WBEZ News

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.
 
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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. 
 
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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.
 
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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. 
 
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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.
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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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.
 
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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. 
 
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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. 
 
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This holiday season, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra hosted a new kind of concert. 
 
 The so-called “barrier-free” performance was designed for people with disabilities and their loved ones.
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In Chicago, where you live can dictate when you die. The biggest life expectancy gap between neighborhoods is 20 years, from West Garfield Park to the Loop.
 
 One of the solutions to closing this gap is playing out in Garfield Park.
 
 A son’s mission to turn around his mom’s health has become a community wide effort to help everyone live longer.
 
 WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch takes us on a walk with the Peace Runners 7-7-3.
 
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Some cities are known for country music. Others for rap or rock. 
 
 But Chicago has always been an eclectic music town. 
 
 Artists here borrow from the city’s traditions of blues, jazz and soul. 
 
 This year’s best local albums also blend genres and some transcend them. 
 
 Here are some staff picks from WBEZ’s list of Best Chicago Albums of 2025.
 
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The holiday season is in full swing, which means there’s no time like the present to relax with a warm beverage and a good book. 
 
 For a few recommendations, WBEZ’s arts and culture desk asked staff for their favorite books of 20-25. 
 
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A state panel documenting alleged abuses by federal immigration agents held its first meeting yesterday (THURS).
 
 The Illinois Accountability Commission plans to interview witnesses and review bystander videos on social media.
 
 But those aren’t the only videos that exist.
 
 Last month a judge ordered the release of more than 40 hours of body camera footage the agents themselves recorded.
 
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In the U.S., Black men who start college are up against a huge deficit of resources when it comes to finishing, and getting their degree. 
 
 You can see that play out in the majority-Black Austin neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side, where just one in four who make it to campus graduate within six years.
 
 That rate is much lower than it is for white college students from across the city. 
 
 WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip brings us the story of three generations of Black men with ties to Austin who have helped each other overcome this disparity. 
 
 Their shared struggles have brought them close. 
 
 HOST: LARA

It is a truth universally acknowledged… that a single fan of the novelist Jane Austen… must be in want of a way to celebrate her 250th birthday.
 
 Well, WBEZ producer Lauren Frost is one of those fans.
 
 She found events celebrating the British author all over the Chicago region this week…
 
 But perhaps the most grand was a Regency ball – complete with a string quartet, historical snacks, and dancers in gowns stitched from YouTube tutorials.
 
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If you've been shopping recently, you may have noticed signs posted at registers explaining that stores may no longer provide pennies when giving change. 
 
 That's because the U.S. Mint made its final circulating penny last month- marking the end of a 232-year production run of the coin.
 
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A southwest side high school has long had a club to support students without legal status and to raise money to help them go to college. 
 
 But this year with immigration enforcement tearing families apart, the club has changed course.
 
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The “Real Housewives” franchise has been in the ethos of pop culture for nearly two decades. 
 
 The lives of wealthy divas from Atlanta to Dubai, have been on display in this reality tv juggernaut.
 
 This winter, a Chicago theater company created its own holiday-inspired version. The Real Housewives of the North Pole.
 
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We’ll bring you the sounds from a program at Logan Correctional Center, a women's prison in Lincoln, Illinois, where incarcerated people there train service dogs that will one day assist their new owners with mobility or work in therapy settings.

Our partners at The Marshall Project discuss ways for people in prison to process grief, even in an environment that repels compassion.

We also learn about the stress of managing money inside prison, even if you’re making less than $20 a month.

We also highlight a new Chicago Sun-Times investigation showing the disturbing track record of Illinois’ new private prison health care provider.

The City of Chicago’s director of reentry answers questions from people in prison about how they can work to rebuild their lives once they’re released.

In the first hour of the show, we hear from men incarcerated at Sheridan Correctional Center about how to handle the often stressful holiday season on the inside.

We recently asked people in Illinois prisons this question:
 
 “If you could spend one afternoon on the outside with a family member or friend, where would you go and what would you do?"
 
 It’s part of Prisoncast – our statewide journalism project made with and for people incarcerated in Illinois and their loved ones. 
 
 A man named Robert Jernigan wrote us saying he’d take his mother to her church, so he could play music and sing for her.
 
 He’s been locked up for nearly forty years.
 
 And in that time he’s learned how to play piano – but he’s never been able to play for his mom.
 
 So Prisoncast producer and editor Robert Wildeboer packed up a keyboard and drove to Pinckneyville prison – in Southern Illinois. 
 
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Today is the move-out deadline for the last residents of the Chicago apartment building raided by federal immigration agents in early fall. 
 
 A judge ordered the troubled South Shore building vacated, calling it a fire trap. 
 
 She also appointed a manager to secure the property and help residents relocate. 
 
 But tenants say that “help” was merely a check and a list of phone numbers to call. 
 
 HOST: LABUZ

A new exhibit at the Chicago History Museum documents a long tradition of resistance in Chicago's Latino communities. 
 
 That includes not just political activism, but also the daily work of maintaining culture.
 
 The exhibit is called Aqui en Chicago. It is a result of a protest organized by local high school students six years ago.. 
 
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The State of Illinois runs an online auction year-round, giving bidders the opportunity to buy heaps of treasure from afar.
 
 People can purchase items as tiny as a set of earbuds or as big as a dump truck. 
 
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There are only seven stops on the Green Line between the Loop and West Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side.
 
 But between these stops, how long someone is expected to live plummets by 20 years. 
 
 This is the widest death gap in Chicago — and the biggest gap across neighborhoods of any big city in America.
 
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The new company that provides health care to nearly 30-thousand people in Illinois state prisons… has a disturbing track record.
 
 Centurion Health took over health care for the Illinois Department of Corrections this summer, after a multi-year deal – with a different company – fell through. 
 
 Centurion already serves close to a dozen other state correctional systems – where it’s been accused of ignoring and misdiagnosing patients, leading to serious illness or death.
 
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The Chicago-rooted duo The Cool Kids built an impressive hip-hop career with seven albums across two decades and many collaborations. 
 
 For the first time in three years, the Cool Kids have a new album. 
 
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From the 67-foot-tall Norway spruce in Millennium Park to a dizzying number of “Christmas Carol” variations, Chicago’s most festive season has arrived. 
 
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