The Rundown | Chicago News

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says the city wants the public to benefit from any future Bears stadium. Illinois-based Walgreens and CVS are under fire for failing to protect patients’ health data. Today is Good Friday, and Catholics are gathering in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood for a decades-old tradition.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is defending one of his City Council allies. Authorities say a mail carrier was among four people killed when a man went on a stabbing rampage in Rockford. Retired judge Eileen O’Neill Burke regained some ground Wednesday in the still unresolved Democratic primary race for Cook County state’s attorney.

You can find a place to salsa any night of the week in Chicago. Whether you're a beginner or a lifelong dancer, there's something for everyone.But if you don’t know where to start, we’ve got you. Gregory Almonord and Taylor Diem organize spontaneous pop-up salsa and bachata events around Chicago, and they came on the show to talk us through the scene in Chicago.In this episode, guest host Brenda Ruiz talks salsa and bachata with Almonord and Diem.This episode originally aired on May 8, 2023.

Most public universities and community colleges aren’t meeting state goals for contracting with minority-owned and women-owned businesses. A former Illinois governor wants voters to weigh in on public subsidies for the Chicago Bears and White Sox. A look back at four years of the COVID-19 pandemic in Illinois.

Two Chicago hospitals are accused of ignoring years of abuse by a Chicago gynecologist. A small faction of City Council is continuing to condemn their colleague for attending a protest where an American flag was burned. A former Illinois governor wants voters to have a say on giving public subsidies to the Chicago Bears and White Sox for new stadiums.

In a world full of dull, muted colors like “Greige,” “Sand,” Khaki” and “Millennial Gray,” The Color Factory offers an alternate experience.“Color is so powerful. I think that that is undeniable,” said The Color Factory CEO Tina Malhotra. “You walk into a restaurant and the color of the restaurant has the ability to shape the way you think about what you're about to eat. It changes your mood. It elicits feelings. And I think that everyone's relationship with color is deeply personal because oftentimes it's connected to their own memories and their own experiences.”The Color Factory is something of a museum, or what Malhotra calls “an immersive art experience.” There are locations in New York and Houston, and the Chicago edition is in the Willis Tower. Rundown podcast host Erin Allen spoke with Malhotra about the multi-sensory experiences you’ll find at The Color Factory, how color and memory are intertwined, and how she and her team tried to make each location reflect the city it’s in, quite the project for a massive cultural center like Chicago. 

Abortion rights groups in Illinois are defending access to an abortion pill. Thousands of Chicago Park District workers are preparing to strike for better wages. Some Cicero residents demanded the town spend more on flooding prevention at a town hall meeting Tuesday.

Chicago Park District workers are ready to strike if the city does not settle their union contract. A pending foreign aid package in the U.S. House has the support of Illinois Senator Dick Durbin. Sundance is coming to Chicago.

Camille Bacon and Daria Harper first bonded over their dissatisfaction with the state of art criticism. As writers, they were expected to turn around pieces quickly and for poor pay. They dreamed about a future where they could experiment and create work grounded in Black feminism.
 
 Just over a year later, Bacon and Harper launched the first issue of Jupiter Magazine as co-editors in chief.. For now, it’s a digital publication, but they have dreams of growing it into an institution.
 
 In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Bacon and Harper about Jupiter and their hopes for the magazine's future.

What it’s like to be pregnant inside some Illinois county jails. A military veteran burned his own American flag outside of Chicago City Hall Friday to protest the killing of at least 32,000 Palestinians. Hundreds of migrants temporarily living in five Chicago Park district facilities will be relocated to other shelters starting this Saturday.

Hundreds of migrants temporarily living in five Chicago Park District facilities will be relocated to other shelters starting this Saturday. A member of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board has resigned after she approved the release of a man who allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend and killed her son. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin said plans to reduce operations at mail processing centers across Illinois may worsen delivery times.

