WBEZ News

The thought of going back to in-person class ramps up Jessica Vega's anxiety. She's a Chicago Public Schools teacher who has tried her best teaching remotely during the pandemic. She says Chicago Public Schools’ plan to bring elementary students back in February is expecting too much from teachers. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

At Saucedo Elementary in Little Village, Olga Contreras is fighting back against palpable learning loss — one day and one student at a time. Host: Marie Lane Reporter: Sarah Karp

A shrine in suburban Des Plaines is trying to keep pilgrims away due to the pandemic. Celebrations for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe usually attract up to a quarter million visitors. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Linda Lutton

Prisoners rely on the so-called grievance system to report dangerous conditions, including abuse. In Illinois, the system is broken. Host: Marie Lane Reporter: Shannon Heffernan

Some city employees have a new job this year, breaking up large gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19. Currently, Illinois is not allowing private parties in commercial spaces, and gatherings at private residences cannot exceed six non-household members. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Odette Yousef

A COVID-19 vaccine could be in Illinois soon, and medical professionals in Chicago are weighing the risk and duty of getting it. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Becky Vevea

As Chicago Public Schools prepares to resume in-person classes early next year, North Lawndale College Prep says it’s working for their students. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Newly released data shows disparities that hospitals serving communities of color have felt for months - small Chicago hospitals were full with patients, while big hospitals had beds to spare. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Kristen Schorsch

With only 42 % of Black adults in a national study saying they’re willing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, Chicago clinics serving communities of color see work ahead. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Kristen Schorsch

Mike Grover has lived with an aggressive brain cancer for more than a decade. At StoryCorps Chicago, Mike spoke to his wife Lea about confronting death. Producer: Bill Healy

A JPMorgan Chase grant will look to help Black and Latino families become homeowners after decades of disinvestment in Chicago neighborhoods. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Linda Lutton

Long before he landed a side gig at the power company, Ed Moody was a star election worker for Illinois Democratic boss Michael Madigan. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

Ridership on public transit has plummeted during the pandemic. With so many businesses rethinking the need for offices, transit agencies like suburban rail service, Metra, are thinking about how to look different and attract new riders post COVID. Host: Susie An Reporter: Jerome McDonnell

Jennifer Brier is a History and Gender & Women's Studies Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In a recent Washington Post column, she writes in the midst of a the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important to remember and reflect on the very real persistence of HIV and AIDS. Host: Melba Lara, Lisa Labuz Producer: Mariah Woelfel

A national initiative called the Confess Project is training Chicago barbers to become front-line supports for the mental health of their customers. Host: Susie An Reporter: Jarrell Hightower

The emails reveal that a Cook County elected official and key ally to House Speaker Michael Madigan got secret payments from the utility. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Dave McKinney

The Available City envisions thousands of vacant parcels in Chicago as one large space, with multiple uses that benefit entire communities. David Brown, a professor at UIC School of Architecture, is looking to Chicago’s South and West Sides and imagining how to use that space creatively. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Natalie Moore

Pantries report they’re seeing greater demand than ever for a free Thanksgiving meal during the pandemic. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Minju Park

Chip Mitchell wraps up our series on Illinois nursing-home ownership with a look at COVID-19 infections and deaths tied to one of the industry’s biggest operators.

How the Illinois Department of Public Health traces an outbreak at a wedding. Mariah Woelfel.

Chip Mitchell reports on the staffing challenges and operational factors that are making nursing homes a source of so many COVID-19 deaths in Illinois

Illinois Department of Health Medical Director talks about tracing an outbreak at a Chicago Factory. Mariah Woelfel.

A few freshmen from the Chicago area at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne talk about life on campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mariah Woelfel reports on how Illinois Department of Public Health performs contact tracing after COVID-19 Outbreaks happen in social settings. This time at a Chicago-area pool party

In the Chicago area, workers from every sector of the economy have filed more than 1,000 complaints, alerting the federal government’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to unsafe conditions at work, including direct exposure to the virus.

During The Pandemic, Who Owns A Nursing Home Can Be The Difference Between Life And Death

Experts say testing plays a crucial role in stemming the spread of the coronavirus, but not all Illinoisans have equal access. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Kristen Schorsch

A new report from ProPublica Illinois shows that child labor is not a thing of the past in Chicago’s western suburbs. Reporter Melissa Sanchez profiled a group of immigrant teenagers in Chicago’s western suburbs. Host: Melba Lara Producer: Lauren Frost

Chicago leaders say more people should be locked up before their trials to prevent violence. A new study out of Loyola University says that has “no effect” either way.
 
