In the Loop (Segments)

Hours before a strike planned for this morning, United Rail Unions, an umbrella organization of labor unions, reached a tentative agreement with the federal government. The agreement includes more time off and an immediate increase in pay to keep up with inflation. Reset checks in with an NPR reporter who’s covering how passenger rail has been affected by the planned strike, and a veteran rail wor...

In a new installment of Reset’s on-going series “What’s That Building?” The show learns about a mini-architecture district in Hammond, Indiana, just over the border from Illinois. Reset hears from its architectural sleuth, Dennis Rodkin, about the First Baptist Church in Hammond, and how it came to preserve so much building history. GUEST: Dennis Rodkin, reporter for Crain’s Business Chicago

Chicago gets its drinking water from Lake Michigan, but what does that transformation look like from the lake to your tap? Reset explores the quality and journey of your drinking water. GUEST: Karen Weigert, director of Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility

As refugees fleeing conflict continue to travel to the United States, especially from Afghanistan and Ukraine, Chicago’s largest refugee resettlement organization plans to almost double in size. RefugeeOne has moved from Uptown to its new home in West Ridge and is quickly hiring new staff and recruiting volunteers. Reset learns more about this expansion. GUEST: Sara Spoonheim Amit, development dir...

The Illinois Open Meetings Act requires that government bodies hold meetings that are open to the public, but it was passed before the pandemic, so the government isn’t required to have a hybrid virtual and in person meetings. So, City Bureau came up with a list of recommendations to make these public meetings more accessible, so that residents can get their information from the source. Reset lear...

The Chicago Skyway is under new management: the Australian company Atlas Arteria, which owns and operates toll roads in Europe and the United States. In 2005, Chicago leased the Skyway to private shareholders. The shareholders can buy or sell, but the city has to remain in the agreement for 99 years. Reset learns more from the Chicago Tribune reporter who covered this story, and gets context from...

The Great Lakes Center for Farmworker Health and Wellbeing will focus on the health needs of seasonal and migrant workers, and will join 10 other NIOSH funded agriculture centers across the country. UIC will partner with Legal Aid Chicago and Community Health Partnership of Illinois to strengthen bonds across organizations serving farmworkers. Reset learns more from the director of the new center....

The nonprofit civil rights advocacy organization, Color of Change, presented their Black Tech Agenda to members of Congress this week in a push for policy solutions to advance racial equity in Tech. Reset learns more about the group’s plan. GUESTS: Cristiano Lima, Tech newsletter reporter anchoring The Technology 202 with a focus on politics and policy Rashad Robinson, President of Color Of Change

In a new report from the New York Times and non-partisan research group, Child Trends, child living in poverty dropped an astounding amount between 1993 and 2019. Reset speaks with one of the authors of the report, a reporter from the New York Times, and researcher at Northwestern on the findings and their implications. GUEST: Dana Thomson, Senior Research Scientist at Child Trends, Jason DeParle,...

Vocalo’s quarterly Storytelling workshop has returned from hiatus, teaching people interested in media making the fundamentals of storytelling and audio production. The workshop aims to give people tools to tell stories of impactful community members making a difference in Chicago. Applications for the fall workshop are now open through Sept. 19. Reset hears more from the program lead and a partic...

Illinois pediatricians report that more kids are getting sick earlier in the school year, and more of those kids need to be hospitalized. Hospitals are transferring pediatric patients between each other as pediatric wards near capacity. Reset checks in with a pediatrician about what is happening and why. GUEST: Dr. Allison Bartlett, associate professor of pediatrics, Comer Children’s Hospital, Uni...

What seemed like a simple international aid project spirals out of control. How (Not) to Build A School in Haiti details the long and complicated process it took to build a new school in a rural town north of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. The project comes to a sudden halt when a headstrong American construction worker clashes with a Haitian leader. Reset talks with a Chicago-based filmma...

Lake Michigan could be the home of Illinois' first off-shore wind farm. The Rust Belt to Green Belt Act could help fund wind turbines 15 miles off the coast of Chicago’s Southeast side. Reset talks to one of the sponsors of the legislation as well as a reporter and community organizer about the details. GUESTS: Marcus Evans, state representative for District 33 in IL Maxwell Evans, reporter for Bl...

