WBEZ News

Officer Krystal Rivera was an animal lover, a devoted mom and a dedicated public servant.
 
 That’s according to family members who spoke today (FRI) with the Sun-Times’ Mary Norkol.
 
 Rivera was shot and killed during a pursuit in the Chatham neighborhood last night (THURS).
 
 Mary Norkol joins me now to tell us more about the shooting…and about Officer Rivera.
 
 HOST: LARA

Chicago has recorded 157 murders so far this year.
 
 
 That’s the fewest through this date of any year in more than a decade.
 
 
 Some experts are crediting publicly funded street outreach known as community violence intervention.
 
 
 WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell got a close-up look at that outreach on the city’s West Side.
 HOST: DIXON

Thursday is Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. 
 
 WBEZ’s Michael Puente talked to some Chicago-area fans of the team next door. 
 HOST: LARA

A ballet version of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet opens Thursday and runs most of June. The man behind it is the esteemed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon. HOST: DIXON

The White House has submitted a rescissions package to Congress, asking them to eliminate over a billion dollars in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS.
 
 This follows an executive order last month where President Donald Trump aimed to defund C-P-B, which is now facing lawsuits.
 
 Here to tell us more about what this means for WBEZ is Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell.
 HOST: MELBA

Rising costs and political uncertainty has some people rethinking their summer travel plans. 
 
 Whether you're flying off to a faraway destination or looking to explore closer to home, there are a few things you need to know before you go. 
 
 WBEZ producer and travel writer Andrea Guthman joins me now with a few tips on how to maximize your summer vacation.
 HOST: DIXON

A new opera premiering in Chicago highlights the lesser-known women at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. 
 
 Chicago Opera Theatre is staging the production through Sunday.
 
 HOST: DIXON

Local rapper Jay Wood is known for his authentic lyrics and energetic shows. When it comes to fashion, he’s influenced by streetwear, skate culture and growing up around Chicago.
 
 Wood says his music and fashion styles inspire and reflect each other.
 
 The artist recently visited our studios for the latest segment of Vocalo’s Getting Dressed series.

Alongside the Chicago Sun-Times, we’re gathering your questions about all things money and finances.
 
 Then each week, we bring you answers from the people who know best.
 HOST: DIXON

Illinois lawmakers have adjourned for the summer.
 
 Over the weekend - they passed a state budget just a few minutes before their midnight deadline Saturday night – but there’s plenty they left on the table.
 
 Here to talk about it with us is WBEZ Statehouse Reporter Alex Degman – Alex, good morning.
 HOST: DIXON

One of the objectives of President Trump’s tariff strategy is getting companies to move their operations from overseas to the United States. This strategy is known as reshoring. 
 
 While experts have doubts this strategy will work, some people in Northwest Indiana hope to take advantage of the policy. 
 HOST: LABUZ

A new investigation by the Invisible Institute and ProPublica reveals that The Chicago Police Department has failed to vigorously investigate allegations of sexual assault by officers. A review of over 300 sexual assault and misconduct complaints found claims were often downplayed or ignored, sometimes allowing officers to abuse again and again. Reporters Dana Brozost-Kelleher and María Inés Zamudio are here to share their findings. HOST: LARA

Immigration remains a flashpoint between President Trump and Illinois Democrats.
 
 Lawmakers in Springfield have vowed to serve as a firewall against Trump’s deportation agenda. 
 
 And as they wrap up their Spring legislative session, several bills that would further put Illinois at odds with the federal government have stalled.

A new investigation by the Invisible Institute and ProPublica reveals that The Chicago Police Department has failed to vigorously investigate allegations of sexual assault by officers. 
 
 A review of over 300 sexual assault and misconduct complaints found claims were often downplayed or ignored, sometimes allowing officers to abuse again and again.
 
 Reporters Dana Brozost-Kelleher and María Inés Zamudio are here to share their findings.
 HOST: LARA

University researchers have been left in limbo by federal funding freezes ordered by the Trump administration. 
 
 This includes medical researchers here in Chicago who have spent decades digging into critical public health problems.
 
 HOST: MELBA

Sueños is one of the largest Latin music festivals in the country. It’s known for its reggaeton music and bringing Latin artists from across the globe to Grant Park in Chicago. But the city’s influence on the festival may be causing a shift in its identity.

This month, a new play premiered in Chicago that offered audiences a glimpse into the experiences of foster children.
 The show Alex in Windyland was co-written by children who are in the foster care system …. and it encouraged theatre-goers to take action after watching. 
 WBEZ contributor Adora Namigadde takes us inside Filament Theatre on the Northwest Side. 
 HOST: DIXON

The Chicago Housing Authority has a brand new Healthy Homes Division. The team will help address environmental issues like lead, mold and air quality for more than 30 thousand public housing residents. 
 
 WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang sat down with the group’s new leader – Elizabeth Poole — to discuss what this new department means for CHA. 
 HOST: DIXON

A research project at the University of Illinois could find a new homegrown source for sustainable fuel for air travel.
 HOST: MELBA

This week, Homeland Security officials are ramping up enforcement actions across the United States, arresting immigrants who show up to their court hearings.
 