Eric Williams said the inspiration for Bronzeville Winery hit him during the pandemic. “At Mariano's it became ‘Club Mariano's,’” Williams said. “I mean, it was like music, it was DJs. And so I'm like, if people are getting down in Mariano's in aisle five, this can work permanently.”Now, as they approach the two-year anniversary of their wine bar and restaurant at 44th and Cottage Grove, Williams and co-owner Cecilia Cuff say they hope their success can serve as a beacon for other business owners considering an opening on the South Side.“There are people that generationally want what we offer, but they leave the community to be able to access those things,” Cuff said. “We shouldn't have to go downtown or to the North Side or out of the state to be able to have the same experience.”“What Wicker Park is now, it's not what it was 25 years ago,” Williams said. “For me, what's as important to us as a business is the inspiration that it can have for other people to see that this is possible on Cottage Grove.”Rundown podcast host Erin Allen talked with Cuff and Williams about winning the 2024 Jean Banchet award for best hospitality, the priority they put on serving Black-owned wines, and how they’re investing in the community of Bronzeville.

The FAFSA is still a mess but counselors urge students to try and submit it anyway. Former Chicago Alderman Edward Burke is now a retired lawyer. Two Oak Park teachers won a human and civil rights award for helping an influx of migrant families settle in their school district.

Chicago public health officials say there are now a total of 17 identified measles cases in the city. The Friends of the Parks and the Chicago Bears are discussing the possibility of a new stadium along the lakefront. The Hindu holiday Holi starts Monday, and Chicago-area celebrations for it will start this weekend.

Years ago, Adam L. McMath was nervously debuting a documentary at the Black Alphabet Film Festival, which bills itself as Chicago’s first Black LGBTQ+ film festival. His film was called “Misunderstud,” about 10 masculine lesbians, and he said he and his producers got a standing ovation when the credits rolled. Today, McMath is the executive director at Black Alphabet, and his goal is to uplift the next generation of storytellers.“Now is the time to be a storyteller,” McMath said. “I want to uplift young folks that don’t think they can do it, and let them know that you actually can. It’s hard work, but it’s easier than you think to get into.”In this episode, McMath explains when he first felt the power of film, how Chicago has influenced his work, and why he wants to keep telling the history of Black LGBTQ+ Chicagoans.This episode was produced by Ari Mejia for WBEZ’s sister station Vocalo and their Chi Sounds Like series.  

Illinois DCFS is asking for more money to hire more people and better care for vulnerable kids. Chicago Public Schools is changing the way it distributes money to schools to align with Mayor Brandon Johnson's agenda. Some of Chicago’s Brighton Park residents are worried about lingering contamination the city identified last December.

Chicago Public Schools is telling parents to not count on bus service to elementary magnet and selective enrollment schools in the fall. A Cook County judge is letting Chicago police officers who face the most serious misconduct allegations have their cases decided by a third-party arbitrator. Chicago celebrates its first Rick Bayless Day.

Jaz Rodriguez grew up in a family of artists in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. 
 
 “As a Hispanic, stories mean a lot to us,” she said. 
 
 Now, she tells some of those stories through her art.
 
 You may know Rodriguez as JazOnVinyl on Instagram, where she shares colorful drawings inspired by pop culture and Chicago nightlife. When asked to describe her work, she tells people, “I draw what I love, I use all the colors.”
 
 In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Rodriguez about community, color and how to find your artistic niche in Chicago.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to continue the fight to prevent homelessness as the Bring Chicago Home referendum appears headed for defeat. The Anti-Defamation League joined other Jewish advocacy organizations in condemning a rise in antisemitism. A new program is paving the way for some Chicago public high schoolers to enter the tech industry.

Yesterday’s primary election in Illinois saw some of the lowest voter turnout in decades. The Chicago City Council approved three police settlements worth more than $50 million. Seventh-grader Nidhi Kulkarni spelled her way to victory in the Chicago Public Schools Spelling Bee Championship on Tuesday.

