Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants more federal help to address gun violence. The city is taking an inventory of this weekend’s NASCAR race, and wondering whether the 4th of July weekend is the best time for it. Chicago tenants are helping each other stay cool with a free AC lending program, at least while supplies last.
A pair of for-profit colleges in the Chicago area have abruptly shut down. The nonprofit HEAL Palestine is working to bring Gazan children to Chicago and other U.S. cities for serious medical care. Invasive jumping worms are likely to begin turning up in your garden beds and making a mess.
Think your lemon meringue pie could win an amateur baking contest? Well, you can put your baking chops to the test at the annual Chicago’s Best Baker Competition on July 20 in Uptown. “Chicago has a lot of baking competitions for people who are professionals,” said Genesis Winter, who started this contest back in 2018. “And so I wanted to do something that was just, you know, [similar to] a county fair. Your mom who's in the kitchen and she makes an amazing cookie and she wants to go show off an...
Some NASCAR fans say they saw a more diverse audience this past weekend in Chicago. The Chicago Teachers Union is calling out the head of the school district over the state of contract negotiations. Cook County is investing $100 million dollars into Provident Hospital on the South Side.
An 8-year-old boy has died from his injuries after being shot in a mass shooting in the early hours of the Fourth of July. Chicago officials are encouraging residents to attend a series of budget roundtables. The popular online homestay rental platform Airbnb is going to extra lengths to crack down on disruptive parties this holiday weekend.
Sorry Papi is a popular all-female traveling DJ party co-founded by Miriam Paz. “We were just thinking one day before COVID: ‘What if we throw an all-girls reggaeton party?” Paz said. Paz, whose stage name is DJ Miriam, talked with Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez about the genesis of the traveling party, the general prowess of female DJs, and why women feel safer partying with other women. Sorry Papi’s next party is July 6 at the Ramova Theatre in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood....
Highland Park families explain why they wanted to come to the community's first parade following the mass shooting two years ago. A new report shows how federal housing voucher renters can become voucher homeowners. Some Chicagoans are confused about how much to budget for their monthly student loan payments in the face of dueling court decisions.
The Jelly Belly Candy company will cease operations in North Chicago and lay off dozens of workers. Illinois ended its fiscal year with more money than expected. More than 1.7 million people are expected to travel through O’Hare and Midway airports this holiday weekend.
When the pandemic hit, Zeshan B was living in the Bronx. His wife works in health care, so her job was considered essential. Meanwhile, he lost all his work as a performer, and he channeled his lockdown angst into new music. “My industry was considered nonessential,” he said. “While I was on the back burner, the only thing I could do was write.” Now, Zeshan B and his family live in Chicago, and he’s preparing to release his new album, “O Say, Can You See,” later this month. In this episode, host...
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is stopping short of calling for Democratic President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race. Most of the Chicago school board candidates are being challenged. That could mean the wide open field of 47 candidates might be whittled down. Adult educators at City Colleges of Chicago were on the streets yesterday calling for a fair contract.
The Supreme Court declined to review Illinois’ ban on semiautomatic weapons, meaning that judgment will stand for now. Lurie Children’s Hospital says nearly 800,000 people may have been exposed in a cybersecurity attack this year. A new report from the Illinois Department of Transportation shows an increase in traffic stops last year – and that Black drivers were nearly twice as likely to be stopped by police than white drivers.
Illinois Republicans celebrate while Illinois Democrats lament Monday’s SCOTUS decision on presidential immunity. A Cook County employee says he was fired for talking about wrongdoing at a county agency. Officials agreed on a plan to protect the Great Lakes from the invasive carp.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker still believes the door to prosecute former President Donald Trump is still open even after the Supreme Court ruled a president holds "absolute immunity" for official acts. A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows one in three students in Illinois are chronically absent – meaning they miss at least 10 percent of their school year. Loyola Medicine is working with a charity to erase about $112 million of medical debt this year for low-income patients.
Linney was the name of a loud and melodramatic house cat who stars in a new graphic novel titled “ WOE: A Housecat’s Story of Despair .” Linney’s owner, Evanston-based graphic novelist Lucy Knisley, said she originally based Linney’s comic-strip voice off the character Sister Monica Jones, a British nun from the long-running BBC series “Call the Midwife.” “She was complaining about stuff that was just so silly to complain about, but she was so eloquent about it, so I wanted to give her this eloq...
A former Chicago Police Officer is remembered for his years of service to his community and his country. Chicago’s minimum wage is increasing today – and tipped workers specifically will also be seeing a boost. Field Museum scientists have documented the oldest grape seed fossils ever found in the western hemisphere.