 Chicago’s immigration court downtown was no exception.
 
 WBEZ’s immigration reporter Adriana Cardona Maguigad has more.
 
 HOST: MELBA

Sueños starts tomorrow. 
 
 The Latin music festival is considered the unofficial start of Chicago’s busy summer event season. 
 
 But at least one alderperson has raised the question of whether Chicago should do more to secure its large festivals. 
 
 WBEZ arts reporter Courtney Kueppers is here to talk about that
 HOST: LABUZ

The Chicago Blackhawks have named Jeff Blashill (BLASH-uhl) as the team’s new head coach.
 
 WBEZ producer Noah Jennings sat down with sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout to learn more about the Hawks’ new coach.
 
 HOST: MELBA

Only three times in the history of music has the classical world convened to celebrate the composer Gustav Mahler. An invitation to play at Mahler Fest is a big deal. 
 
 Last week, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra received a 10-minute standing ovation there for their rendition of Mahler’s Seventh. 
 
 WBEZ contributor Hannah Edgar filed this dispatch from Amsterdam.
 
 HOST: DIXON

Chicagoans with student debt are feeling whiplash and extreme confusion under President Donald Trump.
 
 Trump has called previous efforts to ease the burden of student debt “illegal” — and is closing pathways to affordable repayment and cancellation.
 
 WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip has the story of a longtime resident of Little Village who is trying to navigate what she calls– all this “noise.” 
 
 HOST: DIXON

President Donald Trump is going after student borrowers. 
 
 He’s called past efforts at student debt relief “illegal.”
 
 And he’s ramping up efforts to collect unpaid educational debt.
 
 The new approach has some Chicagoans feeling stressed…and hopeless.
 
 WBEZ's Lisa Kurian Philip brings you the story of one man who went back to school to gain financial security.
 
 But the loans he borrowed to pay for it are getting in the way. 
 HOST: DIXON

A haul of precious artifacts once housed in the state’s Abraham Lincoln presidential museum will be hitting the auction block this week.
 
 But the famed Lincoln collector who originally owned the items is telling WBEZ exclusively she’s appalled to see the prized Lincoln relics be – in her words – “dispensed to the wind.”
 
 WBEZ’s Dave McKinney has more.
 HOST: MELBA

TPS allows eligible non-citizens to live and work in the U.S without fear of getting deported.
 
 The court’s decision allows the Trump administration to end TPS protections for some Venezuelans while the case moves through the appeals process.
 
 The termination came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to move forward with plans to end the program for a specific group of TPS holders until a final decision gets challenged in court. 
 
 WBEZ’s immigration reporter Adriana Cardona Maguigad spoke with World Relief Chicagoland immigration attorney Sarah Flagel [FLAY-GUL] about what’s a stake for many Venezuelans in Chicago and the country 
 Host: Melba

Earlier this month, a festival dedicated to the composer Gustav Mahler brought some of the world’s best orchestras under one roof. 
 
 Chicago’s own symphony was there, marking a first for an American orchestra.
 
 WBEZ contributor Hannah Edgar filed this dispatch from Amsterdam after talking to festival fans …. and Mahler’s granddaughter.
 HOST: DIXON

About 25,000 Chicago Public Schools students were absent for more than a month last year, according to a new analysis by WBEZ and Chalkbeat. Sarah Karp went to one Southwest Side high school where the new principal is trying to tackle this staggering problem. HOST: LARA

For the past nine months, some people who were arrested protesting the war in Gaza during the Democratic National Convention have been battling their cases in court.
 
 MELBA

The man known here as Father Bob Prevost will be formally installed as Pope Leo the 14th on Sunday during an inaugural mass at Saint Peter’s Square. 
 
 Cathleen Falsani is a former Chicagoan and long-time religion journalist who is covering the papal transition. 
 
 She spoke to WBEZ host Mary Dixon this morning from Rome. HOST: LANE

Chicago Public School leaders often boast about the district’s record high graduation rate.
 
 But that single data point obscures a more troubling trend:
 
 An investigation by WBEZ and Chalkbeat finds that one in four high school students missed more than a month of school last year.
 
 HOST: KARP

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments today [Thursday] over President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship.
 
 In Illinois, parents who lack U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residency will be watching anxiously.
 
 WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad reports.
 HOST: LANE

The classical music world is gathering in Amsterdam this week for the third edition of the Mahler Festival. 
 
 The celebration of the Bohemian-born, Romantic composer Gustav Mahler has drawn classical music fans from around the world. 
 
 The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is performing tonight, marking the first time a North American Orchestra is participating. 
 
 WBEZ contributor Hannah Edgar is attending the prestigious event, which will be live streamed.
 
 HOST: LABUZ

President Donald Trump’s targeting of Northwestern University has gotten a lot of attention.
 
 And with good reason – federal officials froze nearly 800-million dollars in funding for the Evanston school.
 
 But on the other side of Chicago, in the Far South Side neighborhood of Roseland, Chicago State University is feeling the effects of Trump’s attacks too. 
 