WBEZ reporter Tessa Weinberg joins us for a Wednesday morning debrief of Tuesday’s Illinois primary election. She explained what we should make of the results in both presidential primaries, races for Congress and the Cook County State’s Attorney, and the Bring Chicago Home referendum, which looks likely headed for a defeat.You can find the latest election results right here.Editor's Note: A previous version of this episode reported the Bring Chicago Home results as 46% no and 54% yes, when the results were 54% no and 46% yes.

Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump won their Illinois primaries but showed possible weakness. The Democratic primary for Cook County state’s attorney remains too close to call. A citywide referendum to raise a tax on the sale of high-end properties appeared headed to defeat.

Voters in Illinois are casting ballots in today’s state primary election. The city of Chicago is suing the handgun manufacturer Glock, claiming the company is putting residents at risk by selling pistols that can easily be converted to machine guns. Grammy winner SZA, Tyler the Creator, The Killers and blink-182 will headline this summer’s Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Grant Park.

THC-infused seltzer beverages – you know, the kind that get you high – are becoming more readily available in local grocery stores and even for on-site consumption at a few Chicago breweries. But, how is this legal? And should we expect a THC beverage boom in the near future?To answer those questions, the Rundown podcast visited Hopewell Brewing in Logan Square, whose hemp-based, THC-infused beverage called Choom became available in February. We talked with Hopewell owner Samantha Lee about why they decided to offer Choom. We also ask reporter Steve Hendershot – who covered the trend for WBEZ – to give the lemon-lime seltzer a taste and to explain the legal gray area where these kinds of beverages exist.

It’s primary day today, and voters will cast ballots for president, Cook County state’s attorney and a Chicago tax referendum. A new violence reduction plan for Chicago. The Illinois State Treasurer is pushing an investment program to help nonprofits across the state.

Early voting numbers in Chicago are lagging ahead of tomorrow’s primary election. The agency that investigates police misconduct in Chicago currently has 600 open misconduct cases. The Chicago Bears have traded Quarterback Justin Fields to the Steelers in exchange for a draft pick next year.

Chicagohenge comes around twice a year: just after the spring equinox and right before the fall equinox. With the equinox just around the corner—it’s tomorrow!—this week is your first chance of the year to catch the dazzling effect in some Chicago streets. The name “Chicagohenge” is a play on Stonehenge, the ancient stone monument in England that also interacts with the sun in some amazing ways. It’s the kind of interplay between nature and infrastructure we love to geek out about on The Rundown. In this episode, host Erin Allen spaces out with Michelle Nichols, the Director of Public Observing at the Adler Planetarium. This episode originally aired on September 22, 2023.

Chicago officials evicted fewer migrants than expected from city shelters over the weekend. The payday lending industry in Illinois has been nearly wiped out due to a new law.

Migrants will start to be evicted this weekend from city run shelters in Chicago, but thousands of people will have their stays extended under new exemptions announced Friday. Gov. JB Pritzker is announcing plans to tear down and rebuild the Stateville and Logan prisons. Cook County commissioners are delaying a mandate that grants paid leave to employees at schools and parks in the suburbs.

When Chappell Roan is headlining a concert, she books local drag queens to open for her. “Drag is just inspirational throughout my whole project,” Roan said. “It would be only right to have drag open for me.”Last fall, we spoke with her and one such opener, Boyj, ahead of her Chicago shows.  “I like to think of Chicago as the headquarters of drag,” Boyj said.Now, Roan is coming back to Chicago as an opener for Olivia Rodrigo’s “GUTS” tour, so we wanted to revisit our conversation with her and Boyj.This episode originally aired on October 4, 2023.

Illinois lawmakers want to create a new state agency focused on early childhood care. They are also considering new rules to govern carbon capture and sequestration projects. New findings in the treatment of HIV in infants could improve the quality of life for children and families.

Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago said it has started reactivating its MyChart portal after a cybersecurity threat in late January prompted the hospital to shut the network down. Disability rights advocates are protesting an Illinois measure that allows patients to take medication to end their lives. Construction on the Kennedy Expressway is causing headaches for commuters; the express lanes will be closed until late fall.

