The Rundown | Chicago News

The city’s annual point-in-time count in January showed more than 18,800 people were unhoused—a threefold increase from last year. The Saint Adalbert Church in Pilsen is a step closer to being a historical landmark. Calumet Fisheries is reopening.

Pastry chef Anna Posey will find out June 10 if she’ll win the 2024 James Beard Award for “Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker.” Among the five nominees in her category, she’s the only one in the Midwest.“I mean it’s scary to be truthful. You’re so grateful but you also feel kind of like, ‘Are you sure?’” Posey said. “It’s humbling. You still feel like that cook who doesn’t know anything who’s walking into their internship.”Ahead of the awards, Rundown podcast host Erin Allen visited Elske – the West Loop restaurant Anna co-owns with her husband David Posey – to taste a couple desserts and learn who Anna is, how she found success in a difficult industry and why she’s no longer trying to please everyone. 

Several groups want to demonstrate near the United Center when the Democratic National Convention comes to Chicago in August. The city wants them much further away. The Chicago Board of Ethics is one step closer to being able to enforce an executive order barring lobbyist contributions to the mayor. The new Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services addresses challenges after stepping into the role just six months ago.

A Chicago alderperson wants to impose an 8 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied teenagers downtown. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling says officers working during the Democratic National Convention in August will have their badge numbers uncovered and body cameras on. A new exhibition highlighting queer history and banned books opens tomorrow in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.

All too often, the most vulnerable populations fall through the cracks in our social safety nets: people dealing with addiction, homelessness and severe psychosis. Zak Mucha, the president of the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, says this happens when the people serving those populations don’t understand what they need.
 
 “‘Are they like me or not?’ That's how a lot of these decisions are made,” he said. Mucha spent the early years of his social work career working on the ground on Chicago’s North Side to provide clients with direct services.
 
 Now, he has documented those experiences in his book “Swimming to the Horizon: Crack, Psychosis, and Street-Corner Social Work.”
 
 In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Mucha about his book and what he learned from his years working in community mental health services.

Immigration advocates in Illinois say President Biden’s new executive order restricting asylum claims violates asylum law. Illinois’ Maternal Health Task Force reflects on four years of work trying to reduce health inequities in Illinois. Some workers at the Shedd Aquarium are claiming management is pushing back on efforts to unionize.

Illinois Democratic Governor JB Pritzker is signing a new $53.1 billion state budget that he says is balanced. Foxtrot says it is coming back to Chicago. Parents from two world language magnet schools in Chicago are fighting against proposed budget cuts they say will devastate their programs.

The winter of our discontent is finally over, my friends. It is, officially, street festival season in Chicago. Why does this time of year hit so hard? Because there are so many street festivals – in so many Chicago neighborhoods – and they’ve all got their own distinct feel and focus.“Well, food,” said Chicago-based writer Lauren Viera, “and also music is a big reason I go to fests.”Viera pored over the massive schedule of festivals and came on the Rundown podcast to talk through the ones she’s most excited about, including Andersonville Midsommarfest (June 7-9), Flavors of Albany Park (June 26), the Pilsen Tacos & Tamales Festival (July 19-21) and the Chinatown Summer Fair (July 27-28). 

The head of the U.S. Secret Service is in Chicago this week to tour the venues that will play host to the Democratic National Convention in August. A new study finds evidence of racial bias in Chicago traffic stops. The City of Chicago is giving out $600,000 dollars to nonprofits serving youth this summer.

Chicago police officials say they’re ready for the Democratic National Convention in August, despite a recent report suggesting otherwise. The lead organizer of a proposed birth center on Chicago’s South Side is asking state regulators for permission to open. A new study finds Black drivers are more likely to be pulled over by police regardless of where they drive in Chicago.

Little Richard, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Chicago’s own Reverend James Cleveland are a few of the musicians being celebrated this Pride Month at an event called at “Shout OUT: A Tribute to Gays in Gospel Music!” “This show is an opportunity to let people know about the totality of their work,” said singer and event creator Lucy Smith, who will perform along with the Lucy Smith Quintet. “I think where they were in their comfortability infused and informed their music.”Chicago journalist and media personality Cheryl Corley is the event’s narrator, sharing stories and context about these musicians' lives.  In today’s episode, The Rundown podcast host Erin Allen talks with Smith and Corley about a few of the queer people in gospel music, how those artists navigated being both queer and Black in the 20th century and the importance of sharing their stories.“Shout OUT: A Tribute to Gays in Gospel Music!” is Sunday, June 9th at 3 p.m. at the Beverly Arts Center.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey discussed the upcoming vote on the Right to Contraception Act that will be voted on in the U.S. Senate later this week. An Illinois Congressman is pushing for sanctions against Chinese companies allegedly exporting fentanyl to the U.S. Scientists at Washington University are hoping to come up with a plastic alternative.

