The Rundown | Chicago News

Senate confirmation hearings begin this week, and Illinois Democrat Tammy Duckworth has some questions for one pick in particular. The state of Illinois has approved certain uterine health conditions for treatment with medicinal marijuana. The founder of the Young Lords Organization Jose “Cha Cha’ Jimenez died last week at the age of 76.

Chicago physicians are calling for the release of a Palestinian doctor in Gaza who has been detained by the Israeli military. Chicago officials are celebrating $1.9 billion in federal grant money that will help extend the CTA Red Line south to 130th Street. A second child has died from the pediatric flu as flu cases continue to spike across Chicago.

The alleged gunman in the Highland Park mass shooting appeared in court today, we’ll hear an update on his court case. As the first U.S. bird flu death is reported, concerns about the virus’s potential to spread in Illinois are rising. Homeless agencies fundraise for “Backpack Beds” for unsheltered Chicagoans.

On the heels of an Amazon worker strike across the nation last month, Illinois lawmakers passed a measure this week aimed at protecting warehouse workers. Residents of Northwest Indiana are crying foul over strong odors coming from the BP Refinery in Whiting. Bird collisions at McCormick Place’s Lakeside Center have dropped by more than 95 percent since bird-safe film was installed on the building’s windows last summer.

The federal corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan may soon take its most hostile turn yet. Students defrauded by their colleges are losing hope they might get their debt canceled. The Illinois Office To Prevent and End Homelessness has a new report on disparities in homelessness.

A measure to confiscate guns from people who have an order of protection against them has passed in the Illinois legislature. The CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois is stepping down. A new Northwestern Medicine study looked at how vaccines impacted how people experienced long COVID and found no significant difference between patients vaccinated before or after infection.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is adamant it is not a conflict of interest for him to remain on leave from Chicago Public Schools. Johnson says his relationship with Governor JB Pritzker isn’t damaged after disagreeing on hemp regulations. The state of Illinois is one signature from the Governor away from righting a close to 175-year-old wrong.

Michael Madigan has taken the stand to testify in his own defense in his federal racketeering and conspiracy trial. A measure that cleared the Illinois legislature will make it easier for foster children to live with family members. Tickets are now available for Chicago Theater Week.

Illinois lawmakers approve a controversial measure aimed at further protecting victims of domestic violence. The profits of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s law firm are emerging as flashpoints in his federal corruption trial. A new coalition on the West Side is calling for more community oversight to keep an eye on West Suburban hospital.

The first big storm of 2025 has swerved around Chicago. Defense testimony got underway again today in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain. The Chicago-set series The Bear was the most nominated TV show at last night's Golden Globes, but it brought home just one award.

Illinois lawmakers debate a bill aimed at making it easier for people to change their legal names. People with student debt have two alternatives to a generous relief plan that’s held up in court. Over a dozen Chicago teens took part in a film shoot at a West Loop pizza parlor this weekend.

Illinois State Trooper Clay Carns was laid to rest Friday; he was clearing debris on I-55 when a driver hit him. Derrick Rose is teaming up with Chicago Bulls Charities and the City of Chicago to unveil “The Rose Garden” Friday on the city's South Side. Health officials say opioid overdoses remain the greatest cause of unnatural deaths in Cook County.

Leaders of the Chicago Teachers Union say negotiations for a new teacher’s contract are at a standstill. People who install new rooftop solar panels will see fewer savings beginning this year. Chicago broke heat records last year.

A Chicago alderperson is calling for street festivals to have more security protections in the wake of deadly attacks in New Orleans and Germany. State officials will start working on a plan this year to give residents the option to use a digital copy of their driver's licenses and IDs on their cell phones. There’s a new Illinois law on the books addressing student discipline in non-public schools.

A Chicago alderperson wants the city to safeguard its resources ahead of a Trump presidency. A new Illinois law requires high school students to learn about the dangers of fentanyl. Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago is expanding access to outpatient mental health care for children to help fill a big gap in services.

In 2024, reporters at WBEZ sought out average Chicagoans to talk about their love for the city and its people as people crowded into the Democratic National Convention. We heard from a chef, an alderman and from Alex Thomas, an Indian American who relates to the city because of his middle-child status. “We strive to impress, but also we keep it real,” said Thomas. The doctor, musician and cartoonist also said Chicago allows you to do and be many things all at once.In this episode, WBEZ reporter Lisa Kurian Philip introduced us to Thomas and shared his love of the city and region.

House music was born in Chicago 40 years ago and the city has been celebrating all year.Darlene Jackson – also known as DJ Lady D, who the Chicago Reader recently named “Best House Music DJ in Chicago” – was the perfect person to talk about the genre earlier this year. “The roots of House come from disco,” she said on the Rundown podcast. “Frankie Knuckles actually popularized that statement, that House music is disco’s revenge.”Jackson talked to host Erin Allen about the attempted “demolition” of disco in Chicago and the rise of House music, the legend of late House DJ and record producer Frankie Knuckles, and why the genre is having a resurgence.