March 14 is Pi Day—yes, as in 3.14. The Rundown podcast team isn’t flush with mathletes, so we’re taking the pie approach.In this episode, host Erin Allen talks about pies and pie shops with two of WBEZ’s most prolific home bakers, senior editors Katie O’Connell and Cassie Walker Burke. Here are some of their favorite Chicago pie shops:Bang Bang Pie & BiscuitsHoosier Mama Pie CompanyJustice of the PiesSpinning J

The City of Chicago will move forward with evicting migrants from city run shelters come Saturday. Mayor Brandon Johnson announced 10 areas where his administration will focus violence prevention efforts. A Cook County jury recently awarded $7 million dollars to a Chicago man who was shot by a security guard for the Chicago Housing Authority.

The Archdiocese of Chicago has made the city several offers to house migrants at properties they own for free, according to email exchanges obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times, but the requests have gone unheeded by Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration. Chicago health officials say nearly all migrants who needed to be inoculated against measles at the city’s shelter in the Pilsen neighborhood have been vaccinated. The lineup is out for Chicago's Pitchfork Festival.

In the late 1960s, Hazel Johnson was living in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side when her husband died of lung cancer. She also saw dozens of other people in her community suffering from respiratory issues and contracting cancer, despite having no family history of the disease.  “She was like, that's just too many people in one neighborhood,” said Hazel’s daughter, Cheryl Johnson, who would eventually take up her mother’s mantle. “And then she started making the connection that the air quality in our neighborhood, you could cut it with a knife.”So, Hazel Johnson founded an organization called People for Community Recovery, and over the next several decades she successfully lobbied local and federal governments to force industrial polluters to change their ways and clean up their messes.“She's known as the mother of environmental justice,” said Damon Williams, co-creator of a six-part podcast on Johnson called Help This Garden Grow. “And for someone who loomed so large in our city and in the country, it was clear that there was not a full telling of her story that was accessible to us in any way. And if it's not accessible to us, that means it's probably not accessible to most people who are not looking as deeply as we are.”In this episode of The Rundown, Cheryl and Damon tell the origins of Hazel Johnson’s powerful story and the work still to be done.

Thousands of people stand to lose health insurance in a few weeks as the state of Illinois continues to reign in spending. More than 200 diverse learners – students with unique physical, developmental and mental capabilities, got a chance to early vote yesterday. Nearly half of Illinois residents say their local school district is experiencing support staff shortages, according to a nonpartisan poll.

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected in Chicago in response to several measles cases at one of the city's largest migrant shelters. Nearly four out of 10 Illinois residents say they favor banning teaching critical race theory in public schools. The Equal Pay Chicago Coalition is discussing ways to close disparities in gender pay.

In 2015, a young Black man named Freddie Gray died in police custody. His death and the subsequent protests in Baltimore served as inspiration for playwright Anna Deavere Smith. She wove Gray’s story into a play called “Notes from the Field.” At its core, the play explores the school-to-prison pipeline.
 
 Smith’s one-woman plays are composed of verbatim monologues from interviews she conducted. And in TimeLine Theatre’s production of “Notes from the Field,” three Chicago actresses share the play’s 19 monologues.
 
 Director Mikael Burke said much of the process was about “what is possible if we can take a moment to just listen and then act accordingly based on what we feel.” In this episode, host Erin Allen talks about the play with Burke and one of the three actresses, Shariba Rivers.

Chicago health care advocates say the spread of serious diseases is inevitable when migrants are placed in crowded spaces with little ventilation. Convicted former Chicago Alderman Edward Burke – and his law license – are becoming an issue in a tight Supreme Court race. Eileen O’Neill Burke tells public officials at the City Club she’s running for state’s attorney because she is “not giving up on Chicago.”