Some Illinoians received the Chicago City Wire, a republican based newspaper, with articles containing fear tactics against that Democrat led legislation. Reset hears on the ins and outs of that act. GUEST(S): David Greising, president, CEO Better Government Association Sharone Mitchel Jr., Cook County Public Defender

Every year Northern American monarch butterflies fly 3,000 miles from Canada to Mexico, and they’re making a pit stop in Chicago! Reset checks in with a local biologist to learn how being an endangered species is affecting this year’s migration. GUEST: Allen Lawrence, associate curator of entomology at the Chicago Academy of Sciences/ Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

Chicago still has a limited supply of monkeypox vaccinations, but another virus — the flu — is creeping into the picture. Reset discusses the latest. GUEST: Dr. Mia Taormina, infectious disease specialist with Duly Health and Care

Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) celebrates its 25th anniversary with a fundraising gala this Saturday, September 17, at The Geraghty. Among its many initiatives, IMAN advocates for access to fresh produce, runs a health center and a grocery store and provides resources to ease the transitions of formerly incarcerated people. Reset talks with two of the group’s leaders about its past, prese...

Parts of northwest chicago and suburbs saw nearly 5inches of rain in a matter of hours on Sunday. GUEST: Scott Collis, atmospheric scientist, Argonne National Laboratory Contact Info: (FACETIME) 630-235-8025 Email + Social: scollis@anl.gov @cyclogenesis_au PLANTED CALLER #1: Katie Pratt, Ravenswood resident Contact Info: (TELOS) 312-217-3165 Email + Social: klpratt5@gmail.com + @cleverkatiep GUEST...

As football season kicks off, the Bears release plans for a new stadium in Arlington Heights. Plus, aldermen feel the pressure over a near 10 percent pay raise, while more announce they’re leaving City Council. Reset goes behind the headlines on the Weekly News Recap. GUESTS: Paris Schutz, correspondent and anchor, WTTW-TV Laura Rodríguez Presa, Chicago Tribune reporter Alex Nitkin, Better Governm...

Wandering foodies look no further! If you’re road tripping around the Midwest this weekend, or just hanging in the Chicago area, you can take advantage of delicious food and a bargain during Black Restaurant Week. The event runs through Sunday, September 11. Reset talks with a couple participating restaurant owners about their tasty menus. GUESTS: Derek Robinson, co-founder of Black Restaurants We...

The 46-page report from COPA includes eyewitness accounts of the fatal shooting and restates that ‘the evidence in this case shows that Mr. Alvarez was attempting to flee without the use of force.” Police Supt. Brown has not taken COPA’s recommendations to dismiss the officer who shot Alvarez. Reset gets the latest from a criminal justice reporter. GUEST: Annie Sweeney, Chicago Tribune reporter

Depending on who you ask, Queen Elizabeth was either a paragon of dignity and tradition, or a symbol or even perpetrator of the ills of British colonialism around the globe. Reset checks in with a reporter who heard differing views on the queen and her legacy when she canvassed people in Chicago for their reaction to Queen Elizabeth’s death. GUEST: Indi Khera, WBEZ metro reporter

The Bears provided more details on the potential Arlington Heights development at a community meeting yesterday. Reset is joined by WBEZ reporter Claudia Morell who was at the meeting and has the details on the potential impact of the team’s move to the suburbs. GUEST: Claudia Morell

Choate Mental Health and Development Center in rural Illinois is a state run facility that serves people with profound mental conditions. Illinois state police have opened at least 40 criminal investigations into alleged midsconduct at the facility over a ten year period through last year. Reset talks with two reporters who have been investigating this story. GUEST: Molly Parker, investigative rep...

A few weeks ago, Reset checked in with the principal of St. Nicholas Cathedral School, which is doing their part to support the over 100,000 Ukrainian refugees in the United States. This school year they have taken in 75 Ukrainian refugee students, bought supplies for their families, and created an English immersion summer camp for the last weeks before school starts. Now that the school year has...