In one bite-sized episode every weekday, we'll keep you informed, tickled, geeked, and pondering on Chicago's news, culture and people. Each episode starts with a quick news roundup from the WBEZ newsroom, followed by a deep-dive into one of the biggest or most curious stories from our city. The Rundown podcast is a one-stop-shop for all things Chicago.
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The federal appeals court in Chicago is putting a short-term hold on a judge’s order that tried to release as many as 615 people detained by immigration authorities this year. Chicago’s transgender community and their allies are using this year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance to say “we’re not going anywhere.” Chicago State University just enrolled its largest freshman class in a decade. Plus, Chicago-area food pantries continue to experience higher need than normal. They’re grappling with issu...
Federal terrorism charges have been filed against a suspect who allegedly lit a woman on fire on a Blue Line train Monday night. Some local government leaders say the so-called ICE Free Zones they created during the feds’ immigration enforcement campaign are good tools to have. Governor JB Pritzker paid Pope Leo the 14th a visit in Rome Wednesday. Plus, Thanksgiving is the ultimate food holiday but some people don’t want to cook. Chicago chefs this year are leaning into options for dining in or ...
Just four people are currently being held in the controversial U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in west suburban Broadview, down from nearly 150 two weeks ago. The U.S. House has voted to admonish Democratic Illinois U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia for the way he announced his retirement. A new program allowing Illinois residents to store their driver’s license or state ID in their iPhone Wallet begins Wednesday. Plus, 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents who rattled Chicago f...
Suburban Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson has declared a civil emergency in the village. Starved Rock State Park will undergo an $18 million improvement project over the next year. The CTA holiday train starts running Black Friday. Plus, a key city council panel rejected Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget proposal today in a rare move, far ahead of the December 31st deadline to pass a plan. Critics say that sends a clear message to the mayor to go back to the drawing board. WBEZ City Hall re...
21 protesters have been arrested today outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in suburban Broadview. Advocates against domestic violence are applauding a move by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to restore funding for services. Plus, a conversation with Chicago theater director Robert Falls about his staging of “Amadeus” at Steppenwolf Theater.
Republicans and Democrats continue to battle over whether to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker is not giving up hope on legislation to crack down on homeowners insurance price hikes. The Reverend Jesse Jackson is in the hospital with a rare neurological disorder. Plus, we remember the life of Miguel Perez Jr. – a U.S. Army veteran who drew national headlines after he was deported in 2018.
U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings ordered the release of as many as 615 people who have been held in mandatory detention by federal immigration authorities. A U.S. Representative from Illinois is on the House committee that released emails from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Chicago Transit Authority has closed the door on fare increases in 2026. Plus, while violent crime in Chicago has declined, domestic violence continues to persistently rise. It skyrocketed during pandemic-era...
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is urging people to stay vigilant even as Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino could be on his way out of town. Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned a long-lost Purple Heart Medal to the family of a World War II veteran. Illinois Republican gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is going to continue his bid for Illinois governor. Plus, after police killed George Floyd in 2020, there was talk of a racial reckoning. In the theater community, that reckoning took the form...
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois is under fire for voting to advance a Republican-led House measure that would help end the government shutdown. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’s confident police did not violate the welcoming city ordinance when responding to protests this weekend. The National Weather Service said a La Nina pattern will be active through February, which could mean a colder and snowier winter. Plus, five years after the 2020 murder of George Floyd, the Sun-Times and WB...
WBEZ’s Prisoncast! and the Mud Theatre Project present a new radio drama — written and performed almost exclusively by currently or formerly incarcerated thespians. “The Story of Violence," based on an award-winning script by playwrights at Dixon Correctional Center in Illinois, examines Chicago’s gun violence problem through five characters’ perspectives as their lives intersect at a downtown hotel room.
O'Hare International Airport today is second in the nation in flight cancellations. The federal government says it's largely complying with an order to improve conditions at the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement processing facility in suburban Broadview. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants members of the United Nations to come to the city – and see ongoing human rights violations for themselves. Plus, President Donald Trump has been outspoken in blaming crime on ‘sanctuary’ policies in Democr...
A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction governing the use of force by federal immigration officers in Chicago. In a separate case, a judge ruled yesterday that the Department of Homeland Security has to improve conditions for detainees at the immigration processing center in suburban Broadview. Chicago-area commuters may soon see the impacts of a massive transit-deal that is awaiting Governor JB Pritzker’s signature. Plus, WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell brings us tape of U.S. Border Pat...
A high-stakes hearing is underway over the treatment of protesters and journalists covering the Trump Administration’s Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago. Chicago’s acting cultural commissioner says the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events is entering a new era. A D.C.-based conservative activist group is suing Illinois for records on the state’s role in offering refuge to Texas Democrats this summer. Plus, Sun-Times reporter Lauren FitzPatrick teamed up with the paper’s photojournal...
Immigrants who have recently been detained at the immigration processing facility in suburban Broadview testified in federal court about the conditions there. The Regional Transportation Authority is walking back its 10 percent fare increases for the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and Pace next year. In a surprising move, Chicago Cubs’ starting pitcher Shota Imanaga is set to become a free agent. Plus, there have been daily demonstrations outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement bu...
Illinois and 20 other states are suing the Trump administration to block a rule that could make some government and nonprofit employees no longer eligible for student loan forgiveness. Students and staff are celebrating the opening of a new facility at the Philip J. Rock Center and School in west suburban Glen Ellyn. It’s a major-league-high three Gold Glove winners this year for the Cubs. Margaret Burroughs is well known as the founder of the DuSable Museum. But perhaps lesser known is her deca...
