In the Loop (Segments)

A 34% dip in Black enrollment in Illinois colleges and universities suggests that higher education in the state is not equitable. Reset checks in with an educator and a leader at a women’s employment nonprofit who are working together to offer solutions.

The Chicago Department of Transportation on Thursday released its Strategic Plan for Transportation, self-billed as “the nation’s first urban transportation plan developed in the wake of the pandemic, economic and racial justice crises of 2020.” CDOT Commissioner Gia Biagi and Janette Sadik-Khan,a former New York City transportation commissioner, join Reset to discuss the bold plan.

Young Chicago Authors’ fans, staff and the kids they serve were all shocked to hear accusations that top executives ignored allegations of sexual assault. After suspending programming for 90 days, the non-profit is rebuilding. Reset hears from rapper and poet Demetrius Amparan, the newly named executive director of Young Chicago Authors.

Life expectancy in the U.S. fell by a year and half in 2020, the largest drop since World War II. Reset checks in with Dr. David Ansell, author of the book The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills for his thoughts.

An investigation by The Washington Post and 16 other media outlets analyzed a list of 50,000 phone numbers possibly breached in a spyware attack. Developed by a company in Israel, the spyware mostly targeted journalists, political activists and public officials, but it nonetheless raises questions about the security of everyone's devices.

As Amazon and Walmart battle for the e-commerce crown, one Chicago startup is looking to level the playing field for smaller businesses. For our weekly series Chicago Innovators, Reset learns more about ShipBob and its growing success in the industry.

Overdose deaths in the U.S. spiked to a record 93,000 last year, according to new federal data. Opioids are at the heart of these tragedies. Reset asks two experts to explain the factors driving these deaths and what can be done about it.

Chicago aldermen are expected to cast votes on two consequential proposals during Wednesday’s City Council meeting: A planned $4 billion redevelopment of the Michael Reese hospital site along Chicago’s lakefront and a compromise that would bring civilian oversight to the Chicago Police Department for the first time. Reset checks in with a reporter live from City Hall.

A new report from the Delta Institute offers 63 recommendations for reducing waste in Chicago and improving the city’s recycling rates. Reset takes a closer look at the study’s findings and how they might impact local taxpayers

Inflation is at its highest level in over a decade, and while the Federal Reserve says the pain is temporary, try telling that to someone who depleted their savings during the pandemic or someone living on a fixed income. Reset explains why prices are surging so high and explores what that means for U.S. workers, women and retirees.

As airlines face increased pressure from customers and shareholders to reduce carbon emissions, Chicago-based United Airlines recently purchased more than 100 electric-powered planes. Reset finds out what this purchase may foretell for the move towards renewable energy for United and other airlines.

Chicago singer Tammy McCann is helping program music for the city, even as she works to get her own career back on track. Reset talks to McCann about everything from the weekly events shining a positive light on the South Side to her new record project with famed guitarist Fareed Haque.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned on bringing civilian oversight to the Chicago Police Department in her first 100 days. On Monday, she announced a deal with a coalition of community groups seeking police reform. Reset hears from a grassroots activist, an alderman on the City Council’s Public Safety Committee and WBEZ city politics reporter Claudia Morell.

The Delta variant is now the dominant COVID-19 strain around the world. In the U.S., areas with low vaccination rates are battling outbreaks driven by the variant. Reset brings on Pulitzer Prize-winner Ed Yong for the latest on the COVID-19 surge in neighboring Missouri and why this year might be worse than last year for some communities.

A national coalition of teachers is pushing back against white backlash to Black school curriculum like Critical Race Theory (CRT). A Seattle-based teacher tells Reset how Black history in schools will help deconstruct systemic racism and break the “school-to-prison pipeline.”

Alderman have begun the complicated and contentious process of redrawing Chicago’s ward maps. Reset checks in with a reporter and a demographer to understand how the process works and what’s at stake.

Reset gets the latest on the Delta variant and the rise in COVID-19 cases in Illinois and across the U.S.

In over three decades working in a largely white-male dominated profession, Annette Nance-Holt has risen to the top. As Chicago’s first female Fire Commissioner, she’s vowed to create a Fire Department that reflects its communities. Reset finds out what changes the trailblazing commissioner hopes to bring to CFD.

Recently the Chicago Park District, and now the city of Evanston, are facing allegations by lifeguards of ongoing sexual harassment and abuse on-the-job. WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos, who broke the Evanston story, joins Reset to discuss allegations of misconduct and harassment among lifeguards in Evanston and Chicago.

Reset checks in with Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, WBEZ’s latest regular contributor who will share slices of Chicago history with Lisa Labuz.

As long as there have been quilts, they’ve chronicled our collective history with messages that mapped freedom for runaway slaves, highlighted political issues, supported fundraising and social movements, and more. Reset checks in with the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild. The group is showcasing some of its best designs over the past decade in a new book, “Modern Quilts in the Second City: Ten Years of...

Reset talks to one of the organizer’s behind this year’s Chinatown Summer Fair, one of the largest Asian American heritage celebrations in the Midwest. The two-event kicks off July 31 at 2200 S. Wentworth Ave.

Lightfoot administration departures continue with resignation of two commissioners. Chicago Police Supt. David Brown and Gov. JB Pritzker stop by the White House this week for presidential meetings. Plus, COVID-19 infections are rising again in parts of the state. Reset goes behind the headlines with local journalists on the Weekly News Recap.

Quilts have chronicled our collective history with messages that mapped freedom for runaway slaves, highlighted political issues, supported fundraising and social movements, and more. Reset checks in with the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild. The group is showcasing some of its best designs over the past decade in a new book, “Modern Quilts in the Second City: Ten Years of the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild...

In a scathing rebuke of Springfield lawmakers, the Legislative Inspector General — a watchdog of the Illinois General Assembly — quit her post, calling the position “a paper tiger.” Reset sits down with Carol Pope about why she resigned, and what she thinks it would take for true ethics reform in Springfield.