WBEZ News

Scholarship programs funded by private donors are sometimes the only ticket to college for low-income and first-generation students. 
 
 But what happens when the donors change their minds?
 
 WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip reports on the abrupt end of a scholarship program that’s left hundreds of Chicago students in the lurch. HOST: LABUZ

The last time Chicago hosted a Democratic National Convention, Dick Durbin found himself in the spotlight as a rising U.S. Senate candidate.
 
 Now, nearly 30 years later, Illinois’ senior senator once again will be a focus at the upcoming Democratic convention as he contemplates his future.
 
 WBEZ’s Dave McKinney has more.

Former President Donald Trump took a trip to Chicago yesterday for what became a confrontational interview at the annual convention of the National Association of Black Journalists. 
 
 Several NABJ members spoke out against hosting Trump — who’s known for spreading disinformation — and some say the end result proves it wasn’t the right move. 
 
 WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel was there and brings us this report. 
 HOST: DIXON

The Chicago Police Department has been under scrutiny over the past several years for pulling hundreds of thousands drivers over for low-level traffic violations.
 
 Most were Black and Latino drivers.
 
 A WBEZ analysis finds CPD traffic stop data shows a significant decrease in the volume of stops this year, but questions remain.
 
 Here to dig into the numbers with us is WBEZ data reporter Amy Qin. HOST: DIXON

People from all over the country travel to Illinois for abortions. 
 
 Access has disappeared across much of the South and Midwest. 
 
 That brings a bigger spotlight on Chicago and potential for tensions to simmer as the 
 city hosts the Democratic National Convention next month.
 
 Abortion providers and advocates are making sure clinics will be safe and that patients can get to their appointments in case traffic is a mess.
 
 WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch has the story. 
 HOST: DIXON

We’re heading into day 3 of the Olympic Games in Paris, France. 
 
 The games got off to a glorious start with the opening ceremonies on Friday and yesterday (SAT), and the first days of competition. 
 
 Joining us to talk about the games is Stacy St. Clair. 
 
 She’s covering the Olympics for the Chicago Tribune.

As the rate of diabetes rises in Chicago, one neighborhood stands out in particular: Belmont Cragin.
 
 But community health organizations in the Northwest Side neighborhood have a new partner in the battle against the disease – local restaurants.
 
 A new dining effort helps residents make sustainable lifestyle changes to reverse the impact of diabetes ... and it’s caught the attention of one local hospital. 
 
 WBEZ's Adora Namigadde has the dish. Host: Mary Dixon

Chicago is the first American city to stage J.R.R Tolkien’s epic adventure, The Lord of The Rings. But this version, now at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, is a musical. WBEZ’s Mike Davis has more on how the epic story was remade for the stage. The production runs through September 1.

From reminders of the hurdles they’ve had to overcome to confidence in Harris’ ability to lead, these delegates describe what the Vice President’s nomination means to them. WBEZ's Tessa Weinberg reports.
 Host: DIXON

The 2024 Olympics are getting underway today (WED) in Paris.
 
 Several of the athletes representing the U.S. are from right here in Illinois, including Tori Franklin. She is a triple jumper in the track and field event. This is her second Olympic experience.
 
 Franklin sat down with WBEZ’s Noah Jennings to discuss her early days in the Chicago suburbs and her goals in Paris.
 HOST: LARA

The National Weather Service has confirmed the Chicago and Rockford areas saw 27 tornadoes touch down last Monday alone.
 
 That brings the statewide total to over one hundred this year – already surpassing the annual average of 50. 
 
 Here now to discuss the implications of this staggering number is Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford.
 
 HOST: LARA

With President Biden’s decision to end his reelection campaign - Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s name is being discussed in a new light this morning.
 
 Many Democrats have already thrown their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party’s nominee.
 
 But Pritzker didn’t mention her in his statement yesterday.
 
 WBEZ State Politics reporter Dave McKinney joined Morning Edition host Mary Dixon to discuss where the Illinois governor fits into all of this.

The Pitchfork Music Festival is kicking off today in Chicago’s Union Park.
 
 One of the many performers at the three-day festival will be musician and former Chicago and National Youth Poet Laureate Kara Jackson. 
 
 Jackson sat down with Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez to discuss her musical inspirations, and what she expects out of her Pitchfork debut.
 
 
 HOST: LARA

At 10 this morning, Sangamon County officials are supposed to release body camera footage of the night 36-year-old Sonya Massey was killed. 
 
 Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson shot Massey earlier this month, after she had called 911 to her Springfield home to report a prowler. 
 
 Grayson, who has since been fired, now faces murder charges. 
 
 Meanwhile, Massey’s family and friends mourned the loss and cheered her memory at her funeral on Friday.
 
 WBEZ’s Mawa Iqbal was there. HOST: DIXON

Migrant children in Chicago are adjusting to their new lives. 
 
 Their parents know it’s been a long dangerous journey for them, sometimes crossing a treacherous jungle.
 
 A new soccer program is giving kids a chance to do what most 8 and 10 year olds are doing this summer— playing outside.
 
 WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad takes us to a soccer field in the West Loop and has this audio postcard. HOST: LABUZ

The Illinois Republican Party has not held a statewide office since Bruce Rauner was governor.
 
 Just 3 of the state’s 17 U.S Representatives are Republican.
 
 Both U.S. Senators are Democrats.
 
 And Democrats hold supermajorities in Springfield. 
 
 As the Republican National Convention enters the home stretch – Illinois Republicans are taking advice and reflecting on how they can win more elections and gain more influence statewide.
 
 WBEZ’s Alex Degman reports.
 HOST: LABUZ

Republicans in Illinois headed to their party’s national convention with the state party in disarray.
 
 Party infighting prompted their chair to resign.
 
 But now that the delegation is in Milwaukee for the R-N-C – they’re finding something to unify them.
 
 Donald Trump.
 
 From Milwaukee - WBEZ’s Alex Degman reports.
 HOST: LABUZ

Some members of Illinois’ Republican delegation think the assassinaton attempt on former President Donald Trump is galvanizing his base and attracting new voters. Trump delegate Aaron Del Mar (del-MAR) thinks it will bring more Republicans who don’t like Trump into the fold. The Republican National Convention begins today [MON] in Milwaukee. The Illinois delegation will begin the day hearing from U.S. Representatives Mary Miller and Mike Bost at breakfast. 
 HOST: Labuz Reporter: Alex Degman

Calls are growing by the day for President Joe Biden to step aside from the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination.
 
 The scrutiny over Biden’s age comes weeks before the Democratic National Convention takes place in Chicago in August.
 
 But some of Illinois’ youngest delegates are sticking with Biden – while also hoping to push the Democratic Party in new directions.
 
 WBEZ’s Tessa Weinberg has more from three young delegates.
 HOST: LANE

Next month the Democratic National Convention comes to the United Center in Chicago.
 
 Tens of thousands of people … from elected officials to protesters … are expected to pack the arena and surrounding streets.
 
 Nearby hospitals are planning for the worst but hoping for the best. 
 
 WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch brings us this story. 
 Host: LABUZ

Three Democratic US Representatives from Illinois are now calling on Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign after a catastrophic debate performance.
 
 Mike Quigley, Eric Sorenson, and Brad Schneider all say the party’s best shot at winning in November is if Biden steps aside.
 
 WBEZ’s Dave McKinney spoke to Schneider about the growing discontent among some Illinois Democrats.
 Host: LABUZ

The upcoming Republican and Democratic national conventions will likely confirm what we’ve known for quite some time – that Joe Biden and Donald Trump will battle for the presidency this fall, even as calls grow for President Biden to step aside.
 
 So far, the contest is sewn up.
 
 That was really the case by the time we voted in the Illinois primary in March. 
 
 And that’s probably one of the reasons that just 19-percent of eligible voters even bothered to participate… nearing the lowest in state history. 
 
 Some election watchers and experts say that our primary system is broken. 
 
 They’re calling for primaries that are more open, less partisan and for other changes aimed at getting more people to feel that their vote matters. 
 
 WBEZ contributor David Schaper examines the issue as part of our Democracy Solutions Project. Host: LANE

A cornerstone of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s crime prevention plan is to hire more young people for summer jobs.
 
 He has seen some success.
 
 The summer jobs program has slowly, but steadily, grown under Johnson after seeing a COVID-19 induced dip.
 
 That growth includes 100 new “peacekeeper” positions where kids learn conflict resolution and relationship building.
 
 WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel has more. 
 LABUZ

Breon Arzell has acted in HBO's South Side.
 
 This summer the Chicago actor plays the lead role in the Pulitzer Prize winning play Hot Wing King at Writers Theater. 
 