The Chicago Bears say they are willing to put up $2 billion of their own money towards a new stadium in the city, but the statement from the team was light on other details. The state of Illinois is finally making available $18.5 million to assist and protect witnesses of violent crime. The conflict-ridden Illinois Supreme Court is letting convicted former Chicago Alderman Edward Burke keep his law license.

Maryam Taghavi’s exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art examines the things we cannot see and our own ability to perceive the things we can. It’s aptly titled “Nothing Is.”“When you stare at something, in a way, it stares back at you,” Taghavi said. “The lake, the water or the clouds, the sky or trees, or the street, all the texts on the street. So these things sort of speak back at you, and I'm really interested in that reciprocity that happens when you are staring at something.” In this episode of The Rundown podcast, Taghavi takes us on a tour of her exhibit at the MCA, which includes paintings, sculptures, poetry and calligraphy. We hear about her journey from Iran to Canada to the United States, and learn about her artistic influences and interests: Persian language and ancient texts, her childhood in war-torn Tehran and her immigration to Canada, and the nature of infinity.

Two confirmed cases of measles in a Pilsen migrant shelter are leading to calls for more proactive health screenings for migrants. Illinois residents have had more than $40 million dollars worth of student debt canceled under the new federal SAVE plan. This is the last week Illinois voters can request a mail ballot for next week’s March 19th primary election.

Chicago public health officials say a child has tested positive for measles at one of the largest migrant shelters in the Pilsen neighborhood. Abortion rights advocates are protesting the recent opening of an Indiana-based crisis pregnancy center in Chicago. The city of Chicago now has its first Native and Pollinator Garden Registry Advisory Board.

Al Capone. Operation Greylord. Four former Illinois governors in federal prison. We have a long history of corruption around these parts, but WBEZ government and politics reporter Dave McKinney thinks that the present day – with figures like former Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan and former Chicago Ald. Ed Burke – may take the cake.“It’s a little funny to think about what’s going on now as a golden era because that was certainly a golden era too,” McKinney said, “but with Madigan, with Burke, these people were so powerful.” But shouldn’t decades of high-profile criminal trials and convictions actually act as a deterrent to public officials presented with opportunities of graft, bribery or fraud?As a part of WBEZ’s Democracy Solutions Project, McKinney has been looking into why corruption thrives in Chicago and Illinois, what reforms we have made and could make, and the financial and emotional toll corruption takes on us as citizens. In this episode of the Rundown, McKinney explains why corruption remains and what we can do about it. 

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth brought an infertility specialist to President Biden’s address last night. A state lawmaker has ideas for a new Bears stadium near Soldier Field. Chicago has been developing twice as much away from transit stop as opposed to near them.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is standing by his call to permanently eliminate the state's 1% grocery tax. A Democrat-backed effort in Springfield would legalize psilocybin—psychedelic mushrooms. Many migrants living in Chicago are having difficulty getting a driver’s license.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Illinois has become a popular destination for people seeking abortion care. Now, lawmakers are turning their attention to in vitro fertilization, or IVF.
 
 In February, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled embryos fertilized through IVF should be considered people. The state’s governor has since signed legislation to protect IVF providers from legal liability, a move that would reopen the procedure in the state.
 
 But the back-and-forth raised concerns from Illinois legislators, who are attempting to safeguard and expand access to the procedure. 
 
 “I invite legislation to make sure that we’re codifying at every turn,” said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. 
 
 In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to WBEZ statehouse reporter Mawa Iqbal about what she’s hearing from Illinois lawmakers and health care providers.

Chicago officials are preparing for the DNC Convention that comes to town in August. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is celebrating a decision that will put the Bring Chicago Home referendum back in the hands of voters. A new proposal for funding Illinois’ public universities could increase the number of Black and low-income students getting college degrees.

Cook County’s top prosecutor is praising the guilty verdicts against the man who killed Chicago police officer Ella French and attempted to kill her partners. A new grant program will address food insecurity across Illinois. The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events announced this year's Chicago Blues Festival lineup, including a special performance by Buddy Guy as part of his farewell tour.