A measure that would allow citizens to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents now awaits the governor’s signature. A bill to let people who are terminally ill end their own lives medically has cleared the Illinois legislature. Illinois lawmakers passed an energy bill last night that will strengthen the reliability of the electrical grid. Plus, horror writers gathered at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School recently to discuss the ways they approach the genre. It was part of the Am...
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker made a plea to federal immigration agents to leave children alone over Halloween. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was in Gary, Indiana today and denied any American citizens are getting caught up in immigration enforcement operations despite numerous confirmed reports of such incidents. Graduation rates in Illinois have reached a 15-year high while other measures for high school students are lagging behind. Plus, federal immigration agents were out in force duri...
Former sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson has been found guilty of one count of second degree murder in the killing of Sonya Massey. Gov. JB Pritzker has declared what he’s calling an “agricultural trade crisis” in Illinois – and he’s signed an executive order he says will mitigate it. Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard got the first hat trick of his NHL career on Tuesday. Plus, we hear from WBEZ reporter Mawa Iqbal outside the courthouse in downstate Peoria, where she’s been following the trial...
A federal judge is ordering Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, a leader of the Trump administration’s Chicago deportation blitz, to appear in her courtroom every evening over the next week. The murder case of a white former sheriff’s deputy accused of killing Springfield-area resident Sonya Massey is now before a jury. Chicago has been dethroned as the rattiest city in the country. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is currently overflowing with Yoko Ono artwork. It’s all part of a m...
A former downstate sheriff’s deputy charged with murdering Springfield-area resident Sonya Massey last year took the witness stand. Hundreds of Illinois political candidates lined up early this morning to get their names on next year’s primary ballot. Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams says the team is having trouble capitalizing on key moments. Plus, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview has become a place where religious leaders say immigrants l...
Federal immigration enforcement disrupted schools across Chicago’s North and near Northwest Side today with at least eight schools cancelling activities or keeping students inside after reports of agents in the area. A new investigation from the Sun-Times shows more than a dozen Chicago city council members got campaign contributions from a political action committee whose leaders include landlord Corey Oliver. Lollapalooza is telling Chicago City Council members that it generated more impact fo...
This episode details Illinois Governor Pritzker's executive order on immigration abuses and a confrontation between federal agents and protesters in Little Village. It also covers the tragic death of Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey's son and family members, alongside a lawsuit against new Indiana voting laws. The main feature highlights 'Notes for Peace,' a program where grieving families create original songs with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to memorialize loved ones lost to gun violence, following one mother's journey from concept to concert.
Opening statements began today in the murder trial of a former sheriff’s deputy charged with killing Springfield-resident Sonya Massey last year. Lawyers for Gangster Disciple co-founder Larry Hoover are seeking clemency from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. The Chicago Fire are back in the Major League Soccer playoffs tonight for the first time in eight years. Plus, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with WBEZ city hall reporter Mariah Woelfel to discuss the new taxes that prop up his $16.6 billi...
Workers from the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Chicago have started receiving furlough notices amid the government shutdown. Chicago budget hearings are underway and part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to close the deficit includes taxing large corporations with a $21 fee per employee each month. Plus, a former top U.S. Homeland Security official is keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign in Chicago and he doesn’t like what he’s see...
The City of Chicago and eight other local governments are suing the Trump Administration over restrictions placed on federal emergency grants. Places of worship continue to be on high alert as federal immigration enforcement escalates in the Chicago area. Jury selection has begun in the first-degree murder trial of a former Illinois sheriff's deputy in the death of Sonya Massey. Plus, we learned last week that the Chicago Housing Authority paid approximately $22 million to three companies with c...
The Rundown reports on 11 arrests outside a Broadview ICE facility and the NAACP's rally against federal troops in Black communities. Illinois universities face drops in international student enrollment amid stricter Trump administration policies. The episode also highlights Chicagoans' innovative efforts, like "Whistlemania" neighborhood patrols, to resist aggressive federal immigration agents.
A federal appeals court in Chicago is refusing to undo a lower court's order blocking President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops within Illinois. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s newly unveiled budget relies on reinstating the city corporate head tax, a new social media tax, and a record, $1 billion dollar TIF surplus to close a massive budget gap. Loyola University and the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary honored the life of Jean Dolores Schmidt today. Plus, the one-time street gang...
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker expresses concerns over aggressive federal immigration enforcement in Chicago, suggesting judicial intervention may be necessary after a dangerous chase and use of tear gas. Separately, 14 Democratic governors have launched a public health alliance to address issues typically handled by the federal government, while medical professionals debunk claims linking Tylenol to autism. The episode also features a detailed account of a South Shore immigration raid where a resident sheltered a mother and daughter, revealing the raid's planning and lasting impact.
A car crash involving federal immigration agents late this morning in Chicago’s East Side neighborhood led to agents deploying tear gas after a large crowd gathered in protest of the agents. O’Hare and Midway International have joined a growing list of airports across the country that are refusing to play a Department of Homeland Security video. The Promontory, a South Side music venue and event space, is closing after New Year’s Eve. Plus, take a listen to what you can expect from a supersized ...
The mayor in west suburban Broadview has removed a designated “protest safety zone” from outside the local U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility. Immigration advocates say networks of volunteers are documenting what’s actually happening on the ground in and around Chicago. A Northwestern University professor is one of three people awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. Plus: After an immigration raid on a South Shore building two weeks ago that resulted in 37 arrests, federal official...
