The Rundown | Chicago News

Illinois voters take note: an advisory referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot will ask whether individual earnings above $1 million should be hit with a 3% surcharge, to generate revenue that would go toward property tax relief. A hearing for Larry Hoover, the notorious leader of the Gangster Disciples, wrapped up this afternoon in a federal courtroom in Chicago. Former Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Rose is retiring.

The head of Chicago Public School is fighting to keep his job. His contract may help. A new lawsuit about special education in prison could become a class action case. New polling shows widespread support for an Illinois law that prohibits some credit card swipe fees.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is nixing a plan to turn a vacant National Guard armory near Midway into a new police station. The Greater Chicago Food Depository said it distributed more food in the last fiscal year than it has in its 45-year-history. With five games remaining, the White Sox remain tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record of 120 losses in one season.

Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary art has billed itself as a space where new ideas are shown and tested since its inception in 1967.“What many people don't know is we also have a 300-seat theater in the basement of the museum,” said Laura Paige Kyber, the performance curator at the MCA. The museum will put that theater to use this weekend with the return of its third annual “Chicago Performs.” “Chicago Performs is a mini-festival,” Kyber said. “Each year, it just features a cross section of contemporary performance works being made in Chicago and hopefully to introduce them on a larger platform and into a more national spotlight, which the museum can provide.”The four-day event features interactive and multimedia performances from a few Chicago-based artists and art collectives, including cat mahari, Lakshmi Ramgopal (who leads a project called Lykanthea), and Every house has a door, which is led by husband-and-wife duo Matthew Goulish and Lin Hixson.In this episode, Rundown podcast host Erin Allen talks with Goulish and Hixson about “Broken Aquarium,” a multimedia performance about a changing Earth, performed outdoors on Sept. 28 and 29. In it, they use textiles, poetry, dance and water to illustrate the intricacies of an “impossible ecosystem of endangered or extinct sea creatures.” 

The Chicago Teachers Union is continuing to lambast the head of Chicago Public Schools as he fights to hold on to his job. Two Springfield insiders are being named as alleged financial winners from a controversial state program. New lawsuits are attempting to get two incarcerated students in Illinois re-enrolled in their college program.

The number of hate crimes against Jewish people increased nationally last year. People who live in Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa on Chicago’s northwest side hope a new ordinance can protect their homes from gentrification. Travelers heading from Chicago to Florida can soon opt to travel by Amtrak.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is trying to find new technology to replace ShotSpotter. Northwestern researchers found that a federal assault weapons ban was effective in preventing mass shootings. The FDA holds a food safety hearing this week – and an Illinois initiative could get some attention.

A report released today says Chicago police are asked to do too much and it’s damaging public safety. Former Chicago Alderperson Ed Burke has reported to federal prison to serve a two-year sentence for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. With six games remaining, The White Sox are now tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season.

Black women are “superlative participators in American democracy,” according to Northwestern professor Sally Nuamah, yet they remain underrepresented in national politics. “Post-Reconstruction, we've had two elected Black women senators,” Nuamah said. “And at the gubernatorial level, we've had no Black women governors. And then we obviously have had no Black women presidents. If you consider the fact that Black women vote more than most Americans – at least for the past 20 years – and if you consider the fact that in addition they're really critical to registering people to vote, organizing protests and rallies, fundraising and a whole number of other kinds of forms of engagement, this is sort of inconsistent with what you would expect from a representation standpoint.”In this episode of the Rundown podcast, Nuamah and host Erin Allen talked about why. Nuamah runs through the history of Black women’s participation in democracy – from Fannie Lou Hamer to Shirley Chisholm to Kamala Harris. She also explained the difference between “symbolic” and “substantive” representation, and whether one can lead to the other.This conversation is part of the Democracy Solutions Project, a collaboration among WBEZ, The Chicago Sun Times and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government. The multimedia series is focused on the critical issues facing our democracy in the run-up to the 2024 election.