 The public college is the only one in the state with a predominantly-Black student body — and it has far less money to support them.
 
 So far, the school has lost about 5-million dollars in federal grants.
 
 WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip sat down with Chicago State President “Z” Scott to discuss what that means for her university and its students.
 
 HOST: Philip

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appeared to tease a national talk show audience that he’s flirting with running for president in 2028. On ABC’s 'The View,' Emanuel said he is “in training” for a White House bid but didn’t know if he’d “make the Olympics.” Emanuel’s remarks come one day after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker hinted that the former mayor may have an eye on the state Executive Mansion if he opts out of a third term. HOST: LANE

Tens of thousands of Chicago-area residents rely on federal rental assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher program -- also known as Section 8 -- to pay for rent in the private market.
 
 But multiple complaints and lawsuits in recent months charge landlords with discrimination against this program, despite local and state laws to prevent that.
 
 HOST: LANE

Dan Sullivan is a Chicago furniture maker, gallery owner and musician whose creative impulses take him in many directions.
 
 His latest album, with his band NadNavillus, is called “Upper Constant.”
 
 WBEZ contributor Alison Cuddy sat down with Sullivan to walk through the project, starting with the title track.
 HOST: DIXON

Even though Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker is being coy about his political future, there’s a widening view in Springfield that he’ll seek a third term.
 
 But there’s also a question about whether he should seek re-election if he’s also eying a 2028 bid for the White House.
 WBEZ’s Dave McKinney has more.
 HOST: DIXON

Many young people are alarmed about the state of the world, from ongoing wars to climate change. 
 
 But a group of Chicago-area teens say participating in a United Nations simulation is helping them feel hopeful about the future.
 
 WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko has more. 
 HOST: LANE

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is approaching his midterm benchmark with more humility than ever about some of his missteps of the past two years. HOST: MELBA

The newly elected Pope Leo XIV is from Dolton, a Chicago Southwest suburb. Local Catholic leaders say the name selected by the new Pope shows that he is committed to serving the poor and being a voice for the voiceless. HOST: SAVCHENKO

Clerical abuse survivors are concerned about the election of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost as the new Pope. 
 
 Shaun Dougherty is the board president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP. 
 
 The group is headquartered in Chicago and filed a complaint against Prevost in March. 
 
 Dougherty joined WBEZ Morning Edition host Lisa Labuz from Rome…
 HOST: LABUZ

In Illinois, nearly 400-thousand legal permanent residents or green-card holders are eligible to become U.S. citizens.
 
 Getting U.S. citizenship is difficult and expensive - and many legal permanent residents end up putting it off for years 
 
 But now, because of President Donald Trump’s attacks on immigrants, many people are in a rush to become naturalized.
 
 WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad reports.
 HOST: LABUZ

A new pope has been named – and he hails from Chicago.
 
 Pope Leo the Fourteenth was born in Chicago as Robert Prevost, and he attended the Catholic Theological Union in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood.
 
 Here to share his reaction to the new pope is Steven Millies, an associate professor of public theology and the director of the Bernardin Center at the Catholic Theological Union.
 
 And professor, a pope from Chicago… can you believe it?
 HOST: LARA

HOST: Clare Lane
 
 A new exhibition is on display at Wrightwood 6-5-9 in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood that is attracting a lot of local attention. 
 
 It's called “The First Homosexuals: The Birth of a New Identity, 1869 to 1939.”
 
 It features more than 300 pieces, all focused on the queer experience. 
 
 WBEZ arts and culture reporter Courtney Kueppers sat down with host Clare Lane to talk about it.

The head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security paid Illinois’ capital city a visit today. Secretary Kristi Noem appeared in Springfield, where she took aim at Gov. JB Pritzker’s immigration policies. But before Noem’s press conference, federal agents took reporters in a motorcade to an unmarked facility. WBEZ’s Mawa Iqbal picks up the story from there. HOST: Lisa Labuz; REPORTER: Mawa Iqbal

HOST: Melba Lara
 
 DePaul President Robert Manuel faced more than three hours of questioning today from a congressional committee.
 
 Republican members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce grilled Manuel and the presidents of Haverford College in Pennsylvania and California Polytechnic State University.
 
 The focus of the hearing was claims of antisemitism on campus.
 
 Lisa Kurian Philip covers higher education for WBEZ.

If you think your property taxes are too high, one way to get them lowered is by filing an appeal to challenge your property assessment. 
 
 That figure is a reflection of your property value - and it’s what Cook County uses to determine how much you owe.
 
 However, homeowners and government officials alike say the appeals process can be overly complicated and burdensome.
 
 WBEZ’s Adora Namigadde details why. 
 HOST: LABUZ

Chicago musician Chillona performs electronic pop and alt-reggaeton in both English and Spanish. 
 
 Her live shows borrow elements from drag and burlesque. So does her own personal style, which features many handmade looks.
 
 Chillona recently visited our studios for the latest installment of Vocalo’s Getting Dressed series. 
 HOST: LABUZ