How do you parent someone who is incarcerated? How do you let yourself be parented while locked up? WBEZ and our sister station Vocalo are producing a project called Prisoncast! for the second year in a row in partnership with Illinois Public Radio stations across the state. In this episode, we preview two of the pieces from the program. Lauren Frost produced both pieces in this episode and is the executive producer of Prisoncast!. Alex Keefe is the lead editor, and Ayana Contreras is the show’s...
Sep 15, 2023•14 min
Chicago residents will have access to the latest COVID-19 vaccine as early as today. Legislation in Chicago’s City Council aims to prevent South Shore residents from being displaced. Chicago is looking for bilingual poll workers for next year’s election season.
Sep 15, 2023•7 min
Financial experts say Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will need to find revenue sources to close an anticipated $538 million budget deficit. Patrons react to several libraries in Chicago and the suburbs receiving bomb threats earlier this week. A bold plan to redesign public transit in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs faced its first public hearing yesterday.
Sep 14, 2023•6 min
Sometimes a home isn’t a home until you’ve put your stamp on it – or embedded yourself in your community in a certain way. Austin Cantú has called Waukegan home for a long time, but it wasn’t until he started revitalizing an abandoned arts park that he finally connected with his father and his roots. As for Marco Lopez, home always meant being on the move. But now that he has a partner and a daughter, he’s ready to create something permanent in Chicago. These stories were produced by Andrea Flor...
Sep 13, 2023•10 min
Illinois is updating its policy for transgender athletes who want to play in post-season athletic tournaments. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is expected to release his budget forecast today, which will give the public a first look at how big of a budget gap the city is facing for the year ahead. Chicagoans with ties to Morocco are leading efforts to assist those devastated by an earthquake there last week.
Sep 13, 2023•6 min
Lawmakers put politics aside to mourn the thousands lost during the 9/11 terror attacks 22 years ago. The Food and Drug Administration has approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine. A new study finds that the use of restorative practices in Chicago Public Schools have led to a significant decrease in suspensions and arrests.
Sep 12, 2023•5 min
The concept of “home” means different things to different people, including those in Chicago’s vibrant immigrant community. We hear from Erwin Lopez Rada, a Venezuelan immigrant now living in Chicago who was forced out of his country by political persecution. “It’s terrible to feel like you don’t belong in your own country,” he said. For Lola Wang, a queer therapist who immigrated to the U.S. from China in 2014, creating a sense of home for other queer immigrants is her priority. “I kinda wish t...
Sep 11, 2023•11 min
A fight over school choice is brewing amid news that the Chicago Teachers Union president is sending her son to a private school. The federal government will provide a little over half the money needed to extend the Red Line. The city’s first-ever legal casino opens its doors for gamblers and employees searching for new job prospects.
Sep 11, 2023•6 min
What does it mean to be an American? A Chicagoan? Jitesh Jaggi is a storyteller and writer who moved from India to Chicago a few years ago. “I’m in my 30s,” he said, “but in American years I’m like five.” His one-man-show at Steppenwolf – titled Suitcase Stories , which runs Sept. 14 and 16 – explores what it means to leave one home and find another. Rundown host Erin Allen talks with Jaggi about teaching kids how to breakdance on the streets of Mumbai, his move to America and the moment he fell...
Sep 08, 2023•22 min
Medical volunteers working with migrants say a lack of nutritious food at police stations and other shelters is causing an increased risk for malnutrition. Mayor Brandon Johnson hinted his first city budget will likely take incremental steps to his goals. Judges across Illinois are preparing for an end to cash bail.
Sep 08, 2023•6 min
A new report looks at union growth in Illinois, while other states see shrinking numbers. U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was in Illinois to kick off the new school year. A study out of Northwestern University makes the case for converting trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles to electric.
Sep 07, 2023•6 min
COVID-19 has had a profound impact on our collective mental wellbeing. From the isolation of early-pandemic lockdowns to the hardship of a COVID infection, our brains and minds are under a whole new kind of stress these days. But we’ve also changed the way we take care of ourselves. For example, telehealth has made therapy more accessible and easier to schedule. “Online mental health services can be as effective as in-person mental health services,” says Jonathan Singer, a social work professor ...
Sep 06, 2023•20 min
Illinois politicians hit the pavement on Tuesday as nominating petitions began circulating to appear on next March’s primary ballot for U.S. president and other offices. The Pritzker administration is rolling back some changes the state made earlier this summer to curb costs for immigrant health insurance. New Chicago Public School inspector general report shows some high level staff wrongly got federal pandemic loans.
Sep 06, 2023•6 min
A Chicago Sun-Times report finds overcrowding and unsanitary conditions for migrants sheltered at O’Hare. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot has a new title: Harvard professor. Chicago kids living in public housing can now pick up free books from any Chicago Housing Authority office across the city.
Sep 05, 2023•6 min
Mayadet Patitucci Cruz grew up in Gage Park and didn’t leave their neighborhood very often until high school. Now, they work to bring resources to LGBTQ youth around the city. “What led me to it was wanting to work more with queer and trans young people,” Cruz explained. “But also doing some other healing work at the same time, which is what happens when you’re doing organizing.” This episode was produced by Ari Mejia for WBEZ’s sister station Vocalo and their Chi Sounds Like series.