A memorial service for deceased Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was standing room only on Sunday. Gun control advocates are confident the courts will uphold an Illinois law banning assault-style firearms. Shotspotter is being dismantled in Chicago as Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to veto a City Council attempt to save the gunshot detection technology.

Sources tell WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has told schools chief Pedro Martinez that he wants him to resign. Chicago is ending use of the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter on Sunday. The Chicago-area is in the midst of a drought.

Vocalo and WBEZ are hosting a party tonight in Millennium Park and, obviously, we hope you check it out. “This concert is kinda more than a concert,” said Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez, who’s co-hosting the event. “I feel like it is a Chicago homecoming for a lot of artists.”The lineup features DJ Lady D, KAINA, Marquis Hill, Pivot Gang and some surprise special guests. Co-hosting alongside Hernandez is Stephen Bekoe, the founder of iLLANOiZE Radio, a platform that showcases Chicago’s creative talent.“Vocalo has worked so hard for an opportunity like this,” Bekoe said on the Rundown podcast. “So it's good to see WBEZ and Chicago DCASE [the Department of Community Affairs & Special Events] come together to make this happen, not just for the station, but for the city.”The Vocalo Summer Finale is tonight, Friday Sept. 20, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Admission is free and gates open at 5 p.m.

City and state officials now have a set of clear recommendations on how to create a combined shelter system for both unhoused Chicagoans and recently arrived migrants. A federal judge declared a mistrial in the case of a former AT&T Illinois executive accused of bribing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Jurors couldn’t agree on a verdict. The CTA chief has ideas to improve service – but he thinks the state needs to fairly fund it first.

A federal jury is stalemated over whether a former phone company executive tried to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Illinois could see major cuts to the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by the end of the month. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is defending his decision to not say whether he’s taking a pay raise.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says he’ll issue the first veto by a Chicago mayor since 2006. A fight between politicians about the impacts of ending cash bail in Illinois. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker says the state needs to do more to meet its climate goals.

The Chicago Board of Education has approved a new five year strategic plan that envisions more students learning a second language. The Chicago City Council has approved an $11.6 million settlement for Anthony Jakes, who spent two decades in prison after detectives under the disgraced late commander Jon Burge beat a false confession out of him in a 1991 murder case. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch says it’s too early to say what lawmakers will do during the fall veto session in Springfield.

Illinois has the capacity to meet just 24% of the mental health needs of the state, according to a 2021 analysis by The American Association of Medical Colleges.To help close the gap in the city, a pilot program called “Healing Arts Chicago” is getting creative by training local artists to serve as community health workers. “The premise was like, we already knew that Chicago has really a wealth of community-based artists who think about their work with community as healing,” said Meida McNeal, who runs the pilot program through her work at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events. “And what would it be like thinking about public health and community health as a potential sector where the skills they already have could be applied?”The program is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. Local artists get trained and certified through City Colleges of Chicago, placed in city mental health centers through the Chicago Department of Public Health, and then they offer classes and workshops at no charge across a variety of disciplines.  “We've got movement, dance artists. We've got DJs, folks who work in sound therapy. We've got theater and puppetry, multimedia arts, sculpture, murals, ceramics,” McNeal said.In this episode of the Rundown podcast, host Erin Allen visited the Greater Grand Mental Health Center to take Leyda “Lady Sol” Garcia’s “Move to Live” wellness offering. She talked with class attendees and the instructor – as well as the instructor of another Healing Arts Chicago course on poetry, Nile Lansana – about what the classes are like and what they offer the community. Healing Arts Chicago has artist-led offerings available through the end of the year. 

A gun design expert took the stand yesterday in a federal trial over Illinois’ ban on assault-style weapons. A politically fraught debate over the gunshot detection technology, ShotSpotter. WBEZ examines year one of Illinois’ Pretrial Fairness Act.