 The play explores the concepts of masculinity and Black queerness. 
 
 WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis saw the play and spoke with Arzell. He brings us this audio postcard.
 
 Host: LARA

Nearly 40 million adults across the country have some college credit – but no degree.
 
 A unique program at Northeastern Illinois University helps people cross the finish line by giving them credit for life experience. 
 
 But financial challenges mean the program serves only a handful of students.
 
 WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip reports.
 LABUZ

Chicago is in the middle of a heated debate about the future of the city’s 11 test-in selective enrollment high schools.
 
 The mayor and the Board of Education say they wanted to prioritize neighborhood schools and move away from the existing system of school choice.
 
 This summer, the board is expected to propose changes to the admissions process for these selective schools.
 
 WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp has been looking into their admissions practices and digging into their demographic data. Host: Mary Dixon

Illinois Republicans are preparing to head to Milwaukee for next week’s Republican National Convention where they’ll nominate Donald Trump to be the party’s official nominee for president.
 
 The state party now appears to be in lockstep with their presidential pick even though Trump has twice lost Illinois.
 
 And intense in-fighting recently cost the Illinois GOP’s leader his job.
 
 As WBEZ’s Alex Degman reports, the next week will likely feature some tough discussions on where the Illinois Republican Party hopes to go. HOST: LARA

Incoming freshmen are spending the summer thinking about their first day of high school.
 
 In Chicago, it comes after a stressful year as many eighth graders compete to get into the city’s top schools.
 
 The Board of Education this year kicked off a debate about test-in high schools, questioning who gets in and how that reflects on the district. 
 
 A new analysis by WBEZ’s Sarah Karp looks at the roots of the disparities.

A new musical based on John Berendt’s best-selling book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, opens this week.

Highland Park’s first fourth of July parade following the mass shooting two years ago drew a smaller than usual crowd. The parade was also shorter. Still, children were delighted by the various decorated cars, the Jesse White tumblers, as well as trinkets and candy being handed out. Some said they hope it is a good memory for the children.

A new investigation by The Marshall Project found over 100 cases of survivors who were punished for a crime committed by their abusers.
 
 The cases the Marshall Project found in Illinois involve a little known law called “The Theory of Accountability”
 
 It allows a person to be prosecuted for another person’s crime- if they assisted or helped. 
 
 Even -- in some cases -- if that help was provided only under threat of violence. 
 
 The Marshall Project’s Shannon Heffernan explains.
 **A heads up, this story includes descriptions of violence***

Two people were injured Saturday at 31st Street Beach after an argument left a 17-year-old girl shot in the shoulder and another person with a stab-wound to the arm. 
 
 Four people have been shot at the South Side beach in less than a month. 
 
 In response to the violence, Fourth Ward Alderman Lamont Robinson has implemented several measures to tighten security - and is calling on the Park District to enforce a 9 p.m. curfew at the beach. 
 
 Alderman Robinson is in the studio with me now.

The Chicago White Sox are looking to move from their home stadium in Bridgeport and set up shop closer to downtown.
 
 It comes 33 years after the team tore down Old Comiskey Park and erected what is now known as Guaranteed Rate Field in its place.
 
 A new book .. “Last Comiskey” provides dozens of photos from the last year of that beloved stadium at 35th and Shields. 
 
 Ken Smoller is the book’s author. 
 
 He joins us this morning. 
 HOST: PUENTE

In Illinois, hair stylists, barbers, nail techs and estheticians must have hundreds of hours of training to get their license. 
 
 80 percent of these beauty and cosmetology programs are run by for-profit companies. But after investing thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, graduates are rarely better off than those with just a high school degree.
 
 WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang has the story. 
 Host: LANE

A lot of Black, Brown and low-income students in Illinois who need a college degree to move up in the world go to for-profit colleges to get one.
 
 These companies promise a fast-track to graduation and a better job – one you can do while you’re working the job you already have or raising your kids. 
 
 But a WBEZ investigation found these schools too often leave students worse off than when they started.
 
 WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip reports. Host: Mary Dixon

Yesterday’s stunning court hearing for the man accused of the mass shooting in north suburban Highland Park two years ago has victims’ families, survivors and residents reeling.
 
 Robert Crimo the Third rejected a plea deal from prosecutors during the hearing.
 
 Some family members of people killed in the 4th of July shooting believe Crimo intentionally went back on the deal in an effort to cause more pain.
 