Freelance workers in Illinois will enjoy new protections starting on Monday. Federal officials estimate a million fewer students will receive the Pell Grant this year. The Chicago Teachers Union announced yesterday the candidates it will support for the first school board election.
Do you remember the track ‘Mariposa’? It did significant rounds on TikTok during the pandemic lockdown. The group behind the song, Peach Tree Rascals , is about to wrap up a 19 show, 27-day tour. Ahead of their Chicago show last week, they spoke with Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez about their deep friendship, what it’s like to create a viral music hit and how they’re making their immigrant parents proud.
Two new state-run migrant shelters are opening in Chicago but some state lawmakers say they have serious concerns. Undocumented residents in Illinois can get standard driver’s licenses starting Monday. Laid off Chicago Public School staff members spoke out yesterday about how their absence will hurt students.
New U.S. Census Bureau population estimates released today reveal significant demographic shifts in the greater Chicago area. Researchers say a bill introduced in Springfield this year could allow more working adults in Illinois to get college degrees. Chicago Public Media has a new CEO.
The state’s attorney in north suburban Lake County says he’s ready for trial against the accused gunman in the Highland Park 4th of July massacre as a plea deal falls through. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling narrowing federal bribery law could have a major impact on some high-profile Chicago corruption cases. Illinois officials are launching an updated plan to curb the transmission of H-I-V/AIDS.
A coalition of feminist and LGBTQ+ activist groups have struck a deal with the city of Chicago to march on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. The man accused of gunning down seven people at the Highland Park 4th of July parade two years ago rejected a plea deal during a court hearing today. Defense attorneys for four former ComEd lobbyists and executives say a Supreme Court decision could win their clients a new trial.
Angie Leventis Lourgos began reporting on abortion access in Illinois in 2015. In the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she has watched the Midwest become even further divided over the issue of abortion rights. “It seems like the chasm between Missouri and Illinois or Illinois and Indiana has only widened,” she said. “I didn’t think that was possible because they seemed so disparate when I started doing this reporting.” Earlier this year, Leventis Lourgos published her fi...
A new study sheds light on the impact of removing police from Chicago high schools. Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch’s lawyers work to get a lawsuit against him dismissed. Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker signs into law the creation of a new state agency.
A Chicago City Council committee approved plans for a new Wrigleyville development Tuesday over the objections of preservation groups. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Junior has filed the necessary paperwork to get on Illinois' ballot in November. Two people locked up at Robinson prison in downstate Illinois recently went on hunger strikes because they believe that if their sentence credits were corrected, they’d be out of prison already.
The longest serving alderman in Chicago history gets sentenced to federal prison. Millions of federal dollars will be going toward new storm water projects across Cook County. Walmart donates a training facility on the South Side to the Chicago Urban League.
A federal judge has sentenced former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke to two years in prison, one year of supervised release, and a $2 million fine. Illinois' state climatologist says soil conservation work is our best weapon to reduce the risk of dust storms. Sky rookie Angel Reese had a career-high 25-point game yesterday as Chicago beat the Indiana Fever 88 to 87.
Colombia’s influx of Venezuelan migrants has led to accusations the migrants are fueling crime and drawing resources needed by low-income Colombians. This resembles some responses to Venezuelan arrivals in Chicago. WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell spent two weeks in Colombia – a country that’s received a much larger influx of Venezuelan migrants than Chicago – to discover how the conditions compare, how Venezuelan migrants in both countries are experiencing xenophobia and what lessons the city of Chicago ca...
Ex-Chicago Alderman Ed Burke faces 10 years in prison for corruption. His sentencing hearing begins today. In the South Shore neighborhood evictions are high – and residents want protections against displacement. Abortion funds that help patients pay for procedures and travel are losing money across the country, including in Chicago.
Chicagoans and their pets have limited exercise options amid this week’s heat wave. A National Weather Service meteorologist says this spring was unusually stormy in central Illinois. Hundreds of cycling enthusiasts are in Chicago this weekend for an international convention named after a local sports legend.
When Yoly Rojas came back single from a stint on Netflix’s “The Ultimatum: Queer Love,” she wanted to meet some new queer people her age. She and friend Keli Knight looked around and realized they didn’t have a space to meet other LGBTQ+ people over 30. So they made one. Rojas and Knight’s Lovers and Friends party, which has a focus on the BIPOC lesbian community, has amassed a large following in its first year on the scene—so much so that they’ve already started branching out into other cities....