Chicago has seen an uptick in voter registrations with about seven weeks left until Election Day. A commission created in response to the killing of Sonya Massey held its first listening session last night. Chicago elected officials are slated to receive a 4 percent raise next year – but Mayor Brandon Johnson hasn’t said whether he’ll take it.

A federal trial in Southern Illinois over a state gun ban gets underway with more witness testimonies. The Massey Commission holds a listening session before selecting commissioners… and before technically forming. There’s been a decline in biking deaths across Chicago– but some cycling advocacy groups say more protections are needed.

A Chicago City Council panel today signed off on nearly $15 million to settle four police misconduct lawsuits. The Chicago Board of Education caused a stir in December by saying it intended to shift away from school choice, but now the board says it is not planning on making any big changes to charter or selective enrollment schools. Tito Jackson, the Gary, Indiana-born older brother of Michael Jackson and guitar-player for the Jackson Five, died Sunday at 70 years old.

Here are some reasons you might want to found your tech startup in Chicago: 1) it’s a great place to live, 2) it’s not as expensive as New York or Silicon Valley and 3) the city is not already over-saturated with tech companies vying for investors. That’s all according to Griffin Cox and Haydée Marino, two of the founders behind ezbot.ai, a Chicago-based tech start-up that uses machine learning to optimize e-commerce websites.Cox and Marino are both Chicagoans who admit the city is not the first that comes to mind when you think of tech startups, but it’s “a growing scene,” Cox said. In this episode, they explain how they got their Chicago-born startup off the ground and both the opportunities and challenges of starting a business in the city of big shoulders. 

A federal judge in East Saint Louis is hearing arguments today in a trial over an Illinois gun control law. A Chicago City Council panel is scheduled to vote on a deal that could lead to dozens of settlements in wrongful convictions tied to a corrupt former sergeant. People from all over the country flock to celebrate Mexican Independence Day at Grant Park.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is appointing Walter Burnett, the City Council’s longest-serving alderman, to be the next chair of the powerful Zoning Committee. Mexican Independence Day celebrations kick-off across Chicago this weekend and the Fire Department is warning drivers that caravans could make it difficult for emergency vehicles to pass through. Black fraternities and sororities are hosting community blood drives across Chicago during Sickle Cell Disease and Blood Cancer Awareness Month.

It’s nearly Libra season, an astrological sign known for patience. Loona Dae is a Chicago-based musician (and a Libra) who has waited until this weekend to perform songs from her 2023 debut album, ATARI. “I’m a very patient person,” she told Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez, referring to both releasing and performing songs from that album, but also to her long-term friendship-turned-relationship with her producer, Ashwin Torke.In this episode, the St. Louis-born artist talks about giving time for her album to sit with people, what it’s like making music with a romantic partner and her upcoming performance at Empty Bottle on Sept. 15.

Illinois public defenders are feeling the squeeze, one year after the state eliminates the cash bail system. Some changes are coming to Illinois’ Bright Start college savings program. A group of environmental activists is working with state lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at protecting a large, underground water source.

Illinois public defenders are feeling the squeeze, one year after the state eliminates the cash bail system. Some changes are coming to Illinois’ Bright Start college savings program. A group of environmental activists is working with state lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at protecting a large, underground water source.

A veterinarian once employed by suburban horse-racing track Hawthorne is accusing that facility – and a state agency – of misconduct. The north suburban man accused of killing seven people at the 2022 Highland Park 4th of July Parade didn’t show up to a scheduled court hearing today. People in Canada and some northern U.S. cities may see faint auroras late tonight.

Some business owners on the city’s West Side are dreading the return of Riot Fest to Douglass Park later this month. A year since Illinois eliminated cash bail, a study looks at crime rates and the size of jail populations. A new festival kicking off this weekend looks to be a “hoot” for Chicago bird enthusiasts.

Riot Fest is heading back to Chicago’s west side. Rates of syphilis are rising across the country, including in Chicago. University of Illinois system leaders say their three campuses have enrolled a record number of students.

