In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

All week we’re looking back 25 years to Chicago’s deadly heatwave in 1995. Today we talk to the former aldermen Helen Shiller and Dorothy Tillman. Both witnessed how the poor in their communities were dying, and pressed then-Mayor Daley to take action.

All this week we’re looking back 25 years to Chicago’s deadly heatwave of 1995. Today we talk to the former head of Chicago’s medical examiner’s office, who dealt with the hundreds of bodies as politicians and others downplayed the danger.

In a five-part series,  Reset  commemorates the 25th anniversary of Chicago's 1995   heatwave  that killed at least 739 people over five days. In part 2, we meet Judith Helfand, filmmaker behind the documentary “Cooked: A Survival By Zip Code.” The film is free-streaming through PBS for the next year.

In a five-part series,  Reset commemorates the 25th anniversary of Chicago's 1995 heatwave that killed more than 700 people over five days.  In part 1, we meet  sociologist Eric Klinenberg. He wrote the definitive text on the heatwave and lessons learned.

Sun-Times columnist and ABC 7 political guru Laura Washington teams up with WBEZ investigative reporter Dan Mihalopolous to take you inside the biggest local and state stories this week in RESET’s Friday News Roundup.

Young activists are leading the 2020 protest movement, setting the agenda for issues like police reform and social justice. Reset checks in with local hip-hop artist Matt Muse to discuss how activists are setting the course here in Chicago.

A Joliet police sergeant was placed on leave and stripped of police duties Monday after blowing the whistle on the death of a man held in police custody.  CBS Chicago’s Dave Savini joins Reset with details of his ongoing investigation of the alleged cover-up in the death of Eric Lurry

The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, was created to help small businesses stay afloat during the covid-19 crisis. WBEZ reporter Dan Mihalopoulos looked into where those funds went in Illinois, and found out many beneficiaries weren’t exactly the mom-and-pop operations te money was supposed to support.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot spars with President Donald Trump over the city’s response to recent gun violence. Advocates criticize CPD’s plan to arrest teens on “drug corners” ahead of the holiday weekend. Plus, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx plans to drop charges against those arrested in recent protests.    Reset breaks down the biggest stories of the week in our weekly news roundup.

Pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics Dr. Shelly Varizi-Flais discusses the AAP’s recommendation that children return to school in the fall. And Chris Jones ponders the future of Broadway, the theater scene, and the culture engine that drives the economy of America’s biggest cities.

Chicago’s biggest public high school, Lane Tech, is setting the wheels in motion to change the school’s “Indians” mascot, after a push from alumni that called it “wrong and racist.” Reset hears from an alum — who once played the mascot role at Lane Tech — on why he thinks it’s time for a change.  We also take a look at why other potentially offensive mascots in Illinois sports haven’t gone an...

Dr. Ngozi Ezike has shaped and led Illinois’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk with Dr. Ezike about how far the state has come, and how far we have to go in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

The state is moving into Phase 4 of the coronavirus reopening, city deals with increasing violence, and President Trump says Chicago is like “living in hell”. We’ve got all the week’s big stories for you as A.D. Quig of Crain’s and David Greising of the Better Government Association join Justin Kaufmann for the Friday News Roundup

Progressive activists and politicians in Chicago believe that now is the time to reform Chicago schools, the police department, and more. But the protests and the shifts in attitudes in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police have yielded few tangible results. Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) discusses her frustration with the mayor, CPS, the police, and mor...

More than 50 of Chicago’s top drag performers signed an open letter demanding change for how Black performers are treated in Boystown. Two of the leaders of that movement discuss the history of the scene, their grievances with it, and the solutions they’d like to see.

J. Nicole Brooks has made a name for herself by writing plays about Chicago and its long history with racial injustice and segregation. Reset discusses how this current protest moment informs her craft, her play about Jane Byrne that got shut down because of the covid-19 pandemic, and more

In his new memoir “Plague Years: A Doctor’s Journey Through The AIDS crisis,” Dr. Ross Slotten gives us a first-hand account of fighting for patients and battling AIDS during the epidemic that exploded in the 1980's. 

From the continued protests over police misconduct to the latest on the city and state’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic, we’ve got all the week’s local news for you in less than 30 minutes. WTTW’s Heather Cherone and the Chicago Tribune’s John Byrne join Justin Kaufmann for the Friday News Roundup

The U.S. Supreme Court decided on the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program this morning. Reset talks with a DACA recipient and the head of a immigration nonprofit to get their response.

As the COVID-19 pandemic and George Floyd protests continue to impact the lives of many, the South Side nonprofit My Block, My Hood, My City is assisting residents across the city. The organization’s founder joins Reset to talk about how they’re helping Chicago’s neighborhoods during difficult times.

American police officers are known to have wide ranging work and legal protections when it comes to harm done on the job.  Reset t alks with two legal scholars about the legal and social landscape of accountability for officers and why it’s so hard to prosecute bad acting officers for misconduct.

Sen. Dick Durbin talks about the possibility of passing police reform in congress, the “Defund the Police” movement, and why congress should continue to help those laid off by the coronavirus pandemic.

From the mayor’s outrage at a videotape showing police misconduct to the latest on the governor’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve got all the week’s local news for you in less then 30 minutes. WTTW’s Heather Cherone and Paris Schutz join Jenn White on her final broadcast as host of Reset before she heads off to Washington, D.C. to host the national NPR program 1A.

The new head of Chicago’s police union gives his opinions about local calls for reform, police misconduct, and the relationship between the police and the public. WBEZ’s Patrick Smith joins us for context and analysis.

When and how did America’s police forces move from “serve and protect” to “us versus them”? We discuss the militarization of the police in the U.S. That comes right after a conversation with an activist who explains why she wants to see CPD defunded.