Even when you’re right outside the building housing Guarneri Hall, it’s not clear how to find it. To get to the small, tucked-away performance and recording venue in the Loop, enter from Adams Street between State and Wabash, pass the security desk, take the elevator up to the third floor, wend your way through office hallways and walk through a nondescript door.With its central location and unique acoustics, the hall provides the local classical community with a convenient space for music-making, hosting dozens of live performances and recordings since its 2018 opening. In this episode, WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis took us along for a journey into one of the city’s best-kept musical secrets.

Lamont Jones wanted to give his daughter a book about bid whist, his favorite card game, but couldn't find one. So he wrote it himself, with the goal of saving a pastime popular in the Black community from generational indifference. "Bid whist is the ultimate card game," Jones said on the Rundown podcast, "and I believe that if you've not yet experienced bid whist, the world's greatest card game awaits you."In this episode from earlier this year, Jones talks about his book, "The Gist of Bid Whist: The Culturally-Rich Card Game from Black America." He explains the game's "diabolical components" and traces the history back to the Pullman Porters, the African-American railcar attendants who helped establish a Black middle class and fuel the Great Migration in the era after the Civil War. “I think Chicago has a strong claim to being the spiritual home of bid whist," Jones said, "in part because the Pullman Porters were headquartered here, and we know the vital role that the Porters played in popularizing the game throughout the country.” 

The Joffrey Ballet danced along a fine line for several decades: The company could either take big artistic risks or die trying. On more than one occasion, death almost won.But, as any Chicagoan who looks skyward on State Street knows, the Joffrey lives on. Today, the Joffrey is Chicago’s preeminent classical ballet company. But nearly 70 years ago, it was a nascent group that co-founders Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino were trying to get off the ground in New York, with six dancers and a station wagon.In this episode, WBEZ arts and culture reporter Courtney Kueppers introduced us to the pioneering and persevering spirit of the Joffrey Ballet through the lens of a new exhibit. 

Last year, we spent some time on Chicago’s South Side. Jahmal Cole was there, asking a question to a crowd of volunteers assembled in a church parking lot in the Chatham neighborhood.
 
 “How come there ain't no holiday lights on the South Side of Chicago?” he said into the microphone. “I've seen it in Edgewater. I've seen it in Greek Town. How come there ain't no holiday lights on the South Side of Chicago?” 
 
 Cole is the founder of the community organization My Block My Hood City. For almost a decade, they’ve decorated homes on Martin Luther King Drive with holiday lights, ornaments, inflatable Santas and other decorations. 
 
 So, in this holiday season, we wanted to revisit the time we joined this event – which is called “Be A Part Of The Light” – for the day, asking homeowners and volunteers why they decided to participate, and Cole why he thinks the simple act of putting up holiday lights can transform a community.

Some state agencies are issuing guidance about a large event of waterfowl deaths across Illinois. Chicago’s murder count dropped again this year, but the lethality of shootings increased. The Greater Chicago Food Depository says the need is greater and donations are down.

A doctor from Illinois is among the people whose death sentences were commuted to life in prison today by President Joe Biden. Chicago is finishing its third consecutive year with a drop in murders. The National Weather Service is reporting mild temperatures and rain this holiday week, meaning we won’t get a “white Christmas.”

Chicago’s deputy mayor for public safety says the city’s downward trend in murder numbers owes to collaboration between police and former gang members working the streets. Illinois Transportation leaders are reminding people to stay sober while driving around for the holidays. How holiday songs could help save lives.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez has threatened to file a lawsuit against the Board of Education and all seven of its members hours before they plan to fire him at a hastily called special meeting this evening. Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations was in Chicago this week strategizing with local agencies about what he called “challenges the local Mexican community faces.” A dramatic influx of immigrants over the past year helped Illinois witness its highest single-year population growth in decades.

One parent says she feels shut out of the debate about whether to keep the Chicago Public School chief in his job. Cook County might help more Chicagoans with guaranteed income now that the city has cut its own program. The Council on American Islamic Relations of Chicago, Sacramento and New Jersey announced a lawsuit against the U.S. State Department to demand it evacuates Palestinian-American citizens from Gaza.

A Cook County commissioner is calling for support for Amazon workers on strike. The Council on American Islamic Relations in Chicago is joining two other chapters to sue the U.S. State Department. The Chicago Cubs and Sammy Sosa are mending fences after years apart.

On the agenda for a special Chicago Board of Ed meeting Friday: the CEO's potential ouster. Cook County’s new top prosecutor drops charges against a cop recorded on video repeatedly punching an Arab American teenager. A news study found factors like gender, education and income are influencing one’s feeling of loneliness.

The prosecution is resting in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and co-defendant Michael McClain. A church on Chicago’s North Side wants to help people dealing with grief and sadness during the holidays through a Blue Christmas service tonight. Demolition is underway on a building that housed the E2 nightclub.

The head of Chicago’s Film Office is out of a job. It’s the latest in an ongoing staff shakeup at the city’s cultural arts department. Officials at Columbia College Chicago say program cuts are necessary to the school’s future. How Chicago’s 2025 budget will affect your pocketbook.