The Johnson Publishing Company was the powerhouse publisher of Ebony and Jet, influential and trendsetting magazines that offered narratives, products and depictions of Black folks that spoke to Black folks throughout the 20th century and beyond.Chicago artist Theaster Gates has been a caretaker, of sorts, for the archive of artifacts that once lived at 820 S. Michigan Avenue, the longtime home of the Johnson Publishing Company that filed for bankruptcy liquidation in 2019. Now, Gates has assembled these artifacts into a new exhibit, “When Clouds Roll Away: Reflection and Restoration from the Johnson Archive.”“When clouds roll away is an acknowledgement that some time has passed and that in it, so much more might be revealed,” Gates said on the Rundown podcast. “And so the premise of the exhibition is to reveal the important treasures of this insurmountable Black archive that is native to Chicago.”The exhibit is open from Sept. 12 through March 16, 2025 at the former Stony Island Trust & Savings Bank, a space Gates acquired and transformed into a Black archive and third space over the past decade.  In this episode, host Erin Allen talks with Gates about why he wants to preserve these kinds of spaces and artifacts, including those in his new exhibit.

The Park District board is set to vote on a permit for Riot Fest today… and one catering company with ties to a board member will set up shop at the big music festival. Chicago officials plan to close three migrant shelters, but some advocates worry about doing so before the city has a plan to end homelessness. An Illinois lawmaker is hoping for a more bipartisan Farm Bill.

City of Chicago officials plan to close three migrant shelters by the end of October since fewer people are arriving in the city. The state of Illinois is spending $6 million to bolster career training for people experiencing homelessness. The Chicago White Sox are just nine losses away from ending up on the wrong side of baseball history.

More charging stations across Illinois could make it easier to own an electric vehicle – new federal money is making that possible. In light of the Georgia school shooting, Illinois state lawmakers look to pass more safe gun storage laws. A new data study aims to help libraries demonstrate their value as community anchors in presentations to stakeholders.

The city of Chicago is enacting a hiring freeze to help close looming budget gaps. A Cook County Commissioner is hosting a public hearing about the lack of public transit in the northwest suburbs. The Chicago Sky will finish the WNBA season without star Angel Reese after a sidelining wrist injury.

Growing up in Englewood, Chatham and Washington Park in the 1960s and ‘70s, Ernest Dawkins said he knew he’d be a musician.“I always had a dream that I was playing the saxophone and I didn’t even know what a saxophone was when I was a child,” Dawkins said on the Rundown podcast. Dawkins is one of the world’s premiere saxophonists and composers. He’s the leader of several ensembles, including the New Horizons Ensemble and the Live the Spirit residency projects. He’s also the founder and director of the Englewood Jazz Festival, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary on Sept. 19-21. Ahead of the festival, host Erin Allen sat down with Dawkins to talk about what attendees can expect – including an encore of Dawkins’ jazz-poetry opera called “Paul Robeson: Man Of The People” – and how his South Side communities led him to a life in music. 

Some Chicago alderpersons say unspent federal relief dollars should be used to plug the city’s budget holes. CTA bus and rail operators raced against each other in a friendly competition over the weekend. Evanston hosted its first folk festival over the weekend.

A letter obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times shows 16 current or former employees of COPA, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, are calling on an oversight board to consider taking the first step toward removing the agency’s chief, Andrea Kersten. The leader of Chicago’s immigrant and refugee rights committee wants to hold hearings on how to remove barriers to housing for migrants. A new play about legendary Chicago columnist Mike Royko opens tonight at the Chopin Theater.

Chicago Latin pop artist Adam Martinez said he can struggle with conversational Spanish, not unlike the late Mexican-American superstar, Selena, who learned Spanish as a young adult.“Selena is one of my biggest inspirations,” Martinez said. “She learned through music. And there’s a lot of people in my family who only speak Spanish. And so I love to communicate with them through the way that I know, which is music.”Martinez released an album last year, titled “Sol.” He said he met his girlfriend after asking her to star in the music video for his single, “Momentos,” via Instagram. In this episode recorded last year, he talks with Vocalo afternoon host Nudia Hernandez about Chicago’s Latin pop community and how he fell in love.

