Mayor Brandon Johnson touted figures that show in 2025, fatal shootings were at the lowest level since 1965. Shooting incidents actually dropped by 34 percent from the previous year. For the second year in a row, Chicago Public Schools’ watchdog found a high-profile basketball team fielded players that were fraudulently enrolled in the school. Retiring U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky is endorsing a candidate in the wide-open primary campaign to nominate a potential successor. Plus, a large mu...
Jan 07, 2026•10 min
Workers at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood are demanding safer practices in providing emergency care. SEIU Healthcare Illinois says workers are unhappy that the hospital understaffs its emergency rooms, resulting in high wait times for patients with urgent needs. The Chicago Bears look to snatch their first playoff win in 15 years when they face the Green Bay Packers on Saturday. The Grant Park Music Festival announced its season lineup, which has a strong ...
Jan 06, 2026•7 min
Some Illinois lawmakers are calling for accountability after the Trump administration's arrest of deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. A new Northwestern Medicine study found the highest rates of gestational diabetes in American Indian and Alaska Native groups. Chicago Bears Quarterback Williams got a franchise passing record, but he says his focus is on the upcoming playoffs. Plus, a family fled Ukraine to settle in Illinois, but are now being caught up in the Trump administration’s deport...
Jan 05, 2026•8 min
Homicides and opioid deaths dropped in Cook County in 2025, and the news comes as Chicago had its lowest number of homicides in 60 years. One new Illinois law that went into effect at the start of the new year will regulate how employers use artificial intelligence when hiring new workers. Melissa Nunez and Elizabeth Branske were chosen in a raffle out of nearly a thousand couples to receive Cook County’s first marriage license of 2026. Plus, in the U.S., Black men who start college are up again...
Jan 02, 2026•13 min
We’re looking back at a story from earlier this month about the best Chicago albums of 2025. Our colleagues at our sister station Vocalo nominated their annual picks for the best in new Chicago music. Chicago has always been an eclectic music town where artists borrow from the city’s traditions of blues, jazz and soul. Some of this year’s best local albums blend the genres and even transcend them.
Dec 31, 2025•7 min
We’re revisiting a story from the WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times arts and culture desk, in which our bookish colleagues share some of their favorite new books of 2025. Their recommendations range from a wide breadth of genres, including a novel that explores the complexities of friendship and family as well as a memoir detailing New York City nightlife in the '90s.
Dec 30, 2025•7 min
In a town full of foodies, Chicago pizzamaker Jonathan Goldsmith’s pies rise to the top at his restaurant, Spacca Napoli, located in Ravenswood on Chicago’s North Side. The eatery spent several years on the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list and an Italian-based website ranked it among the best pizza in the world in 2023. At the beginning of 2025, the restaurant was named the best pizza in town at the local Banchet Awards. Days later, Goldsmith underwent surgery for stomach cancer. As the year w...
Dec 29, 2025•5 min
This holiday season, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra hosted a new kind of concert. The so-called “barrier-free” performance was designed for people with disabilities and their loved ones. That includes accessible parking, an ASL interpreter and a sensory-free room where people could retreat if they got overwhelmed. About a hundred attendees of all ages poured into the performance at the Evanston Township High School Auditorium, where volunteers encouraged the audience to participate in a singalo...
Dec 26, 2025•5 min
Faith leaders were denied access to pray with detainees at the Broadview ICE facility today. Illinois is part of a multi-state coalition suing the Trump administration for targeting gender affirming care. A holiday-themed pop-up in Humboldt Park takes inspiration from a Puerto Rican Christmas tradition. And Jake Connelly, a 13-year-old from Arlington Heights, is the newest star of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things." Plus, one Curious City listener wanted to know: What customs associated wi...
Dec 25, 2025•10 min
Who is Gregory Bovino? For months, the Border Patrol Commander-at-Large led agents through Chicago on an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign, while making sure his noticeably uncovered face was in front of as many cameras as possible. But there’s very little information online about Bovino’s background, his experience, or his rise to overnight prominence. So our team went digging – to his hometown in North Carolina, and to California where his Border Patrol career got started. In “Becomi...