Illinois lawmakers want to tweak the name for illegal gun possession in criminal cases. Lawmakers are also signing off on a push by Governor J.B. Pritzker’s administration to fund coverage of costly, injectable weight-loss drugs for state workers. Chicago has $206 million dollars in federal COVID money to earmark for community initiatives before the end of the year.

When LaVonte Stewart, Sr., was a kid in South Shore in the 1980s, he had a real sense of community. He described it as “the ‘Wakanda’ of all Black people’s imaginations, where your neighbors knew you.”He said he doesn’t see enough opportunity for young kids on the South Side today. Through his nonprofit Lost Boyz, he wants to provide young people with a sense of community through participation in team sports.In this episode, Stewart talks about finding his way in adulthood and the healing power of sports.This episode was produced by Ari Mejia for WBEZ’s sister station Vocalo and their Chi Sounds Like series.  

A popular state tax credit claimed by more than 11 million Illinoisans is poised to get more generous. Illinois lawmakers passed a bill to regulate carbon capture and storage in Illinois. Community activists hosted a festival of peace meant to uplift gun violence victims and survivor families.

The University of Chicago is withholding the degrees of four students who were scheduled to graduate Saturday. A new exhibit entitled “Georgia O’Keeffe: My New Yorks” opens this weekend at the Art Institute of Chicago. The Bears will have to wait until at least November to further press Illinois lawmakers for help on a new stadium.

When the four members of Third Coast Percussion were studying classical music at Northwestern University, they didn’t have much of a blueprint for building careers in a percussion ensemble. Twenty years later, they’re working with renowned composers and racking up Grammy nominations.
 
 “We’ve never been the stereotypical classical musicians,” said founding ensemble member Robert Dillon. And you can see it in their performances, where they blow into tubes and play flower pots.
 
 In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Dillon and David Skidmore about 20 years of Third Coast Percussion.

CTA President Dorval Carter defends himself to the Chicago city council amid persistent safety and reliability complaints. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is making good on a campaign promise to expand public mental health services. A new Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit opens this weekend at the Chicago Art Institute, highlighting some lesser-known works from the artist.

A new report from the Chicago Inspector General warns the Police Department may not be ready to handle large protests at the Democratic National Convention. Embattled CTA President Dorval Carter says he has faced racism and physical threats from the public as the Chicago city council has zeroed in on his job performance. More than a third of hospitalist staff with Ascension Illinois plan to quit the health system.

Mister Kelly’s was the hottest of spots in Chicago nightlife back in the 1950s, ‘60s and ‘70s, hosting singers like Barbra Streisand, Della Reese, Ella Fitzgerald and comedians like Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Lily Tomlin, and many, many more. The nightclub is the focus of an exhibit running through July 20 at a former neighbor of Mister Kelly’s, the Newberry Library.“In the ‘50s and ‘60s – and of course I'm not talking from personal experience – but the Newberry neighborhood, also known as the near north side or the Gold Coast, was considered to be the Las Vegas of the Midwest,” said Newberry librarian Alison Hinderliter, who curated the exhibit.The Rundown podcast host Erin Allen is joined by Hinderliter and David Marienthal – who produced a documentary on Mister Kelly’s and who is also the son of the nightclub’s former owner – for a conversation about the club’s star-studded history. 

Lawmakers left Springfield without passing a measure aimed at reforming the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. A report finds Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has faced a more divided City Council in his first year. Chicago police honored the families of two fallen officers during an annual recognition event yesterday.

The head of Chicago’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability is re-upping her push to strip the police powers of four officers involved in the recent fatal shooting of Dexter Reed. The north suburban man accused of gunning down seven people at the Highland Park 4th of July parade nearly two years ago made a brief appearance in court.

With climate change accelerating and overconsumption booming, it can feel like we have no agency over our impact on the planet. But artists who work with upcycled and reclaimed materials want to challenge that narrative.
 
 “We’re the band playing as the Titanic goes down,” said Nowhere Collective founder Katy Osborn. Through the Nowhere Collective, she runs a series of Trashy Markets, which are exactly what they sound like: markets for makers who work primarily with trash.
 
 In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Osborn about upcycling, connecting consumers with sustainable goods and ways she finds hope.

Illinois lawmakers passed a state budget early this morning. They also voted to eliminate the statewide grocery tax… while opening the door to new local taxes. Some magnet and selective enrollment Chicago Public Schools are losing positions in next year's budget, but they are not the only ones.

Illinois lawmakers approved a resolution calling on President Joe Biden to allow longtime undocumented immigrants in Illinois to work and live in the U.S legally. Chicago officials are releasing new renderings of a satellite concourse under construction at O’Hare Airport. The Chicago Sky try to bounce back tonight from a disappointing loss in Saturday’s home opener.