A new Save A Lot comes to West Garfield Park. Chicago's school board election is heating up as two groups raise big money to support candidates. Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren says there’s no deadline for closing a deal on a stadium downtown.

Some CTA riders are rattled by the murders on the Blue Line this week and are changing their routines as a result. Illinois State Senator Doris Turner says she’s holding off – for now – on filing police reform legislation in honor of Sonya Massey. The Illinois Flag Commission is now accepting designs for a new state flag.

The alleged shooter in a quadruple murder on the CTA Blue Line this week is ordered to remain locked up pending trial. A report says in 2023 – more dogs and cats were killed at Chicago’s Care and Animal Control shelter than in any other year since 2016. Meteorological summer is over… what weather can we expect during fall?

A judge ordered pre-trial detention for the alleged shooter in this week’s quadruple homicide on a CTA Blue Line train. The book “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin is this year’s pick for the Chicago Public Library’s One Book, One Chicago program. Tears were shed in last night’s finale of HBO’s Hard Knocks docu-series featuring the Chicago Bears.

Usually at a live performance, the audience is encouraged to give the performers their undivided attention. But at Meanwhile Chicago – a variety show featuring storytellers, essayists, comics and dancers – the audience is encouraged to draw and doodle the whole time. “When you put a piece of paper and a pen in front of someone, almost everyone is going to grab it and start doodling,” said Megan Kirby, who created Meanwhile with her friend Catherine Eves in 2016. “We were trying to figure out how to channel that desire to make art, and also this idea that you can be writing and drawing and it's not necessarily taking your focus away.”After the show, the artwork created by the audience is sifted through and stitched together into a zine, a small-run magazine, and then copied and distributed. In this episode of the Rundown podcast, Kirby talks with host Erin Allen about the inspiration for the project and why Chicago is a hub for this kind of creativity. You can follow Meanwhile on Instagram for information about their next performance and pick up a copy of their latest zine at Chicago Zine Fest on Oct. 5.

Illinois elected officials say they are prioritizing safety on public transit, in the wake of a fatal shooting on the Blue Line. About 30 people gathered outside Chicago’s Israeli consulate last night to protest Israel's government and mourn the recent deaths of Hamas-held hostages. Northwestern’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic is asking the US Supreme court to overturn a ban that prohibits gender affirming care for minors.

Chicago’s top federal judge says the publication this year of home addresses for members of the federal bench is dangerous. Foxtrot is reopening its Gold Coast location on Thursday, five months after it closed. The Archdiocese of Chicago will be the first Catholic diocese in the state to offer natural burials.

An update on Chicago’s response to the influx of asylum seekers bused her from Texas. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle explains why she’s been quiet on abortion rights two years after Roe v Wade fell. Plus, the busy Ashland Avenue bus route will now run north an extra mile.

Chicago could soon be one of the largest cities worldwide without an intercity bus terminal. The Illinois Tollway is reminding drivers it has its own service to request roadside assistance. Federal COVID relief funding for school districts expires in September.

Chicago musicians Marquis Hill – a jazz trumpeter and bandleader – and Manasseh – a singer and soul artist – both stopped by Vocalo to talk with Nudia Hernandez about their lives, their love for one another, and their recent and upcoming collaborations.“He’s booked and busy,” Hernandez said of Hill. And Manasseh? “I feel like is the next big up-and-coming Chicago artist,” Hernandez said.Both artists are slated to perform on the stage at Pritzker Pavilion for Vocalo’s Summer Finale on Sept. 20.

There’s been a possible breakthrough in Chicago’s teacher contract negotiations: Chicago Public Schools administrators are planning to offer significant raises. The new Hard Rock Casino in Rockford is now open. The CTA is now using a new program powered by artificial intelligence to detect guns brandished by passengers at its train stations.