Sep 01, 2023•9 min
Some Chicagoans speak out against allowing secret hearings on police misconduct. The Illinois Secretary of State’s plan to reduce wait times at driver’s services facilities is officially underway. A plan to move migrants into a hotel in the Kenwood neighborhood is drawing the ire of residents nearby.
Sep 01, 2023•6 min
Hundreds of Chicago students with disabilities are still waiting on bus service to school. Bail reform advocates are slamming a new electronic monitoring program from the Illinois Supreme Court. Chicago State University’s president was given a hefty bonus despite the university’s claims of financial strain during this year’s faculty strike.
Aug 31, 2023•5 min
Severe fatigue, cognitive impairment and post-exertional malaise are just a few of the many symptoms associated with long COVID. It can last weeks, months and even years. Having this condition is also somewhat common. “It’s generally a minimum of 10% of COVID infections lead to long COVID,” said Hannah Davis, the co-founder of the Patient-Led Research Collaborative. With COVID hospitalizations on the rise for the first time this year, we speak with Davis and Pulitzer-winning science journalist E...
Aug 30, 2023•24 min
Chicago residents are airing frustrations about ballooning water debt with no paths to dispute charges. Republicans in the Illinois legislature want to bar the use of campaign cash for a legal defense. The ACLU of Indiana is challenging a state law preventing inmates from receiving gender-affirming care.
Aug 30, 2023•6 min
Chicago police are still investigating how two women were shot during a White Sox game last Friday. City leaders are moving forward with a plan to purchase property meant to house newly-arriving migrants. The state health department is seeing evidence of Covid-19 in wastewater samples, but transmission rates are still low.
Aug 29, 2023•5 min
The city of Chicago has millions of federal dollars to use to help people experiencing homelessness, but it’s not spending it, according to reporting in the Illinois Answers Project. Investigative reporters Rachel Hinton and Manny Ramos say that of the $52 million budgeted from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, Chicago has only spent 15%. Why? Why so slow? And what impact does this delay have on the thousands of unhoused people in Chicago? We talk with Hinton and Ramos, now reporters at Bloc...
Aug 28, 2023•14 min
Later today, there’s gonna be a rally downtown to raise awareness about the overdose crisis. Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias announces 146 grants for libraries and other organizations that support literacy. Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed a law that will require pay transparency in job listings.
Aug 28, 2023•5 min
SoloSam is a Chicago rapper and producer born and raised on the South Side – “79th and Ada,” he points out – but he’s also a chef with a cooking show series , a cookbook and also B-EATS, a bi-monthly party series that combines good food, good music and community. “If it wasn’t for food I wouldn’t have grown as a music artist, for sure,” he told Erin Allen. In this episode, we play some of his songs, learn about his Ghanaian-Korean heritage and talk about the connection he finds between food and ...
Aug 25, 2023•19 min
Chicago Public Schools says it's prioritizing bus service for students in special education, but some parents are frustrated by shortages. One of Springfield's most powerful men was humbled by a federal jury. This week's heat could have affected your mental health too.
Aug 25, 2023•4 min
Chicago Public School leaders say they were ready for this week’s heat wave, but temperatures inside some buildings are uneven. Chicago city officials are keeping tabs on seniors, people in prison, and unhoused people as the heat wave continues. In Illinois, for-profit colleges will now have to pay back state aid if they deceive students.
Aug 24, 2023•6 min
The strikes among actors and writers aren’t just taking place in Hollywood. Hundreds of Chicagoans are also on the picket lines. We wanted to know what Chicago artists are fighting for and how they’re coping with being out of work for months. To find out, we talked to WBEZ reporter Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, who shares two stories from local artists.
Aug 23, 2023•17 min
Mayor Johnson throws his weight behind a tiered tax plan that could help the homeless. A WBEZ analysis found crisis pregnancy centers outnumber abortion providers in Illinois by a nearly three-to-one ratio. The White Sox shake up their staff as their season slump continues.
Aug 23, 2023•6 min
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson defends his governing style as he marks 100 days in office. A medical expert says get to know the warning signs of heat stroke or heat exhaustion in order to prevent serious health damage to your body. On the first day of school, the head of the Chicago Teachers Union questioned whether the August start date was too early, given the uneven air conditioning and heat wave coming later this week.
Aug 22, 2023•6 min
In 2024, the National Public Housing Museum will open in Chicago. Even in advance of their grand opening, the museum is working with community members to change the way we talk about public housing. That includes an art installation based on their project “36 Questions for Civic Love.” This Friday, WBEZ is co-hosting a concert with the museum. So we wanted to take the opportunity to sit down with two of the headlining artists: DJ Spinderella (yes, that DJ Spinderella) and Isaiah Sharkey. In this...
Aug 21, 2023•17 min
The first day of school for CPS is today, with more and more migrants enrolling in the district. There’s a renewed effort to help solve the issue of “food deserts” in Illinois. Illinois says jobs are up and the unemployment rate is steady, but the labor pool is shrinking.
Aug 21, 2023•5 min