Dec 23, 2025•34 min
The Chicago Bears are the toast of the town after an overtime win Saturday against the Green Bay Packers. The Cook County Clerk’s office has selected the couple who will receive the county’s first marriage license of 2026. Operation North Pole is an annual holiday charity event for children with life-threatening illnesses. It returned for the first time since COVID. Plus, the biggest life expectancy gap between Chicago neighborhoods is 20 years, from West Garfield Park to the Loop. One of the so...
Dec 22, 2025•10 min
The Chicago City Council has approved the revenue portion of a rival, aldermanic-led spending plan that does not include a corporate head tax as Mayor Brandon Johnson wanted. It still requires a second official vote to be fully adopted. The Trump administration said the Chicago Transit Authority’s new security plan “fails to meet the need for immediate, measurable corrective action” and threatened to withhold up to 50 million dollars from the agency. Chicago six-piece soul band Hollyy will play ...
Dec 19, 2025•9 min
A state commission examining wrongdoing by federal agencies during the so-called “Operation Midway Blitz” is now taking testimony. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will do "whatever it takes" to avoid a government shutdown. A coalition of alders advanced a rival budget proposal, and the plan still needs a full council vote. The Chicago Bears will host arch-rivals the Green Bay Packers Saturday night. Plus, fans of the novelist Jane Austen celebrated her 250th birthday through a Regency ball...
Dec 18, 2025•8 min
Chicago's Jewish community continues to mourn the victims of the mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. An Illinois state task force is investigating why violence against women and girls in Chicago is disproportionately high. Chicago officials are urging people to get their vaccines before gathering with friends and family for the holidays. Plus, a school on Chicago’s southwest side has long had a club to support students without legal status and to raise money to help them go...
Dec 17, 2025•8 min
U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has returned to the Chicago area. Illinois might not be able to generate all the power it needs to meet future demand because coal-fired plants are shutting down and newer, cleaner sources aren’t coming online fast enough. The Chicago Blackhawks are playing in Toronto without star center Conor Bedard due to an upper-body injury. Plus, a Chicago theater company created its own holiday-inspired version of the “Real Housewives” reality television series: ...
Dec 16, 2025•6 min
Jewish leaders in Chicago are mourning the lives lost in Australia this weekend, but say they won’t live in fear as Hanukkah celebrations continue this week. Actor and film director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were killed in their Los Angeles home yesterday. Some anti-violence advocates want the Chicago Transit Authority to allow violence interruptors to patrol the transit system. Plus, the move-out deadline has passed for the last residents of a Chicago apartment building raided in...
Dec 15, 2025•10 min
Patients in Illinois who are terminally ill will be able to request life-ending medication with a doctor’s prescription starting later next year. A proposed city-wide ban on the sale of hemp products now includes an exception for THC-infused beverages. The National Weather Service says snow is likely Saturday afternoon with evening wind chills near 20 below zero. Plus, We recently asked people in Illinois prisons this question: “If you could spend one afternoon on the outside with a family membe...
Dec 12, 2025•10 min
The city of Chicago says warming centers will be available this weekend as bitterly cold temperatures move in. A commission formed in honor of an unarmed Black woman murdered in her Springfield-area home last year has unveiled their 26 “calls to action.” Red Kettle donations for the Salvation Army are down in the Chicago area. Plus, the new company that provides health care to nearly 30,000 people in Illinois state prisons has a disturbing track record. Centurion Health took over health care for...
Dec 11, 2025•8 min
WBEZ lost power at our studios at Navy Pier today and will return to its usual programming schedule as soon as we can. A group of alderpersons who oppose Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget have introduced their own revenue package. Chicagoans can expect more snow going into the weekend. Plus, the widest “death gap” across neighborhoods of any big city in America is between the Loop and West Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side. Between these seven stops on the Green Line, how long someone is...
Dec 10, 2025•10 min
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is revising his proposed and controversial corporate head tax in hopes of shaking a budget stalemate loose. Illinois Gov.JB Pritzker signed into law protections from what he called “unjust actions” taken by federal immigration agents. Top executives at the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois got hefty raises and multimillion bonuses last year despite a 54 percent drop in net income, according to Crain’s. Plus, the Chicago-rooted duo The Cool Kid...
