The Rundown | Chicago News

You’ll still get two newscast episodes every day, with all the latest local news from the WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times newsrooms. Meanwhile, later this fall, host Erin Allen is moving to WBEZ’s Curious City Podcast (subscribe now!), where she’ll find answers to your questions about Chicago, and continue to bring you stories and conversations about the things happening in this wonderful city.

Prosecutors drop charges against a man convicted of murdering Chicago Police Officer Clifton Lewis. A new report shows a drop in the state's infant mortality rate, but data shows racial disparities persist. A program in CPS that mentors at-risk youth to steer them from gun violence seems to be working.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is again sidestepping questions about the future of leadership at Chicago Public Schools. A federal judge is declining to toss out part of the corruption indictment against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. A Cook County judge says a man convicted of the 2011 murder of Chicago Police Officer Clifton Lewis will be released from state prison.

Matt Walsh is one of the many comedians who got his start in Chicago, but his roots are deeper than most.   “I grew up around the South Side of Chicago around 103rd and Kedzie,” Walsh said on the Rundown podcast. “You know, typical city life, running around, hopping fences, throwing snowballs at each other.” Walsh attended Northern Illinois University and lived in Wrigleyville before try...

The longshoreman strike impacting ports out east and south is so far not being felt here in the Chicago area. Local group says the city needs to do more to hold city vendors accountable for environmental impacts. Illinois launches a $5 million marketing campaign to bolster the state’s manufacturing sector.

Students at Illinois State University in downstate Normal are raising concerns for their safety after a shooting over the weekend left one person dead and another person critically injured. Chicago fiction writer Ling Ma and Chicago artist Ebony G. Patterson have won the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. Lonzo Ball is back in action with the Chicago Bulls.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration says it needs more time to figure out how to close a nearly $1 billion dollar budget gap. Illinois last remaining natural lakeshore just got new protections. Chicago’s Tavern on Rush has reopened in the Gold Coast.

Workers at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago have filed to form a union. One real estate adviser tells WBEZ that with interest rates coming down, he expects a hot housing market in Chicago. The Britpop band Oasis is stopping at Soldier Field in 2025.

Lamont Jones wanted to give his daughter a book about bid whist, his favorite card game, but couldn't find one. So he wrote it himself, with the goal of saving a pastime popular in the Black community from generational indifference.  "Bid whist is the ultimate card game," Jones said on the Rundown podcast, "and I believe that if you've not yet experienced bid whist, the world's greatest card...

$44 million will help preserve affordable housing in Uptown, an historic prison in Joliet is ordered empty by today, and Chicago’s International Latino Theater Festival Destinos kicks off today.

On the heels of Hurricane Helene, the Chicago-area will see windy conditions throughout the evening. DuPage County saw a huge jump in people showing up to cast their ballot on its first day of early voting. The Chicago Sky have fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon.

Emmanuel Gomez is the 23-year-old street artist responsible for designing and creating the artwork for Vocalo’s Summer Finale concert last weekend, including a poster with an “ice cream head” of each performer. In today’s episode, Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez talks with Gomez, also known as Clue, about his burgeoning career in art, from his start as a graffiti artist, to his mentorship under acclaimed...

CPS Chief Pedro Martinez is still on the job. A federal judge in Chicago is weighing whether the notorious leader of the Gangster Disciples should have another chance at freedom. The Banned Book Wagon is coming to the Chicago Public Library's Woodson Regional Library today.

Illinois voters take note: an advisory referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot will ask whether individual earnings above $1 million should be hit with a 3% surcharge, to generate revenue that would go toward property tax relief. A hearing for Larry Hoover, the notorious leader of the Gangster Disciples, wrapped up this afternoon in a federal courtroom in Chicago. Former Chicago Bulls superstar Derrick Ro...

The head of Chicago Public School is fighting to keep his job. His contract may help. A new lawsuit about special education in prison could become a class action case. New polling shows widespread support for an Illinois law that prohibits some credit card swipe fees.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is nixing a plan to turn a vacant National Guard armory near Midway into a new police station. The Greater Chicago Food Depository said it distributed more food in the last fiscal year than it has in its 45-year-history. With five games remaining, the White Sox remain tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record of 120 losses in one season.

Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary art has billed itself as a space where new ideas are shown and tested since its inception in 1967. “What many people don't know is we also have a 300-seat theater in the basement of the museum,” said Laura Paige Kyber, the performance curator at the MCA.  The museum will put that theater to use this weekend with the return of its third annual “Chicago Performs...

The Chicago Teachers Union is continuing to lambast the head of Chicago Public Schools as he fights to hold on to his job. Two Springfield insiders are being named as alleged financial winners from a controversial state program. New lawsuits are attempting to get two incarcerated students in Illinois re-enrolled in their college program.

The number of hate crimes against Jewish people increased nationally last year. People who live in Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa on Chicago’s northwest side hope a new ordinance can protect their homes from gentrification. Travelers heading from Chicago to Florida can soon opt to travel by Amtrak.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is trying to find new technology to replace ShotSpotter. Northwestern researchers found that a federal assault weapons ban was effective in preventing mass shootings. The FDA holds a food safety hearing this week – and an Illinois initiative could get some attention.

A report released today says Chicago police are asked to do too much and it’s damaging public safety. Former Chicago Alderperson Ed Burke has reported to federal prison to serve a two-year sentence for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. With six games remaining, The White Sox are now tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season.

Black women are “superlative participators in American democracy,” according to Northwestern professor Sally Nuamah, yet they remain underrepresented in national politics.  “Post-Reconstruction, we've had two elected Black women senators,” Nuamah said. “And at the gubernatorial level, we've had no Black women governors. And then we obviously have had no Black women presidents. If you consider...

A memorial service for deceased Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was standing room only on Sunday. Gun control advocates are confident the courts will uphold an Illinois law banning assault-style firearms. Shotspotter is being dismantled in Chicago as Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to veto a City Council attempt to save the gunshot detection technology.

Sources tell WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has told schools chief Pedro Martinez that he wants him to resign. Chicago is ending use of the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter on Sunday. The Chicago-area is in the midst of a drought.

Vocalo and WBEZ are hosting a party tonight in Millennium Park and, obviously, we hope you check it out.  “This concert is kinda more than a concert,” said Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez, who’s co-hosting the event. “I feel like it is a Chicago homecoming for a lot of artists.” The lineup features DJ Lady D, KAINA, Marquis Hill, Pivot Gang and some surprise special guests.  Co-hosting alongsid...