Advocate Health Care is making a $1 billion investment on Chicago’s South Side. Food delivery app GrubHub will pay nearly $25 million to customers, drivers and restaurants nationwide thanks to a multi-year investigation from the Illinois Attorney General’s office and the Federal Trade Commission. Chicago’s police oversight commission is asking residents to share their experiences with traffic stops this evening.

Chicago’s new budget avoids a property tax increase that the mayor had initially proposed. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announces who will serve on the partly elected, partly appointed school board that takes over this January. A measure in Springfield would make sure insurance companies aren’t relying on artificial intelligence to deny claims.

A lobbyist aligned with former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is testifying about the joke-worthy job expectations of a clout-heavy AT&T subcontractor. The Chicago Department of Public Health reports eight cases of mpox in the last three months. Illinois Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is sounding an alarm over the incoming president’s immigration plans.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is offering a fourth version of his budget proposal to the City Council he hopes will end weeks of tense negotiations and delays. Chicago Department of Public Health officials are closely monitoring hospitalizations from repertory viruses. The ACLU of Illinois is raising concerns about free speech at two north suburban public library systems.

A vote on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2025 budget proposal has been pushed back to Monday. The State of Illinois has received $290 million in federal grant money for a railway improvement project on Chicago’s South Side. The Archdiocese of Chicago held its annual Posada today and prayed outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Center downtown.

Brandon Johnson is the latest in a line of Chicago mayors who’ve set aside funds for police vacancies they have no chance of filling. Chicago Public Schools looks poised to keep open five of seven charter schools slated for closure. A new report shows Illinois still owes a lot of money on pensions – but the gap is closing.

A new study has ideas for how to make Cook County’s complicated property tax system more fair. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says he’d be willing to speak with President-elect Donald Trump’s border czar, but questions Thomas Homan’s legal authority to carry out mass deportations. Activists want President Joe Biden to use the last days of his lame-duck term to grant protections to undocumented immigrants.

Family and fellow first responders will gather at a South Side church today to say goodbye to fallen Oak Park police detective Allan Reddins. Illinois restarts a program to offer down payment *and* student loan assistance. A bid to help a disgraced political worker is a new focus in the racketeering conspiracy trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

City of Chicago Warming Centers are open as temperatures dip into the single digits tonight. A new quantum computing campus is coming to Chicago's South Side. A federal judge is setting aside concerns about a government witness’ competency in the corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The latest on the city of Chicago’s contentious budget process as a December 31st deadline looms. An effort to give Springfield voters the power to recall the county sheriff gets shot down, once again. Ukrainian refugees in Chicago can now access free language learning courses and vocational training at Wright College in Humboldt Park.

Property taxes could be going up in Chicago. Pastors and community leaders met today at the Columbus Park Refectory to discuss a revival of activity they want to help usher in on Chicago’s West Side. A restaurant in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood has earned a prestigious Michelin Star less than a year after opening its doors.

We hear from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff amid fallout in his press office. Tom Homan, president-elect Donald Trump’s new border czar, was in Chicago last night speaking to a crowd of GOP supporters on the Northwest Side. A downstate congresswoman appears as a government witness in the federal corruption trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

A coalition of civil rights groups is pushing Illinois lawmakers to require police to receive ongoing training to identify hate crimes. Chicago Public Schools celebrated the opening of 22 sensory classrooms across the district for students with disabilities today. Major League Baseball owners, executives and managers are all gathered in Dallas this week for the annual Winter Meetings.

The price of water is going up for some Illinois residents. A new Northwestern University study shows the impact misinformation has on consumers. We hear from a Belmont Cragin teen that blew his SAT exam out of the water.

Chicago officials today are carrying out a months-old plan to clear away the city’s biggest homeless encampment. A former Illinois lawmaker involved in two alleged bribery schemes facing Michael Madigan will have to testify in the former House speaker’s racketeering conspiracy trial. Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson says he fired Head Coach Luke Richardson because the team was developing bad habits and falling short in too many games.

Former President Barack Obama was in Chicago last night to talk about unifying Americans. Remembering Oak Park Detective Allan Reddins. The Illinois Department of Public Health is warning against respiratory illnesses.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today the smell of raw cannabis is enough for police to search a vehicle without a warrant. The new director of Chicago’s office that helps formerly incarcerated people reenter their communities says he has big goals for 2025. A key part of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s bid to turn the state into an electric vehicle manufacturing hub just hit a speed bump.

The charter school network that is aiming to close 7 schools failed to show up to a board meeting to answer questions. Chicago’s law department is cracking down of owners who don’t maintain vacant lots. Cook County holds a summit to improve language access for residents with limited English proficiency.

The Chicago Board of Education has offered the head of the school district a buyout. Job recommendations Michael Madigan presented to Gov. JB Pritzker are emerging as a focus in the former speaker’s federal corruption trial. A snowy cold front means a windy afternoon and evening in the Chicago area.

Mayor Brandon Johnson shared a new violence reduction goal for next year. The Chicago Teachers Union narrows its demands as it tries to land a contract before Trump is inaugurated. Cook County’s public health system is launching free doula services for pregnant patients.