 Host: Lisa Labuz
 Reporter: Patrick Smith

Dr. Philip Skiba is a Sports Medicine Specialist in suburban Park Ridge. He talked about his experience with COVID-19 patents and what he’s seeing when it comes to patients reporting long term effects. Host: Mary Dixon Producer: Araceli Gomez-Aldana

A federal investigation into corruption in Springfield and Commonwealth Edison is taking a huge step closer to one of the biggest players in Illinois politics. Among the four people charged Wednesday was Michael McClain, a close confidante of Illinois House Speaker and Democratic boss Michael Madigan. Host: Lisa Labuz Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

The indictments came down this Wednesday evening, connected to a long-running corruption scandal that implicates Illinois’ most powerful politician – Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Tony Arnold

COVID’s resurgence in Illinois means more residents have had it. That’s shifting some attitudes about the disease. But even within a single family, the takeaways can be profoundly different. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Odette Yousef

Many Catholic schools have been offering in-person learning this fall despite a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in Illinois. Their in-person approach has been closely watched by Chicago Public Schools officials, who are now planning to bring some students back in mid-January. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

"Consistently, between 25% and 30% of the Latino electorate has voted Republican,” says Sylvia Puente of the Latino Policy Forum. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Natalie Moore

Congresswoman Cheri Bustos represents northwest Illinois from Peoria, and the Quad Cities, to Galena and Rockford. She shared her thoughts about the the election, and what’s next in a Biden-Harris administration. Host: Melba Lara, Mary Dixon Producer: Araceli Gomez Aldana

The Miami Marlins have a new general manager - and it’s a historic choice with a Chicago connection. The team announced they’ve hired Kim Ng the first woman and the first Asian-American to be a GM in Major League Baseball. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Cheryl Raye Stout

Billie Riepma’s son Dillon died in 2015, and she donated his organs. Laurie Diagne received his lungs, and formed a special bond with Billie. For StoryCorps, they talked about how loss brought the two women together. Producer: Bill Healy

For eight months now, public officials have asked us to fight the pandemic together by making good individual choices. More about why, and how some doctors and experts are trying to get people to do the right things: wear a mask, keep your distance, stay home. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Mariah Woelfel

As COVID-19 cases rise, schools weigh the risk of in-person learning versus what is lost when students learn remotely. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Susie An

Two artists-vandals explain how they edited 47 Chicago Park District signs in Douglas Park, and then maintained them for more than a year. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Linda Lutton

During the pandemic many medical providers have expanded access to telehealth, a safe way to meet virtually with a doctor. And thanks to an executive order issued in March by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, insurance companies regulated by the state have to cover telehealth like any office visit. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Vivian McCall

Immigration advocates are shifting gears to lobby for President-elect Joe Biden to rescind many of Trump’s executive orders. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: María Inés Zamudio

What tips do teachers have for making remote learning work? One WBEZ reporter (and mom) shares her family’s story. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Adriana Cardona Maguigad

Just moments after Pennsylvania was called for Democratic president-elect Joe Biden, Chicagoans took their celebration outside. Residents of one northwest side Chicago neighborhood shared their reactions to news of Joe Biden’s win. Host: Marie Lane Reporter: Odette Yousef

WBEZ’s education team has been following teachers and students during this semester of the coronavirus pandemic. While a lot of activities high school students look forward to during the year have been sidelined, that’s not stopping some kids from enjoying milestones of teenage life. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Susie An

Workers at the Midwest branch of the Environmental Protection Agency have a heightened interest in this year's presidential election results. They say the Trump administration has made detrimental changes to their workplace and their ability to protect the public. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Jerome McDonnell

The $4.5 million settlement comes more than six years after agents raided the suburban offices of Concept Schools Inc. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos, Sarah Karp

Criminal justice reformers are cheering the re-election of Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx. Foxx beat back a law-and-order challenge from former judge and prosecutor Pat O’Brien. Host: Melba Lara Reporter: Patrick Smith

Election Day has come and gone in Chicago. And given the worries about a global pandemic, potential unrest related to a heated presidential race, and the worry of poll staffing and lines things went very smoothly. Host: Mary Dixon Reporter: Claudia Morell