Dec 09, 2025•7 min
The prospect of a government shutdown over the city’s budget is growing bigger in the city of Chicago. Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the school board next November but a new poll finds few realize this is happening. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich celebrated Mass on Sunday in the chapel of Cook County Jail’s maximum-security division. Plus, December is Nutcracker season. Some local groups are presenting the classic holiday ballet with a twist.
Dec 08, 2025•7 min
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget team said that an alternative budget proposal from 26 alders who oppose the mayor’s spending plan is based on faulty projections and regressive fines. Indiana state House lawmakers have passed a new congressional map that now advances to the state Senate, where it is unclear if enough lawmakers will support its final passage. Granite City Works will make steel again next year. Plus, from the 67-foot-tall Norway spruce in Millennium Park to a dizzying number...
Dec 05, 2025•8 min
The city of Chicago’s running tab for police misconduct settlements tied to disgraced former police commander Jon Burge grew by $15 million today. As Chicago plunges into extreme cold weather territory, medical professionals urge the public to pay attention to the signs of frostbite. Illinois Congressman Eric Sorensen is calling on Congress to vote soon to extend Obamacare subsidies to keep health care premiums from skyrocketing. Plus, with federal immigration enforcement bearing down on Chicago...
Dec 04, 2025•7 min
A majority of Chicago alderpersons are backing an alternate budget plan that would double residents’ garbage collection fee to avoid a new corporate head tax. The Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party will hold a candlelight vigil and dedication ceremony Wednesday. The Illinois Secretary of State has issued warnings to national rental car companies about federal immigration agents. Plus, many people feared student attendance at Chicago Public Schools ...
Dec 03, 2025•11 min
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a measure allowing the state to develop its own vaccine guidelines, independent of the federal government. Thousands of Illinoisans could face homelessness once new federal requirements kick in. Capacity has been increased at Christkindlmarket in the Loop. Plus, we’ll hear from a Chicago protester who says their dismissed charges show Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino is dishonest.
Dec 02, 2025•7 min
The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory until midnight for the Chicago area and until 3 a.m. for northwest Indiana. Healthcare providers are concerned that federal funding cuts could undo some of the gains made against HIV and AIDS. Actor and director Robert Townsend returns to his native Chicago this weekend with a pop-up film and comedy festival. Plus, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and his wife MK recently paid Pope Leo the 14th a visit in Rome, presenting the Chicago...
Dec 01, 2025•7 min
An early winter storm is moving through the Great Lakes region and bringing a chill to Chicago for Thanksgiving. A federal judge called out an immigration enforcement agent for using artificial intelligence to write the narrative of a use-of-force report. The Village of Oak Lawn has agreed to pay more than $800,000 to a man punched by a village police officer during a 2022 traffic stop. Plus, foot traffic is down in Chicago’s predominantly Latino shopping areas with many would-be customers scare...
Nov 26, 2025•9 min
O’Hare Airport is expected to have its busiest Thanksgiving travel season on record. Several state agencies say President Trump’s tariff policies are costing Illinoisans thousands of dollars more this year. HBO is premiering a new documentary tonight that looks at the making of the Super Bowl Shuffle. Plus, one way the federal government provides affordable housing is by subsidizing rent in buildings owned by private developers. That’s the case at one building complex on Chicago’s South Side, wh...
Nov 25, 2025•8 min
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest in the shooting death of 14-year-old Armani Floyd Friday night in the loop. The Federal Aviation Administration expects this week’s Thanksgiving holiday travel period to be the busiest in 15 years. This holiday season a consumer watchdog group is warning parents about the rise of children's toys equipped with A-I chatbots. Plus, one year ago Vanessa Lopez found out her father was being sent back to Mexico after living most ...
Nov 24, 2025•7 min
A new report in the Sun-Times determines there's not enough affordable housing in many Chicago suburbs. A stretch of milder weather that starts this weekend will taper off after the Thanksgiving holiday. Chicago’s annual tree lighting ceremony is Friday night in Millennium Park. Plus, The Smashing Pumpkins released “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” 30 years ago. Now, frontman Billy Corgan is celebrating the double album with a symphonic version at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The final sou...
Nov 21, 2025•7 min
