up to provide shelter for asylum seekers arriving in Chicago.
Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper hosted a music festival in Ghana last month – the Black Star Line Festival, featuring sets from Erykah Badu, T-Pain, Dave Chappelle, Jeremih and more – and WBEZ sent Vocalo morning host Stephen Bekoe to take in the scene. Bekoe tells us about the concert, about his first trip to the continent of Africa, and about the people and experiences he’ll never forget.
The Chicago municipal election is tomorrow, so be sure to get that mail-in ballot returned. Russians in Chicago gathered Saturday to protest their country’s year long invasion of Ukraine. Chicago will soon be able to send mental health workers to more 911 calls.
After a serious life-threatening injury, most people’s first reaction is to call 911 and get to an emergency room. But what happens when those resources aren’t available in your neighborhood? Meet Joe(y), who goes by his first name only. He’s a 22-year-old training coordinator for Ujimaa Medics, or UMedics. It’s a grassroots nonprofit collective of Black individuals around Chicago dedicated to spreading life-saving, emergency first response knowledge to its community for when city first-responde...
Exactly one year after Russia invaded Ukraine – there are still many Ukrainian refugees living in Chicago. A federal judge rules in R. Kelly’s case. DJ Spinderella from the music group Salt-N-Pepa has a new role with Chicago’s National Public Housing Museum.
More than 90,000 ComEd customers are without power. Chicago police are urging Jewish and other religious communities to be extra vigilant this weekend during a recently declared “Day of Hate.” A federal judge is set to sentence R. Kelly for his Chicago convictions of child pornography and enticement. The new CPS calendar is out.
As a poet, playwright and performer, Kimberly Dixon-Mays is no stranger to the power of words. Her plays and poetry convey stories of the human experience, specifically people of color and psychic survival , which explores the “definition and defense of self-identity when outside forces are against it.” Hear her story thanks to our sister station, Vocalo, and their series “ Chi Sounds Like .”
Documents show there were many more emails sent to city employees from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s campaign than previously thought. Cook County is adding another $25 million to community anti-violence efforts. Illinois craft cannabis entrepreneurs now have more time to get up and running with a deadline extension from the state.
Chicago’s Board of Elections has added new polling places where non-English speaking voters can get language help. But a new report shows that two out of every three polling places in Chicago are not fully compliant with ADA standards. Governor JB Pritzker is poised to sign new paid leave legislation.
Filmmakers and artists Kenny Young, Vernon “Xtreme” Brown and Phil James noticed most TV shows don’t accurately depict the Chicago they knew and loved. So they decided to fix it. Their new show on WEtv, “Kold x Windy,” explores the relationship between two drill star best friends on the South Side. According to Young, “even if you’ve never been to Chicago or the South Side in your life, you can still watch the show and take something away from it.”
Morning episodes of “The Rundown” will hit your feeds around 8 a.m. now. The application deadline to vote-by-mail in Chicago’s city election is coming up. There’s a new health center on the city’s South Side focused on ending “period poverty.” A federal judge in Chicago has denied a motion seeking to block the assault weapons ban in the state.
Chicago’s South Side neighborhood is saturated with both Black history and Chicago history. From the city’s first world fair held in Jackson Park to the jazz legends founded at the Sunset Cafe, the area is rich in unparalleled culture. Architecture photographer, writer and critic, Lee Bey talks about covering the South Side through the lens of its built environment. His book Southern Exposure: The Overlooked Architecture of Chicago's South Side inspired a new film from WTTW called Building/Block...
College advocates are hopeful a proposed $100 million increase in MAP grants in Illinois will become reality. Leaders from the Legislative Black and Latino caucuses respond to the governor’s spending plan. Changes to Chicago’s hiring and personnel policies are meant to open doors to more people.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker released his proposed spending plan for next year totaling $49.6 billion, and there’s already pushback. Metra has a new strategic plan addressing the transit agency’s finances and future service. The Chicago Bears have closed a deal to buy the former Arlington Heights racetrack.
The Chicago Mayoral Election is right around the corner and we know how stressful voting can be. To help make this experience hassle-free, WBEZ’s Government and Politics Senior Editor Angela Rozas O’Toole breaks down the ins and outs of this election: the important issues, which candidates you’ll see on your ballot and how to make your most informed decisions on Feb. 28. Take the WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times mayoral candidate quiz here .
On the heels of the Michigan State University shooting, Illinois residents remember victims of the shooting at Northern Illinois University on its 15th anniversary. Chicago Transit Authority and Pace are merging their ride passes next week. Governor J.B. Pritzker will give his budget proposal for the new fiscal year during his State of the State address today.
Maybe you knew they were trouble when they walked in, and you’re looking for a place to shake it off… head to the pop-up Taylor Swift breakup bar. Mayoral candidates sparred in last night’s forum. A plan to move migrants into a vacant Kmart on Chicago’s Southwest Side is getting pushback.
The creators of WBEZ’s new podcast, Shoes Off: A Sexy Asians Podcast , want to put to rest long-running slights against members of the Asian community, who are often ignored, fetishized or made the butt of the joke in America. Erin talks with hosts Susie An and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and producer Stephanie Kim about the show and why they’re trying to redefine “sexy” on their own terms....