 WBEZ’s Michael Puente reports. Host: Mary Dixon

Defense attorneys for four former ComEd lobbyists and executives say a Supreme Court decision could win their clients a new trial. A jury convicted the lobbyists and executives last year of bribing ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. But the high court today (WED) narrowed the bribery law used in-part to win those convictions. Prosecutors used that same law to charge Madigan - who is scheduled to go on trial in October. Federal prosecutors did not comment. Host: LARA

A road in west suburban Wheaton has seen dozens of car crashes with pedestrians and bicyclists over the past decade or so. 
 
 Many have resulted in severe injuries, including three deaths. 
 
 For years, residents of one apartment complex have been calling for the installation of a traffic signal to address the issue.
 
 WBEZ’s Jessica Alvarado Gamez has been following their journey.
 Host: Dixon

Ex-Chicago Alderman Ed Burke spent 54 years in city council — the longest reign in history.
 
 Now, he’ll spend two years in prison after a jury convicted him of using his power in office for private gain.
 
 A federal judge handed down the sentence today.
 
 WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel joins us from federal court now for more.

At its peak, nearly 15,000 asylum seekers were living in 28 migrant shelters across Chicago. 
 
 More than half of those migrants have left since the city began rolling out shelter evictions this spring. Many moved to other cities, or are now renting. 
 
 About 600 migrants have re-entered the shelter system. Some others are ending up on the streets.
 
 WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad has the story.
 Host: Mary Dixon

Anthony Freud, who has led Chicago’s Lyric Opera since 2011, is retiring this summer.
 
 The Lyric, like opera companies across the country, faces big challenges, like fewer subscribers … and a need to diversify the artform. 
 
 But Freud is hopeful. Before his departure, he gave WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers a tour of the Lyric’s massive downtown building and shared what opera needs to do to stay relevant.
 Host: Mary Dixon

The use of automated license plate readers are having a big impact on investigations into highway shootings in Illinois. 
 
 That’s according to the Illinois State Police. 
 
 There have been 42 shootings on interstate highways so far this year.
 
 Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly says license plate readers have helped to identify an individual involved in the majority of the cases. 
 
 Director Kelly joins Michael Puente this morning to talk about this technology.

In Chicago, Venezuelan migrants are desperate for legal status and jobs.
 
 In South America, a country neighboring Venezuela has taken steps to give migrants just that.
 
 That country is Colombia.
 
 This week we’re looking at how Colombia has set up one of the world’s largest migratory amnesties.
 
 WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell spent two weeks there and reports the amnesty has boosted Colombia’s economy, but it’s now faltering.

Residents of Chicago’s West Side have a new way to beat the heat.
 
 Humboldt Park Beach – the city’s only inland, man-made beach – re-opened to the public this week for the first time since 2019.
 
 WBEZ’s Lauren Frost talked to beachgoers on opening day, and has this story.

Around 30,000 Venezuelans have arrived in Chicago over the last two years.
 
 The influx has led to a backlash — to claims the migrants are fueling crime and taking up resources that longtime Chicago residents need.
 
 WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell is back from two weeks in Colombia, a country that’s received a much larger influx from Venezuela.
 
 Those two countries share a language, a religion and a nearly 14-hundred-mile border.
 
 But Chip reports that, even in Colombia, Venezuelans face xenophobia.

Excitement was in the air Monday as candidates started filing petitions for Chicago’s first elected school board. 
 WBEZ’s Sarah Karp was there as the first candidates stepped up.

Over the past two years, about 30,000 Venezuelan migrants have come to Chicago. 
 
 To get here, they cross a lot of dangerous borders.
 
 The first one separates Venezuela from Colombia.
 
 WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell takes us to that border.
 
 The story continues our series on Venezuelan migrants in Colombia.

Meet a young mother who survived a harrowing journey across the border with her two young children to start a new life. Reporter: Chip Mitchell

Melina Sandoval is attending North Park University in the fall.
 
 She just graduated from Carl Schurz High School on Chicago’s North Side.
 
 Melina spoke to WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko about the challenges she faced as an undocumented student…and her dreams for her future.
 
 
 Host: LABUZ

nominating convention.
 
 This will be the third DNC held in Chicago since 1968. 
 
 These conventions are thrown with the help of THOUSANDS of volunteers from the Chicago area.
 
 WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel spoke to volunteers from conventions past and present to get an inside look at the widely watched event. 
 Host: DIXON