In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

From keeping safe on the EL to using carbon credits while flying, Reset contributor Mary Wisniewski has a full slate of transportation news. Plus, what the suburbs are doing to lure companies back after so many have made the switch to new digs in the city.

In the first round of our series “Closing The Gap”, we look at the disparities in life expectancy across Chicago. Here in part 2, we take a closer look at Englewood, the neighborhood with some of the lowest life expectancies not only in Chicago, but in the country.

Two Illinois governors grabbed the biggest headlines this week. The former one is a convicted felon. The current one is trying to get a budget passed. WTTW’s Amanda Vinickey, the BGA’s David Greising, and WBEZ’s Dave McKinney break it all down.

Find out how Chicago Police District 7 in Englewood is gaining the trust of the community. And a UIC researcher breaks down how the diets of various racial groups are affecting the environment.

Gov. Pritzker talks about the state of the state’s economy, and his plans and priorities for the budget. You'll hear the entire speech, and analysis from WBEZ's Tony Arnold

President Trump commuted the sentence of former governor Rod Blagojevich. We’ll hear parts of Blago’s press conference and analysis from WBEZ’s Dave McKinney

Chicago Native Nusrat Choudhury is excited about coming back to her hometown to fight injustice as new top litigator for ACLU Illinois. She outlines the types of cases she’s interested in taking on as the ACLU celebrates a century of defending civil liberties in the U.S.

We talk to one of the finalists for the Chicago Prize. It’s a $10 million grant given out to a group or groups working on innovative solutions to make their neighborhoods safer, or greener, or creating more opportunities or have better amenities for their residents.

A final four for Chicago’s top cop job, the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting in Aurora, and Jussie Smollett is indicted… again. Those stories and more as ProPublica’s Mick Dumke, WTTW’s Paris Schutz, and WBEZ’s own Patrick Smith join us for this week’s Friday News Roundup.

Northern Illinois University is one of the first higher education institutions to go fully test-blind in their admissions process, alongside other Illinois schools opting for test-optional admissions. Reset sits down with two Illinois admissions directors and a veteran higher education journalist to hear about this trend.   llinois University

IL Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-8th) responds to President Trump’s proposed budget, and we look at a north side metal recycler that’s been accused for years of polluting the neighborhood.

A decade and a half ago, residents of Chicago’s Southwest side saw a real need for access to bilingual physical and mental health resources. Today, Esperanza has four locations across the Southwest Side, providing healthcare to thousands.

Over the next several Sundays, we’re bringing you our series Closing The Gap, where we look at the huge disparities in life expectancy between rich and poor neighborhoods in Chicago. How big is the gap? Why does this gap exist? And what people are doing to close the gap?

From the turmoil at the Iowa caucus, to the protests at Lincoln Park High, guilty pleas from state officials to a proposed ban on red light cameras, we go deep on all the big local and regional news stories in our Friday News Roundup.

American University professor and historian Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted every presidential contest since 1984. In 2016, he predicted Donald Trump would become president, and that he’d be impeached. One day after Trump’s acquittal by the senate on two impeachment charges, we reached out to Lichtman to find out what he thinks comes next for this presidency, the country and the 2020 electi...

Last June, Illinois passed a bill legalizing sports betting. But almost eight months later, it still hasn’t launched. Sports betting analyst Sam Panayotovich and Rush Street Gaming CEO Greg Carlin join Reset to discuss. GUESTS: Sam Panayotovich, sports betting analyst for NBC Sports Greg Carlin, CEO of Rush Street Gaming

Second City shines a light on black performers past and present for Black History Month. And Cécile Shea talks about what Brexit might mean for Chicago and the Midwest.

Former EPA leader Gina McCarthy now heads the National Resources Defense Council. She says thinking about climate change in terms of melting glaciers is too overwhelming for people to deal with. By thinking about how we build our homes and how we grow our feed, we can make a huge difference.

An Oscar-nominated animated short looks at the relationships between a young black girl, her hair, and her dad. Two of the people behind the film talk about the deep personal and cultural meanings of the film.

Dan Petrella from the Chicago Tribune , David Greising of the Better Government Association, and WBEZ’s Dave McKinney talk about the governor’s State of the State address, a retooling of the Chicago Police Department and more in our Friday News Roundup with host Jenn White. 

Four South Side hospitals are merging, in hopes of bringing more new and comprehensive health care options closer to the people who need them most. We speak with two of the CEO’s involved to learn about their plans to diminish the glaring health disparities between the north and south sides of the city.

In case you missed it, or want to take a closer listen, here's Gov. Pritzker's State of the State speech, given at noon today in Springfield

Access to justice can only happen if individuals and groups have access to legal expertise and resources. Marginalized communities both in urban and rural areas often are without this access to legal aid. Governor Pritzker allocated $10 million of this year’s state budget to help fund organizations that provide legal aid, and we talk to 2 women that’ll help allocate those funds.

A recent report showed a quarter of undergraduate women at 30 universities across the country have been sexually assaulted . This week, two groups at Northwestern University hosted MeToo founder Tarana Burke on campus. We talk to some of the leaders of those groups about their efforts to raise awareness and create programs designed to eradicate the problem.

Tracie Hall talks about her plans and goals as she becomes the first African American woman to lead the American Library Association. The ALA the world’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to the advancement of libraries and their important role as holders and disseminators of knowledge.