WBEZ News

The late Reverend Jesse Jackson’s words shaped politics as a leader in the Civil Rights movement. 
 
 Jackson joined WBEZ’s former program Reset in February 20-20.
 
 He spoke with host Jen White about his many speeches…. compiled in the book Keeping Hope Alive: Sermons and Speeches of Reverend Jesse L Jackson. 
 HOST: MELBA

Chicago artist Nick Cave is known for bridging fashion and art.
 
 Now, Cave’s work is debuting at the Smithsonian. He’s delving deep into his personal history, as a Black man in America … with a little help from a prehistoric influence.
 
 HOST: LANE

Civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson Senior died this morning (TUES) at age 84.
 
 A protege of Martin Luther King Junior, Jackson built much of his career in Chicago, working to politically organize and improve the lives of African-Americans.
 
 Doctor Joseph Kyles is the Memphis Rainbow PUSH Coalition president. 
 
 HOST: LANE

Four Republican candidates have thrown their hats in the ring to challenge two-term Governor J-B Pritzker in November. 
 
 They face an uphill battle against a billionaire Democrat- in a state that has shifted more and more blue over the past decade. 
 
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Illinois residents soon have a big choice to make: who should represent them in the U.S. Senate for the next six years? 
 
 And because Illinois is such a heavily blue state — all eyes are on the Democratic primary in the race to replace longtime retiring US Senator Dick Durbin. 
 
 The three leading candidates — two congresspeople and the state’s lieutenant governor — have each spent years in elected office themselves. 
 
 WBEZ’s Mawa Iqbal and Mariah Woelfel have more on who they are and what they’re promising. Mawa starts us off. 
 
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A Roosevelt University graduate student is trying to be the first person to run every block in Chicago, and he’s nearly finished with the feat.
 
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Thirteen candidates on next month’s Democratic primary ballot are competing to take over for retiring Congressman Danny Davis of Chicago.
 
 Jason Friedman is a real estate developer in River North.
 
 He’s never run for office but has leapt far ahead in the race’s fundraising.
 
 He’d be the district’s first white congressman in more than a half century.
 
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More Black owned restaurants are opening in Chicago, and with that comes more dining options. 
 
 
 
 Chicago Black Restaurant Week highlights that growth, featuring specials at nearly 40 Black-owned eateries.
 
 
 
 The culinary celebration is running now until February 22nd, making it a good way to celebrate Black-owned business and Valentines Day. 
 
 
 
 Sun-Times Arts and Culture reporter Erica Thompson joins us now to tell us more. 
 
 HOST: LANE

More Black owned restaurants are opening in Chicago, and with that comes more dining options. 
 
 
 
 Chicago Black Restaurant Week highlights that growth, featuring specials at nearly 40 Black-owned eateries.
 
 
 
 The culinary celebration is running now until February 22nd, making it a good way to celebrate Black-owned business and Valentines Day. 
 
 
 
 Sun-Times Arts and Culture reporter Erica Thompson joins us now to tell us more. 
 
 HOST: LANE

Federal immigration agents are still in Chicago, taking people into custody, and they could return with even more force this spring.
 
 Schools are already on edge. 
 
 Numerous times last fall, enforcement operations sent them into lockdown, sowing chaos and disrupting learning. 
 
 The schools had not dealt with anything like this before. 
 
 HOST: LANE

A Chicago mom is furious about the way her son’s class at a northwest side elementary school kicked off Black History month. 
 
 According to her son, the teacher had them participate in a reenactment of slavery.
 HOST: MELBA

Every time Amy Mendez walks the aisles of her local grocery store, she mulls the same dilemma – how will she afford to feed herself and her 13-year-old son?
 
 
 
 Mendez works full-time for Chicago Public Schools and earns $18.42 (18 dollars and 42 cents) an hour, making her among the school district’s lowest-paid staffers.
 
 
 
 But the job is critical for Mendez. About 24-percent of people in Illinois who get SNAP food benefits could lose them this year because of the Trump administration's expanded work rules.
 
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One of the most anticipated albums of the year is the new one from Chicago’s own Ratboys.
 
 The band formed at Notre Dame about 15 years ago and their sixth album just came out. 
 
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Of the thousands of immigrants swept up in the Trump administration’s deportation campaign, there’s one group you may not have heard much about: Asians. 
 
 That’s in part because many Asians have not come forward with stories of being targeted by federal agents.

Chicago proudly claims Florence Price as one of its own.
 
 After all, it was here that she became the first Black female composer to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra.
 
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Illinois Voters will start receiving their vote-by-mail ballots today (Thurs).
 