“The Ball Game” was an ancient, Mesoamerican sport and spiritual ritual that has fascinated archeologists for centuries. The National Museum of Mexican Art currently has on display a stone-carved statue of a female ballplayer – complete with knee pads, a headdress, and holding a severed head – as part of an exhibit that is reimagining the role women played in the ancient Huasteca civilization. WBEZ art and culture reporter Courtney Kueppers recently covered the exhibit for WBEZ and spoke to The Rundown podcast host Erin Allen about how expectations are shifting and where this female ballplayer statue fits in. The exhibit, titled “Ancient Huasteca Women: Goddesses, Warriors and Governors,” is on display through July 21 at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood.

The Illinois House returns to Springfield to finish up their work for the spring legislative session. Cook County is offering nearly $4 million dollars in grants to cannabis businesses. Mexico is holding a historic presidential election next Sunday and many Mexicans living in Chicago are getting ready to cast their vote.

Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling and more than two dozen Chicago Police officers crossed into Indiana to support the son of a fallen officer. Cicadas have been emerging throughout the suburbs, but their characteristic buzzing is notably absent in Chicago. There are now three Great Lakes Piping Plovers staking a claim on Chicago’s Montrose Beach.

Lauren Viera’s city guide to Chicago doesn’t read like a typical guidebook – no 72-hour itineraries or explanatory advice on how to ride the CTA. “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago,” which was published last fall, is mostly just lists of unique places. Five dance clubs, five farmers markets, five nature outings, five small museums, five high-end cocktail bars, five city myths – totalling up to 500. “I'm not a fiction writer,” Viera said. “I'm very bad at making stuff up. So this is really just in my mind reporting times 500.” In this episode, Viera explains her favorite “hidden secrets,” how she chose the places she chose to include and how writing this book changed the way she thinks about Chicago.This episode was originally published on Nov. 22, 2023.

Northwestern faculty react to a congressional committee's depiction of pro-Palestinian student protestors as an "antisemitic mob." Chicago Public Schools wants input on school safety plans that don’t include police officers. The Illinois Senate passes a pair of healthcare reform measures pushed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The Chicago Teachers Union and Chicago Public Schools will hold open bargaining sessions this summer. Alderpeople have approved an ordinance that would ban any new late-night bars from opening in parts of Chicago's Logan Square, Wicker Park, and West Town neighborhoods. Reports of rare, blue-eyed cicadas are popping up in the Chicago area.

Every so often on The Rundown podcast we bring you episodes of Chi Sounds Like, a series that gives you an intimate, firsthand look into the lives of artists, activists and other off-the-beaten-path Chicagoans.Today, we hear from photographer Ken Cook Jr., who left Chicago’s West Side, realized how leaving contributed to larger cycles of community neglect, and has since returned. “When people get a little success or make a little money, they move from the West Side,” Cook said, “leaving future generations to not have someone that looks like them that’s successful … living here and making a life here.”We also hear from Chi Sounds Like producer Ari Mejia, who explains how she finds artists and activists like Cook, and how she creates such vulnerable conversations. She also tells us why people feel so moved when she asks them to introduce themselves before saying “...and this is what Chicago sounds like.”

Northwestern’s president will appear before Congress this morning to defend the agreement he made with pro-Palestinian student organizers. The Chicago city council issues a rebuke to Mayor Brandon Johnson’s power over the gunshot detection technology known as Shotspotter. After-school programs at more than 100 Chicago public schools are at risk.

Officials are expanding a federal consent decree that requires the Chicago Police Department to change the way officers are trained, supervised, and disciplined. Two Chicago City Council members have delayed an ordinance to create a noise sensitive zone around a downtown abortion clinic. Another Great Lakes Piping Plover has landed at Montrose beach.

Latham Zearfoss is a Chicago artist and a cultural liaison at the Chicago Park District, where he helps build out cultural programming across the city. Today, he explains his dynamic journey to this work as a part of Vocalo’s Chi Sounds Like series. 

A WBEZ analysis finds Mayor Brandon Johnson’s cabinet doesn’t look that much different from his predecessor’s. We’ll hear more about FEMA’s second annual extreme heat summit hosted downtown this week. Illinois lawmakers approve changes to the state’s child labor laws.

Some employees at the Illinois capitol are turning up the heat as they try to unionize. Columbia College Chicago said it will announce staff layoffs by June 1st. It’s been 100 years since the murder of Bobby Franks by two University of Chicago students, a crime that inspired the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Rope.”

Instead of junk food and pop, a Good Things Vending machine offers local art, throwback trading cards, games and dozens of other items you won’t find in a typical vending machine. There are a handful of them around Chicago, and the creator of the business says the goal is to spark joy and promote the city’s arts community. Steph Krim talks with Erin Allen about how she came up with the idea, her favorite items and where you can find a machine near you. This episode was originally published on Oct. 17, 2023.

