Chicago Park District workers are ready to strike if the city does not settle their union contract. A pending foreign aid package in the U.S. House has the support of Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. Sundance is coming to Chicago.
Camille Bacon and Daria Harper first bonded over their dissatisfaction with the state of art criticism. As writers, they were expected to turn around pieces quickly and for poor pay. They dreamed about a future where they could experiment and create work grounded in Black feminism. Just over a year later, Bacon and Harper launched the first issue of Jupiter Magazine as co-editors in chief.. For now, it’s a digital publication, but they have dreams of growing it into an institution. In this episo...
What it’s like to be pregnant inside some Illinois county jails. A military veteran burned his own American flag outside of Chicago City Hall Friday to protest the killing of at least 32,000 Palestinians. Hundreds of migrants temporarily living in five Chicago Park district facilities will be relocated to other shelters starting this Saturday.
Hundreds of migrants temporarily living in five Chicago Park District facilities will be relocated to other shelters starting this Saturday. A member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has resigned after she approved the release of a man who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend and killed her son. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said plans to reduce operations at mail processing centers across Illinois may worsen delivery times.
Eric Williams said the inspiration for Bronzeville Winery hit him during the pandemic. “At Mariano's it became ‘Club Mariano's,’” Williams said. “I mean, it was like music, it was DJs. And so I'm like, if people are getting down in Mariano's in aisle five, this can work permanently.” Now, as they approach the two-year anniversary of their wine bar and restaurant at 44th and Cottage Grove, Williams and co-owner Cecilia Cuff say they hope their success can serve as a beacon for other business owne...
The FAFSA is still a mess but counselors urge students to try and submit it anyway. Former Chicago Alderman Edward Burke is now a retired lawyer. Two Oak Park teachers won a human and civil rights award for helping an influx of migrant families settle in their school district.
Chicago public health officials say there are now a total of 17 identified measles cases in the city. The Friends of the Parks and the Chicago Bears are discussing the possibility of a new stadium along the lakefront. The Hindu holiday Holi starts Monday, and Chicago-area celebrations for it will start this weekend.
Years ago, Adam L. McMath was nervously debuting a documentary at the Black Alphabet Film Festival, which bills itself as Chicago’s first Black LGBTQ+ film festival. His film was called “Misunderstud,” about 10 masculine lesbians, and he said he and his producers got a standing ovation when the credits rolled. Today, McMath is the executive director at Black Alphabet, and his goal is to uplift the next generation of storytellers. “Now is the time to be a storyteller,” McMath said. “I want to upl...
Illinois DCFS is asking for more money to hire more people and better care for vulnerable kids. Chicago Public Schools is changing the way it distributes money to schools to align with Mayor Brandon Johnson's agenda. Some of Chicago’s Brighton Park residents are worried about lingering contamination the city identified last December.
Chicago Public Schools is telling parents to not count on bus service to elementary magnet and selective enrollment schools in the fall. A Cook County judge is letting Chicago police officers who face the most serious misconduct allegations have their cases decided by a third-party arbitrator. Chicago celebrates its first Rick Bayless Day.
Jaz Rodriguez grew up in a family of artists in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. “As a Hispanic, stories mean a lot to us,” she said. Now, she tells some of those stories through her art. You may know Rodriguez as JazOnVinyl on Instagram, where she shares colorful drawings inspired by pop culture and Chicago nightlife. When asked to describe her work, she tells people, “I draw what I love, I use all the colors.” In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Rodriguez about community, color and ...
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to continue the fight to prevent homelessness as the Bring Chicago Home referendum appears headed for defeat. The Anti-Defamation League joined other Jewish advocacy organizations in condemning a rise in antisemitism. A new program is paving the way for some Chicago public high schoolers to enter the tech industry.
Yesterday’s primary election in Illinois saw some of the lowest voter turnout in decades. The Chicago City Council approved three police settlements worth more than $50 million. Seventh-grader Nidhi Kulkarni spelled her way to victory in the Chicago Public Schools Spelling Bee Championship on Tuesday.
WBEZ reporter Tessa Weinberg joins us for a Wednesday morning debrief of Tuesday’s Illinois primary election. She explained what we should make of the results in both presidential primaries, races for Congress and the Cook County State’s Attorney, and the Bring Chicago Home referendum, which looks likely headed for a defeat. You can find the latest election results right here . Editor's Note: A previous version of this episode reported the Bring Chicago Home results as 46% no and 54% yes, when t...
Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump won their Illinois primaries but showed possible weakness. The Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney remains too close to call. A citywide referendum to raise a tax on the sale of high-end properties appeared headed to defeat.