 In order to vote, you must be a U-S citizen – and you need to register.
 
 In Illinois, there are plenty of ways to do that….
 
 You can register to vote by mailing in a form by February 17th.
 
 Or register online through March First.
 
 And you can always register in-person when you go to vote. 
 
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The Winter Olympics are officially underway.
 
 And a number of the members of Team U-S-A come from right here in Illinois.
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The Chicago suburbs used to be mostly white, middle-class enclaves. But over the last few decades, some have become incredibly diverse places.
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Two teen brothers from West Chicago have been in Minneapolis since early January, documenting immigration raids. 
 
 The boys are homeschooled, so they’ve taken their books with them on the road. 
 
 But they’re struggling to keep up with their studies amid everything they’re witnessing.
 
 That includes the aftermath of Alex Pretti’s killing at the hands of federal agents. 
 
 Yet they’re still continuing their mission.
 
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Chicago public schools plan to celebrate Black History Month with everything from a business fair to an assembly highlighting the Harlem Renaissance.
 
 But Chalmers Elementary on the west side kicked off the month in a pretty unusual way. 
 
 Students got a meet and greet with the chickens that will live in their school's courtyard.
 
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It’s been four months since Marimar [MARE-i-mar] Martinez, was shot by a Border Patrol agent on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
 
 She survived. But two other U.S. citizens in Minnesota who were recently involved in similar shooting incidents did not. 
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90 miles west of Chicago sits the beautiful Starved Rock State Park. 
 
 But lesser known is the nearby Matthiessen State Park. The smaller nature reserve also touts Sandstone canyons and waterfalls...plus a less crowded feel. 
 
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On Northwestern University’s Evanston campus, there’s a big boulder known as “The Rock.” 
 
 For decades students have painted and repainted it with slogans, symbols and announcements. 
 
 Campus officials say they don’t police The Rock except in the case of threats and profanity.
 
 But a recent incident has students and faculty questioning what administrators view as threatening and whom they see as worthy of protection.
 
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Every January, the International Puppet Theater Festival descends upon our city.
 
 This year the Chicago group Manual Cinema is one of the hot tickets. 
 
 Their production “The Fourth Witch” puts a twist on Macbeth. 
 
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A new essay collection visits the places that shape Midwestern literature.
 
 Lingering Inland: A Literary Tour of the Midwest features prose about the neighborhoods and spots that inspired regional writers.
 
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Three Illinois Democrats vying to become the state’s next U.S. senator shared a stage in Chicago last night [MON].
 
 It was the first face-to-face debate between U.S. Reps. Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton.
 
 The event co-hosted by WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times, the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics and International House started politely enough.
 
 But, as you might guess, plenty of sharpened political elbows got thrown.
 
 HOST: LANE

Spanish mix down

Deportation efforts since President Trump took office have torn apart thousands of families.
 
 
 For some of them, an immigration arrest follows other traumas.
 
 
 In a west suburban school district, an administrator heard that two of her former students were in crisis.
 
 
 So, she tried to help.

The Chicago Bears made it known this season they’ll be a contender for years to come.
 
 But it’s unlikely they’ll ever reach the heights of the most famous Bears squad.
 
 It was 40 years ago today (MON) that the Chicago Bears won their first and only Super Bowl, permanently cementing the legacy of the ’85 Bears.
 host: ALEX

Northwest Indiana is home to three of the country’s largest steel plants. 
 
 The area produces more steel than any other region in the United States. 
 
 But one environmental group says unless the companies invest in newer, cleaner technologies, the plants could end up closing in a decade. 
 
 Jack Weinberg is a long time environmentalist and works with a group known as GARD – short for Gary Advocates for Responsible Development. 
 
 Weinberg recently authored a report called the Future of Steelmaking in Northwest Indiana for GARD. 
 
 HOST: PUENTE

Federal authorities slapped all kinds of labels on Chicago’s Juan Espinoza Martinez when they arrested him last fall.
 
 They called him a “high-ranking member of the Latin Kings.” 
 
 They called him “depraved” and a “thug” as they accused him of offering 10-thousand dollars for the murder of U-S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.
 
 But yesterday (THURS), a federal jury called Espinoza Martinez “not guilty.”
 
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When it opens in June, the Obama Presidential Center will feature a museum and library. 
 
 But good food is also on the menu. 
 
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More than 170-thousand Illinois residents are behind on their student loan payments.
 
 Those people are at risk of having their wages garnished now that the Trump administration plans to restart collections on federal loans in default.
 
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Chicago couple who got arrested and detained last October — just 8 days after getting married.
 
 The bride got deported back to Mexico. The groom is in detention in Michigan.