The Illinois House approved a measure to let people have a driver’s license or state ID on their phone. Thirteen officers from across Illinois received the state’s Law Enforcement Medal of Honor yesterday. The University of Chicago Crime Lab is welcoming anti-violence leaders from across the country to help them be more effective in their roles.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois is reopening its Peoria Health Center Monday after a January 2023 firebombing forced the facility to close. The Chicago office in charge of independently analyzing the mayor’s budget proposal each year is understaffed, according to its new leader. Weather forecasts for both Monday and Tuesday call for a chance of severe weather.

Dont Fret is a Chicago-born cartoonist, muralist and self-published author who loves his city. He’s anonymous in part because he spent his childhood tagging walls across Chicago, “You’re a Chicagoan,” he writes in his book, “This Is No Quiet City.” “Your eyes and heart are wide open, and that is pure, raw, messy, true, and terrifying.” In this episode, Dont Fret explains how he got into graffiti growing up in Wicker Park, why he self-published his book, and why Chicago is a city that punches back. “We are a tough, tough people,” he said to host Erin Allen, “and I think that comes from the stockyards. It comes from inclusion and immigration, diversity and eclect-icity.” Dont Fret has a book-signing event at the MCA on June 11. You can find more of his work on his Instagram. This episode was originally published on Aug. 9, 2023.

A corridor of Clark Street in River North will no longer be closed for pedestrians this summer. A new exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum offers a glimpse into the Kindertransport program that saved the lives of thousands of children in the 1930s. Loyola Medicine has launched a program this spring for treating women athletes in the Chicago area.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. is calling on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election results following a New York Times report that an upside-down American flag was seen at the conservative justice’s house in January 2021. A coalition of interfaith leaders will gather at the Chicago Temple downtown Sunday to honor a Palestinian-American boy who was fatally stabbed in suburban Plainfield last year. Credit monitoring agencies wouldn’t have access to some medical debt information under a bill Illinois lawmakers just approved.

What’s going on at the CTA? Sluggish ridership is a main reason that Chicago area transit agencies including the CTA are facing a $730 million budget shortfall, according to a recent WBEZ analysis of transit data.So why aren’t riders riding? And what do they think of the CTA these days?We hear from a few riders mid-commute at a pair of downtown CTA train stations, some of whom complained about reliability, safety, and cleanliness, as well as others who think things are fine. Then we hear from Sarah Freishtat, a business reporter covering transportation for the Chicago Tribune, who explains what CTA leadership has done so far and what else they have planned to counteract their troubles.

The Palestinian solidarity encampment at DePaul University was cleared by police yesterday, but faculty and student organizers say it’s not the end of their activism. Seven journalists with the Chicago Tribune have filed a class-action lawsuit against the newspaper and its owner. Illinois’ rules against hazing could get a little stronger.

The Chicago Transit Authority said more people are taking train and bus rides after nearly 20 Chicago city council members have signed onto an ordinance calling for CTA President Dorval Carter to resign. A rare statue on view at the National Museum of Mexican Art is generating a lot of buzz among archeologists. The Chicago Bears 2024 schedule has dropped.

For many, getting around Chicago is pretty easy. It’s one of the few American cities that’s invested in public transit, cycling and walkability infrastructure. But, for people with a disability that inhibits their mobility, it’s just not as easy to get around. Accessibility researcher Yochai Eisenberg co-authored a study in 2022 with the Great Lakes ADA Center and UIC’s Institute on Disability and Human Development that found that communities had higher accessibility scores if they also had an ADA-transition plan, also known as a “barrier removal plan.” We talk with him about how accessible Chicago-area communities are, the various barriers to accessibility many encounter, and what citizens can do to improve conditions in their area.  This episode was originally published on Nov. 28, 2022.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez is trying to convince lawmakers in Springfield that his school district desperately needs more money. Cook County wants to help some suburban residents who are struggling to pay their water bills. The Chicago Sky lost its season opener to the Dallas Wings.

Activists and elected officials are criticizing the Chicago Police Department for declining to punish cops with ties to anti-government extremism. High school juniors in Illinois public schools will take the ACT college admissions exam starting next spring instead of the SAT. Wednesday marks Brandon Johnson's one-year anniversary as Chicago mayor.

We can’t let National Transportation Week pass without revisiting our conversation with Lee Crooks. He’s basically a local celebrity, with a highly-recognizable voice. He’s been announcing stops on the CTA for 25 years.“It does become something of a legacy,” Crooks said.In this episode, he talks to host Erin Allen about trains, legacy and Midwest accents. And yes, we have him do the voice.This episode was originally published on Oct. 18, 2023.