WBEZ News

Chicago Public Schools is considering dropping part of its admissions process that benefits students who live in affluent Chicago neighborhoods. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Sarah Karp

Penny Smith, director of Learning and Impact at Erikson Institute, explains why using the right descriptors is key in advocating for children and families. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji Kang

Investigators criticized Jennifer Lin’s response to the accusations in Evanston. But she has a new job with the circuit court clerk. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

The bombshell federal indictment of Illinois’s former House Speaker Michael Madigan last week has renewed a long-standing debate about the unwritten practice of aldermanic prerogative. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Becky Vevea

"Go Green Community Fresh Market," a profound departure from corner stores on the city’s South and West sides, opens Tuesday at 63rd and Racine. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Natalie Moore

Pennsylvania has Hershey’s but it’s not the sweetest place on earth. WBEZ contributor and historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas talks to our producer Cianna Greaves about the Chicago's candy making history. Host: Mary Dixon

Long time Illinois statehouse watcher Chris Mooney of UIC doesn’t think the indictment of former House Speaker Michael Madigan will lead to a culture shift in Springfield. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Alex Degman

Maria Soila Vega’s son Christopher Torrijos was murdered on Sept. 16, 2021. It’s one of hundreds of Chicago murders without an arrest. Host: Araceli Gómez-Aldana; Reporter: Patrick Smith

Federal prosecutors alleged the longtime Springfield power broker and former state Democratic Party leader ran a criminal enterprise dubbed “The Madigan Enterprise.” And Gov. JB Pritzker was interviewed by the feds recently. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

Marta Farion of the Illinois division of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, discusses Chicago’s historical - and present - relationship with Ukraine. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

The Mexican consulate in Chicago now issues birth certificates and passports for transgender nationals living in Illinois and northern Indiana. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: María Inés Zamudio

Archbishop Daniel Zelinsky of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Chicago speaks about ministering to his congregants living with the fear and uncertainty of the war in Ukraine. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Attendance has rebounded after plummeting last year, but hasn’t fully recovered. An early-college program is helping to keep students on track. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp

Guy Callendar was an amateur meteorologist who made a landmark discovery about human-caused climate change. Professor Sylvia Dee, climate scientist at Rice University, joined WBEZ to talk about his contributions. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

The founder of Citadel, the hedge fund and financial services behemoth, has hit Democratic Governor JB Pritzker on rising crime. Griffin’s critics call these investments and holdings “hypocritical.” Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dave McKinney

The city’s housing department is committed to undoing decades worth of segregation and inequity. A new blueprint for fair housing is underway. WBEZ’s Natalie Moore speaks with housing commissioner Marisa Novara about the goals. Host: Araceli Gómez-Aldana; Producer: Lauren Frost

Hundreds of people gathered for a rally in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village Thursday afternoon to denounce the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Claudia Morell, Lauren Frost

Marcus Belin, principal of Huntley High School and part of the Black History Curriculum Task Force for the Illinois State Board of Education, speaks on schools teaching Black History beyond the key figures in textbooks. Host: Araceli Gómez-Aldana; Reporter: Susie An

The city hopes to pilot the housing model as an alternative to shelters now that its contract with an upscale downtown hotel is ending. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Mariah Woelfel

The Illinois Way Forward Act, which took effect in January, bans local county jails from renting out beds to the federal government to detain immigrants facing deportation. Xanat Sobrevilla with Organized Communities Against Deportations, speaks on the implementation of the new law. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: María Inés Zamudio

Historian and WBEZ contributor Shermann Dilla Thomas, and midday host Lisa Labuz look back at the music and culture of Chicago’s Jazz era. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

Chicago schools and the city’s department of public health are still trying to build an effective COVID response two years into the pandemic. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Sarah Karp, Becky Vevea

Cook County judges have tossed 150 cases tied to ex-Sgt. Ronald Watts. But Kim Foxx’s office is fighting efforts to vacate some others. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Chip Mitchell