In January of 1966, Martin Luther King Jr. moved into a North Lawndale apartment with his family. 
 
 Sixty years later, a local playwright… Willie Round … has written about this pivotal time in King’s fight for fair housing, education and employment. 
 
 Round grew up in North Lawndale. 
 
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The Chicago Bears are entering the second round of the playoffs, and fans aren’t leaving anything to chance. 
 
 WBEZ’s Somer Van Benton went to last weekend’s matchup against the Green Bay Packers to ask people about the superstitions and game-day rituals they rely on.
 
 HOST: LARA

Officer Carlos Baker - the Chicago police officer who fatally shot his tactical team partner during a foot chase last year - was initially blocked from joining the team due to his disciplinary history. 
 
 That's according to new records obtained by the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Sun-Times.
 
 The records show the decision to keep Baker off the tactical team was reversed less than a year later, even as he racked up more complaints. 
 
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Chicago is BUZZING with Bears pride. And one of the tell-tale signs of a fan is the jersey …
 
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The holidays may be over, but coquito, the traditional Puerto Rican holiday drink, is keeping the festive spirit going well into January.
 
 For the third year, nonprofit Tales of the Cocktail has partnered with Bacardí to run a contest seeking the best coquito in Chicago. 
 
 HOST: LANE

The Trump Administration is using a legal shortcut to make it easier to cut down trees in national forests. 
 
 Illinois’ Shawnee National Forest, the state’s only national forest, is an early battleground against the increasingly popular tactic to fast track timber sales across the country.
 
 HOST: LANE

2026 will bring several big names to Chicago stages. 
 
 And while Chicago always has a constant hum of performances, there are some big tickets on the horizon. 
 
 HOST: LANE

The Chicago Bears are heading into the playoffs tonight with a game against their arch nemesis Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field. 
 
 Before the big game, we caught up with a Bears superfan, also known as Bear Man. 
 
 HOST: PUENTE

If you heard a thunderous roar in Chicago Saturday night – it wasn’t an earthquake. 
 
 It was Bears fans – overcome with excitement over a historic come-from-behind victory in the Wild Card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers. 
 
 The final score: 31-27 - and the Bears first playoff win in 15 years. 
 
 HOST: LABUZ

After winning the N-F-C North for the first time since 20-18, the Chicago Bears have the city buzzing, as they’ll open the playoffs at Soldier Field tomorrow (SAT) night.
 
 As if that’s not enough, they’re going up against their most heated rival – the Green Bay Packers.
 
 Here to break down the matchup is WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout.
 
 HOST: LARA

Yesterday’s (WED) shooting of an unarmed Minneapolis woman by an immigration enforcement agent is reverberating across the country.
 
 The shooting resembles two shootings during the Chicago area’s deportation campaign this past fall.
 
 And the response from the Department of Homeland Security yesterday (WED) follows the same playbook used here.
 
 WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell has been reviewing hundreds of incidents in the Chicago-area deportation blitz. 
 
 He’s here to break down the connections to the Minneapolis shooting.
 
 HOST: LARA

The Carl Sandburg poem “Chicago” has been a beloved local anthem for more than a century. 
 
 But the poem is making the rounds again. That’s because a federal judge read it aloud … in its entirety … in a court ruling amid the Trump administration’s deportation campaign in the city. 
 
 As a new year begins, WBEZ’s arts desk asked some well-known Chicagoans to recite it. You may hear a famous author, a mayor…even a tight end for the Chicago Bears. 
 
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New Year's resolutions are in full swing, and many people have committed to Dry January or year-round sobriety. 
 
 A Gallup survey from 20-24 shows alcohol consumption is at its lowest point in almost 90 years in the U.S.
 
 That’s leading to a boom in the non-alcoholic drink industry. 
 
 HOST: LANE

Pape, an international security affairs and political violence expert, shared four key takeaways in conversation with WBEZ's Sasha-Ann Simons on 'In the Loop' Monday.

When Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced millions from their homes, many people were given temporary refuge in the U.S.
 But as the war in Ukraine drags on, some people are now caught up in the Trump administration’s deportation blitz.
 That includes one Illinois resident who is awaiting his final removal hearing.
 WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko tells the story of how he and his family fled Ukraine, only to face danger on American soil.

A good holiday party needs a solid soundtrack.
 
 Looking to refresh yours? WBEZ sister station Vocalo has added 20 new songs to its popular annual holiday playlist. It spans pop to jazz to hip-hop.
 
 Find the playlist — called “Holiday, the Vocalo Way” — on Vocalo.org or on Spotify. 
 
 HOST: GÓMEZ-ALDANA