In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

President Joe Biden pledged to replace every lead pipe in the U.S. Illinois lawmakers estimate the state will receive at least $1.7 billion to improve its drinking and wastewater infrastructure. Biden also expects the bill to help close the digital divide. Reset asks experts what investments may be in store for Illinois.

Chicago cancels school to motivate parents to vaccinate as COVID cases rise. The Chicago Police Department cancels days off in anticipation of a verdict in the Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial. Reset goes behind those headlines and more in the Weekly News Recap.

Some of My Best Friends Are... is hosted by Khalil Gibran Muhammad and Ben Austen, two best friends who grew up together on Chicago’s South Side in the 1980s. They invite listeners in with engaging conversations on how race affects their friendships and work, while using pop culture and historical events as a guide. Reset checks in with the duo behind the mic.

A new Amazon Fresh grocery store housed at the former Dominick's grocery in Morton Grove will open Thursday. The store will join others that offer “Just Walk Out” and other new technology that allow customers to skip a checkout line altogether. Reset brings on an expert to discuss how this might change the grocery store landscape.

It’s one of the most shameful chapters in Chicago police history. For a decade, a unit led by former police sergeant Ronald Watts terrorized residents of the Ida B. Wells housing project on the city’s south side, fabricating charges and planting evidence. Reset has the latest on what’s becoming Cook County’s largest-ever exoneration.

Reset chats with Sonia Manzano about her new kids TV show highlighting problem-solving strategies for kids and cultural diversity. Manzano is best known for her role as Maria on Sesame Street.

Three top Chicago Park officials are fired over lifeguard sexual assault scandal and the standoff over vaccine mandates between Mayor Lightfoot and the head of the Fraternal Order of Police continues. Reset goes behind the week’s headlines on the Weekly news Recap.

After weeks at a shelter where no staff members speak their languages, some Afghan refugee children have hurt themselves and others. After a ProPublica investigation, Illinois lawmakers demanded a probe into conditions. Reset checks in with the ProPublica reporter about her investigation.

Pediatricians and pharmacies are preparing for the newest round of COVID shots, which could start being offered in the next few days. About 15 million doses are already being shipped to vaccination sites throughout the country, but some parents still have concerns when it comes to their kids.

Actor and former White House staffer Kal Penn joins Reset to discuss his new memoir, You Can’t Be Serious. The book is a series of funny, awkward and inspiring stories about his life, from his early roles in Hollywood to finding love in Washington D.C. Penn will speak at the Chicago Humanities Fest on Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 at 7 p.m.

Pedro Martinez has been in charge at Chicago Public Schools for a little more than a month, and what a month it’s been. Reset checks in with Martinez about the role schools will play as pediatric COVID-19 vaccines begin to roll out in Chicago as well as other topics like dwindling enrollment and student mental health during the pandemic.

Illinois politicians wrap up the fall legislative session in Springfield by repealing the state’s abortion parental notification law and passing a new Congressional map, as Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger announces he won’t seek reelection. Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s 2022 budget sails through City Council, but she remains at odds with the police union over vaccine mandates.

Reset broadcasts live from the Farm on Ogden in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood. The show will tour the facility, meet staff and community leaders, and learn how healthy food provides physical, mental and spiritual wellness.

John Lithgow’s list of accolades includes two Tonys, six Emmys and two Golden Globes. Now, the veteran actor leads the cast of James Patterson’s latest audio murder mystery The Guilty. The drama is available Oct. 28 on Audible. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on T...

The Chicago Reader started small. But over the decades, the alt-weekly pioneer has influenced and shaped the news ecosystem in Chicago and beyond. Reset reflects on the Reader’s greatest achievements and changes as it marks its 50th anniversary, and asks listeners about their experience with the paper.

Chicago’s inspector general is charged with getting the mayor and city agencies to be transparent, ethical and accountable. Reset talks with the man who held that job for 12 years, overseeing the Daley, Emanuel and Lightfoot administrations.

Legislators are back in Springfield debating Congressional maps, abortion laws and law enforcement changes. And mourners honor Chicago civil rights icon Timuel Black. Reset goes behind the headlines in our Weekly News Recap.

Last year 26,000 students applied to the city’s eleven selective enrollment high schools. Less than five thousand were offered spots. CPS says new changes to the admissions process will promote equity and access. Reset hears from the head of High Jump, a non-profit helping talented low-income middle schoolers prepare and apply for high school.

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced new details about its plan to roll out vaccines for children ages 5 to 11. Reset checks in with a White House reporter and pediatrician for the details.

Illinois’ population declined for the first time ever in the 2020 census, resulting in the loss of a U.S. House seat. Reset examines the new Congressional map drawn up by Illinois Democrats.

The Chicago Sky on Sunday won its first championship and the city’s first basketball title in 20 years. Reset checks in with Cheryl Raye-Stout for the details.

Chicago historian and civil rights activist Timuel Black dies at age 102. Park District CEO Mike Kelly resigns over the city’s lifeguard abuse scandal. Plus, first lady Jill Biden visits Chicago to honor of Hispanic Heritage Month. Reset goes beyond the headlines in our Weekly News Recap with host Sasha-Ann Simons.

Chicago civil rights activist and cultural icon Timuel Black died Tuesday at age 102. He was a historian, teacher, storyteller and music-lover who dedicated his life to ending segregation, voter disenfranchisement and discrimination. Reset pays tribute to the legend and speaks with several people who knew and worked with him.

As Joe Ferguson wraps up his final days as Chicago’s inspector general, he releases two new audits sounding the alarms on fire department response times and City Council finances. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

Reset talks with an epidemiologist whose research powered a pending Congressional bill. The “Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021” links poor maternal health outcomes for Black women to climate change and environmental racism