The Rundown | Chicago News

The father of the man accused of last year’s July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park will spend 60 days in jail for helping his son get a gun permit when he was under age. The Chicago Cubs are hiring former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell as their new manager. A second victim is suing the Chicago Blackhawks for alleged sexual misconduct by former coach Brad Aldrich.

Ayana Contreras is an influential figure in Chicago’s arts, music and history scene. She was an early-career mentor to artists like Chance the Rapper and Noname. She even wrote a book about Black excellence here in Chicago . “Growing up in Chicago and the Chicagoland area and being a Black person, there were so many fairy tales honestly that we heard, but those fairy tales were real,” she said. Sh...

It’s been a long-time coming. Today, the trial of former Alderman Ed Burke begins. In more courtroom news, the trial is expected to get underway for the father of the Highland Park July 4th mass shooting suspect. Members of a Chicago-based medical aid organization are calling on locals to advocate for a humanitarian corridor in Gaza.

Former Northwestern University athletes are calling for an end to racist abuse they say they experienced. Howard Brown Health Workers plan to go on a two-day strike later this month. The Village Board of Oak Park has approved an Emergency Disaster Resolution to provide aid and support to asylum seekers.

The U.S. Senate voted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent last year (the House of Representatives has yet to take up the bill, known as the Sunshine Protection Act ). As we mark another semi-annual clock change, we speak with Dr. James Rowley, the president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, who reminds us of an “experiment” back in 1974 when permanent Daylight Saving Time came and went...

A former Chicago top cop is back in the Police Department. A Chicago City Council meeting ended abruptly over a debate on the city’s sanctuary city status. Congressman Mike Quigley thinks he and his colleagues could soon consider aid to cities to help care for migrants.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said he had “positive” and “productive” conversations in Washington D.C. today about the ongoing migrant crisis. Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin is calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Chicago has five more Michelin-recognized restaurants – in Bucktown, Chinatown, Lincoln Square and Logan Square.

In the 1960s, the Chicago Police Department uncovered and fired officers with ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Now in the 2020s, cops across Chicago and Illinois are dues-paying members of the Oath Keepers, an anti-government group that played a central role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. A WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times investigation looked into these officers, their track records and the countless complaints...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson reaffirmed his stance that officers shouldn’t belong to extremist groups. Governor J-B Pritzker says the state legislature won’t be sending any more money this year to Chicago to help accommodate migrants. A new proposed Chicago elected school board map is out. Lawmakers could vote on it as early as next week.

Families of Israelis taken hostage or killed by Hamas will share their experiences at Jewish community vigils tonight and tomorrow. Chicago City Council delayed a vote on a plan to purchase 6.5 acres of land on the South Side for a city migrant shelter. Chicago has finished its fourth month in a row with a drop in murders compared to last year.

Greta Johnsen is the host of WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast and a known super-reader, regularly knocking out at least a book a week. Rundown host Erin Allen talks with Greta about her favorite fall reads, new and old, where to find them (hey Libby!) and what a poll of readers is consuming right now. Here’s just a few of the many recommendations in this episode: “ Happiness Falls ” by Angie Kim (2023) “ W...

A measure asking Chicago voters whether they want to increase a tax on the sale of high-end properties is one step closer to appearing on the March ballot. Cook County Health plans to spend less on expensive temporary workers. An Illinois state lawmaker is hoping to crack down on emerging threats from AI technology.

A 48-year-old man faces felony charges for allegedly wounding 15 people in a shooting at a Halloween party early Sunday morning. Doctor Erik Mikaitis is named the interim CEO of Cook County Health. Chicago will host the 2025 Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress.

This spooky season, we want to share a very real ghost story. The Lozano family moved into their East Pilsen home when it was newly built, and no one has died there since. Still, they’re convinced a spirit lives among them. They hear footsteps on the stairs, see shadows under doors and experience unexplainable phenomena. Enter reporters Adriana Cardona-Maguigad and Mauricio Peña. They gamely took...

A suburban Chicago landlord charged with murdering a Palestinian American boy pleads not guilty. State test scores show continued gaps in performance between racial and ethnic groups, despite impressive growth overall. Students at UChicago and across the country are calling on their universities to divest from the fossil fuel industry.

A Chicago City Council committee approved buying land on the city’s South Side to open a shelter for migrants. A man has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the fatal stabbing of a young Palestinian American boy. Expect some snow this Halloween.

Flora and fauna from all types of climates, available to bask in – in Chicago – year round. The Garfield Park Conservatory is a special place. “The first impression is just overwhelming,” said Jennifer Van Valkenburg, the president and CEO of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.  In this episode, Van Valkenburg offers up reasons you should visit and spots you shouldn’t miss. She also talk...

Homeowners in the north and northwest suburbs should brace for sticker shock as their property tax bills arrive. City officials want to purchase the site of a vacant Morgan Park Jewel-Osco to turn into a shelter for migrants. The deadline to apply for federal flood relief for this past summer’s rainstorms is tonight (Monday).

A suburban foundation plans to send a million hot meals to Gaza. A northwest Illinois sheriff defends a cop who joined an anti-government extremist group. Another Chicago cyclist was hit and killed by a car.

You know Chicago is the country's rattiest city – at least according to Orkin, who just gave us that distinction for the ninth straight year – but did you also know it’s one of the feral-cattiest? Chicago has thousands of outdoor cats, as well as thousands of humans who care for them.  “Probably over 3,000 caretakers in the city taking care of I don’t even know how many cats, cats we don’t ev...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is defending a contract extension with a Kansas company to staff migrant shelters. The iconic South Side Brown Sugar Bakery opened its new manufacturing facility yesterday. Chicago City Council members want to see a new proposed Department of Environment have enforcement powers.

Arson fires are an issue across Chicago, according to a new WBEZ analysis. Unionized part-time faculty at Columbia College Chicago plan to strike Monday if a contract deal isn’t reached by then. Even as some high schools in Chicago struggle with low enrollment, a high school community on the far southwest side is asking for overcrowding relief.

Chicago elected its first-ever police district councils earlier this year, and people around the country are watching. The councils put police accountability in the hands of neighborhood residents and could inspire similar models in other cities—depending on how they fare. For the 65 council members across 22 districts, the first challenge is getting residents to show up and share their input. WBE...

We have an update on how things are going with a new effort in Cook County to locate missing people. It’s onto the state Senate for a measure allowing Illinois legislative employees to unionize. The city’s human relations commission says Chicago has seen an uptick in reported hate crimes.

Two Chicago police officers killed in the line of duty will be honored tonight. Chicago officials are assessing a site in Brighton Park on the South Side as a possible base camp to house 2,000 migrants. Bat sightings are on the rise in Chicago, and not just because of Halloween.