Voters in Illinois are casting ballots in today’s state primary election. The city of Chicago is suing the handgun manufacturer Glock, claiming the company is putting residents at risk by selling pistols that can easily be converted to machine guns. Grammy winner SZA, Tyler the Creator, The Killers and blink-182 will headline this summer’s Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Grant Park.
THC-infused seltzer beverages – you know, the kind that get you high – are becoming more readily available in local grocery stores and even for on-site consumption at a few Chicago breweries. But, how is this legal? And should we expect a THC beverage boom in the near future? To answer those questions, the Rundown podcast visited Hopewell Brewing in Logan Square, whose hemp-based, THC-infused beverage called Choom became available in February. We talked with Hopewell owner Samantha Lee about why...
It’s primary day today, and voters will cast ballots for president, Cook County state’s attorney and a Chicago tax referendum. A new violence reduction plan for Chicago. The Illinois State Treasurer is pushing an investment program to help nonprofits across the state.
Early voting numbers in Chicago are lagging ahead of tomorrow’s primary election. The agency that investigates police misconduct in Chicago currently has 600 open misconduct cases. The Chicago Bears have traded Quarterback Justin Fields to the Steelers in exchange for a draft pick next year.
Chicagohenge comes around twice a year: just after the spring equinox and right before the fall equinox. With the equinox just around the corner—it’s tomorrow!—this week is your first chance of the year to catch the dazzling effect in some Chicago streets. The name “Chicagohenge” is a play on Stonehenge, the ancient stone monument in England that also interacts with the sun in some amazing ways. It’s the kind of interplay between nature and infrastructure we love to geek out about on The Rundown...
Chicago officials evicted fewer migrants than expected from city shelters over the weekend. The payday lending industry in Illinois has been nearly wiped out due to a new law.
Migrants will start to be evicted this weekend from city run shelters in Chicago, but thousands of people will have their stays extended under new exemptions announced Friday. Gov. JB Pritzker is announcing plans to tear down and rebuild the Stateville and Logan prisons. Cook County commissioners are delaying a mandate that grants paid leave to employees at schools and parks in the suburbs.
When Chappell Roan is headlining a concert, she books local drag queens to open for her. “Drag is just inspirational throughout my whole project,” Roan said. “It would be only right to have drag open for me.” Last fall, we spoke with her and one such opener, Boyj, ahead of her Chicago shows. “I like to think of Chicago as the headquarters of drag,” Boyj said. Now, Roan is coming back to Chicago as an opener for Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” tour, so we wanted to revisit our conversation with her and B...
Illinois lawmakers want to create a new state agency focused on early childhood care. They are also considering new rules to govern carbon capture and sequestration projects. New findings in the treatment of HIV in infants could improve the quality of life for children and families.
Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago said it has started reactivating its MyChart portal after a cybersecurity threat in late January prompted the hospital to shut the network down. Disability rights advocates are protesting an Illinois measure that allows patients to take medication to end their lives. Construction on the Kennedy Expressway is causing headaches for commuters; the express lanes will be closed until late fall.
March 14 is Pi Day—yes, as in 3.14. The Rundown podcast team isn’t flush with mathletes, so we’re taking the pie approach. In this episode, host Erin Allen talks about pies and pie shops with two of WBEZ’s most prolific home bakers, senior editors Katie O’Connell and Cassie Walker Burke. Here are some of their favorite Chicago pie shops: Bang Bang Pie & Biscuits Hoosier Mama Pie Company Justice of the Pies Spinning J
The City of Chicago will move forward with evicting migrants from city run shelters come Saturday. Mayor Brandon Johnson announced 10 areas where his administration will focus violence prevention efforts. A Cook County jury recently awarded $7 million dollars to a Chicago man who was shot by a security guard for the Chicago Housing Authority.
The Archdiocese of Chicago has made the city several offers to house migrants at properties they own for free, according to email exchanges obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, but the requests have gone unheeded by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration. Chicago health officials say nearly all migrants who needed to be inoculated against measles at the city’s shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood have been vaccinated. The lineup is out for Chicago's Pitchfork Festival.
In the late 1960s, Hazel Johnson was living in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side when her husband died of lung cancer. She also saw dozens of other people in her community suffering from respiratory issues and contracting cancer, despite having no family history of the disease. “She was like, that's just too many people in one neighborhood,” said Hazel’s daughter, Cheryl Johnson, who would eventually take up her mother’s mantle. “And then she started making the connection ...
Thousands of people stand to lose health insurance in a few weeks as the state of Illinois continues to reign in spending. More than 200 diverse learners – students with unique physical, developmental and mental capabilities, got a chance to early vote yesterday. Nearly half of Illinois residents say their local school district is experiencing support staff shortages, according to a nonpartisan poll.
