The Rundown | Chicago News

Octavia Butler loved science fiction as a child, but she never saw any versions of herself depicted in the traditionally white, male genre. “So at about 14 she said, ‘Well, I guess I have to write myself in,’” said Candace Hunter, the creator of a new Butler exhibit at the Hyde Park Art Center. “And she did. And she did it to much applause and much fanfare.”  Butler became one of the most cel...

U.S. Steel is laying off workers at its downstate Granite City, Illinois plant, but there are no such downsizing plans for its steel mill in Gary. Home care and child care workers are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker for increased wages and a pathway to retirement. An AI chatbot is helping local renters address housing issues.

A lawsuit seeks to block Northwestern University from hosting concerts at its stadium. New seating protocols for Chicago City Council meetings spark backlash from good government and civil rights advocates. The Illinois Air National Guard will name its first Black general in the organization's history.

Anna DeShawn grew up in a religious household on the South Side, where she says she “had no connection to queerness.” Once she reached adulthood, she saw a need for more coverage of LGBTQ+ issues. And in 2009, she founded E3 Radio to start telling those stories. She was ready to be a radio personality. “Black women in radio from Chicago, it's a pretty lit lineup,” DeShawn said. “I didn't grow up t...

Jurors heard some of the most infamous secret recordings of former Chicago alderman Ed Burke. A new online tool provides a complete look at kids in each community area in Chicago. Meta officially opens its new data center in DeKalb.

United and American Airlines are asking Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to scale back expansion plans at O'Hare Airport. The Chicago City Council is tightening public access amid a slew of chaotic meetings. Faculty at Second City Chicago may soon go on strike.

One of the most jarring political pieces on display at the new exhibit, “Faith Ringgold: American People,” depicts the stars of the American flag reading the word “DIE” and the stripes reading the n-word. Titled “Flag For The Moon,” the piece briefly got the artist arrested for flag desecration when she displayed it in 1970. “She felt the American government – what they were communicating to Black...

Construction of a Brighton Park base camp for migrants is underway despite an environmental study’s findings not made public. Former Chicago Alderman – turned government mole – Danny Solis’ voice played throughout a federal courtroom as Ed Burke’s trial continues. It’s been unseasonably cold outside the past few days, but climate experts say the Chicago area may be in for a milder winter than aver...

Construction may begin on a Brighton Park base camp to shelter migrants as soon as tomorrow. The federal corruption trial of former Alderman Ed Burke continues. A Chicago Sun-Times investigation finds used car dealers across the country are selling vehicles that have unaddressed safety recalls.

Director Andrew Davis has made films set in deserts and at sea. But when he directs movies based in cities, he always tries to bring them to Chicago. “I understood the city,” he said. “And I understood the fabric of how to get something to look tough, or look slick, or look classy.” Davis grew up in Chicago. You may know him for “The Fugitive,” but he started his career with a different Chicago-ba...

Causes behind the recent surge of train accidents in Chicago. Incumbents in Illinois’ congressional delegation are facing challenges from within their own parties after campaign season opened yesterday. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is commending Chicago for handling what he calls an “unmanageable” influx of asylum seekers.

Chicago’s controversial plan to build a tent city to shelter migrants in the Brighton Park neighborhood is on hold until a final environmental impact report is done. Just one person has filed to run to replace Kim Foxx as Cook County’s top prosecutor. The Bears take on the Vikings tonight on Monday Night Football following last week’s late collapse against the Detroit Lions.

The village of Oak Park has taken in about 160 migrants that were living in Chicago. A nonprofit in St. Louis wants to resettle hundreds if not thousands more. “There’s a tremendous need for employees,” said Jerry Schlichter, a civic leader and attorney in St. Louis. “If you look around the country at cities that are growing, it’s primarily from immigrants and children of immigrants. That’s what w...

The November 2024 elections are still a year away, but the political season leading up to that vote officially gets underway today. Some City Council members want to see a pilot guaranteed basic income program become permanent. And officials are encouraging Chicagoans to buy local this holiday season.

The co-owner of Calumet Fisheries on Chicago’s Southeast Side says they intend to rebuild after a fire earlier this week. Members of the Chicago Bears served traditional Venezuelan fare to nearly 200 asylum-seeking Venezuelan migrants ahead of Thanksgiving. The city of Chicago plans to open its warming centers this week when temperatures drop to 32 degrees or below.

Lauren Viera’s new city guide to Chicago doesn’t read like a typical guidebook – no 72-hour itineraries or explanatory advice on how to ride the CTA.  “ The 500 Hidden Secrets of Chicago ” is mostly just lists of unique places. Five dance clubs, five farmers markets, five nature outings, five small museums, five high-end cocktail bars, five city myths – totalling up to 500.  “I'm not a f...

AAA recommends departing for Thanksgiving travel before 2 p.m. or after 6 p.m., and other travel tips. A Chicago group focused on helping formerly incarcerated people has found that cash pilots can help with housing instability and health. The Chicago Bears came up short on Sunday – but the team won the hearts of Venezuelan migrants who they served lunch to.

The Village of Oak Park voted narrowly to reallocate unused COVID recovery funds to shelter about 160 Venezuelan migrants through early February. The owner of about 150 Illinois Burger Kings has taken the witness stand in the corruption trial of former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke. The zones where flowers and vegetables across Illinois can survive and thrive are shifting.

For Thanksgiving, the food may be taken care of, but what about the feels? Jordan Wimby AKA “The Melanin Martha” is a chef and culinary preservationist. She talks to host Erin Allen about prioritizing identity, community and healing when you’re cooking and creating space during the holiday season.

Colleagues remember fallen Chicago firefighter Andrew Price as one of their department’s “very best.” Evanston’s mayor cast the tie breaking vote to greenlight Northwestern University’s $800 million football stadium rebuild. We hear one of the secretly recorded phone calls of former alderman Ed Burke played at his corruption trial yesterday.

The Chicago Fire Department says one person is dead after a freight train struck a FedEx semi-truck Monday morning. Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke read the riot act to a Field Museum employee after his goddaughter didn’t hear back about an internship. Federal officials say the CTA Yellow Line train that crashed into a snowplow last week should have had a longer braking distance.

A young gay man named Matthew Shepard was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming, in 1998. Over a decade later, Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Sean Fader wanted to document the lives and deaths of LGBTQ+ people who were killed in that decade. He drove thousands of miles around the country to photograph sites of murders, and he has collected those photos in...

Mourners will gather for the funeral of the Chicago firefighter who died in the line of duty last week. Chicago officials say increased case management will help ensure migrants don’t end up homeless in the face of new limits on shelter stays. Jurors in the federal corruption trial of former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke are expected to start getting an earful of wiretapped phone conversations this we...

Former Chicago Alderman Ed Burke and his two co-defendants presented their opening statements at federal court. Cook County prosecutors say they will no longer let 10 Chicago cops testify in criminal cases after they signed up for an extremist group. The CTA Yellow Line train crash that injured 38 people yesterday occurred when a faster moving Yellow Line passenger train ran into a slower moving s...

When Jessica Alvarado Gamez moved to Chicago earlier this year, she drove around to get her bearings. She couldn’t help noticing how close she came to cyclists. “I can easily go into the painted bike lanes,” she said. Some Chicago cyclists have observed the same problem, resulting in the refrain, “paint is not protection.” Alvarado Gamez is WBEZ’s Roy Howard fellow. She focuses on data reporting,...