The Illinois Department of Public Health controls the state's supply of virus therapeutics, but officials are not tracking how the coveted treatments are being dispersed. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Kristen Schorsch

Thompson will have to give up his 11th Ward seat after being convicted of the federal crimes. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Jon Seidel

Ruby Ferguson, food equity policy lead at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, shares an update on the city's progress around food pantries, nutrition benefits and other food equity priorities. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Natalie Moore

Researchers are out grabbing samples from all over the Great Lakes, to better understand the lakes in winter. Geo-sciences Professor Maureen Coleman from the University of Chicago is a part of the "Winter Grab" effort. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

In text messages to a manager, a teenage female lifeguard alleged sexist workplace behavior was common and “f**** up people for a long time.” Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

The number of new HIV diagnoses in Chicago is at its lowest mark in more than 30 years, but Black residents – especially Black men – continue to contract the virus at higher rates. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji Kang

New research shows people trying to prevent shootings are under-supported and over-traumatized. Researchers are offering solutions. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Patrick Smith

College students are struggling academically and socially like never before as they grapple with the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Anna Savchenko

Mayor Lori Lightfoot blamed remote learning for a spike in carjackings around Chicago in a press conference on Monday. Tom Schuba of the Chicago Sun-Times helps fact check the mayor's claims. Host: Mary Dixon; Producer: Cianna Greaves

There are more allegations of misconduct about the former coach of the Chicago Red Stars, this time from his days as a local youth soccer coach. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Blacks make up only 15 percent of the Chicago Fire Department. Engine Company 21 in the Washington Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side is trying to boost those ranks. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Michael Puente

Chicago Public Schools and the teachers union are finalizing a multi-million dollar settlement for a group of laid off Black teachers, marking the end of a decade-long fight against school reforms. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Sarah Karp

Lunar New Year officially began last week, and to celebrate WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz talked with historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas about the history of Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood. Producer: Cianna Greaves

Doctor Andrew Pershing, Director of Climate Science for Climate Central, explains why winter cold snaps are getting shorter across Illinois and the United States. Host: Lisa Labuz; Producer: Lauren Frost

One community group continues to provide small grants, but says more resources are needed to help food-cart operators. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji Kang

The former Chicago police officer is scheduled to be released Thursday after being locked up less than four years for the 2014 murder. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Patrick Smith

Two years into the pandemic, omicron is once again forcing houses of worship and their congregants online. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Adora Namigadde

Pritzker’s tax-relief package includes suspending a 1% sales tax on food and stops a planned gas tax increase from taking effect in July. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Alex Degman

Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike is hopeful as she looks ahead in the battle against COVID-19. Why? Because of what we know already. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Alex Degman

The former Chicago police officer will have served just over three years for the murder. Roy L. Austin, a former official in the civil rights division of the U.S. department of justice, weigh in on calls for the feds to step in. Host: Jenn White; Producer: Patrick Smith

A state grant will help rebuild the commercial strip in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood. Craig Chico, head of the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, shares plans for a $50 million development on one block of Ashland Avenue. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Natalie Moore

In our weekly climate conversation Doctor Deanna Hence, from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois, tells us what “wind chill” really means, and how it affects us. Host: Lisa Labuz, Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Health officials say we’ll be living with the coronavirus for perhaps years to come. But how we’ll live with it is the real question. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Mariah Woelfel

WBEZ last month reported that kids most in need can’t get residential treatment. The state is responding, though advocates say it isn’t enough. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Susie An

Doctor Scott Collis, an atmospheric scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, shares what effects on our climate the Tonga volcanic eruption could have. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

The Chicago Bulls and the Blackhawks are dealing with injuries and the baseball players’ union is responding to their latest contract offer - plus more in the latest local sports news. Host: Araceli Gomez-Aldana; Reporter: Cheryl Raye-Stout

Without a compromise map nailed down, Chicago aldermen have been sitting through a sparsely attended series of public input hearings. But the once-a-decade process appears stalled. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Becky Vevea