The Rundown | Chicago News

A months-long investigation found strong evidence of hazing on Northwestern University’s football team. The particulars of the investigation were enough for university president Michael Schill to place the team’s head coach Pat Fitzgerald on a two-week suspension. Then, student reporters got involved. The Daily Northwestern published detailed accounts of sexual abuse from an anonymous former playe...

A citizen panel sent Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson three finalists for police superintendent. Northwestern Medicine has new findings from a study looking at long COVID that show people are still suffering. Cleanup continues after severe weather blew through the region this week.

Severe weather made its way through the Chicago area Wednesday night, including confirmed tornadoes. A Northwestern researcher found evidence of underground climate change in Chicago’s Loop. Precious Brady-Davis is now the first Black transgender appointee to a public office in Cook County history.

People who used federal food assistance and healthcare programs received expanded benefits during the coronavirus pandemic. But now that the pandemic emergency declaration is over, people are starting to feel the effects of a return to the status quo. That means fewer people qualify for Medicaid – the federal healthcare program for low-income individuals. And families on SNAP – the Supplemental Nu...

Gov. JB Pritzker issued a disaster proclamation related to the flooding over the July 4th weekend, and we have more rain expected this week. Northwestern University professors urge the school to pump the brakes on new football stadium plans. Street closures will continue to impact downtown.

Northwestern University fired head coach Pat Fitzgerald. The head of the union for rank-and-file Chicago officers is urging an end to rumors about an investigation of alleged sexual misconduct involving West Side officers and at least one migrant. Chicago’s North and Northwest Sides are seeing the biggest decline in affordable rental housing.

Cornbread dressing. Baked mac and cheese. Jamaican fried dumplings. Soul food is absolutely delicious, and National Soul Food Month – the soul food celebration that takes place every June – was founded by Chicagoan Charla Draper , the former food editor at Ebony Magazine. WBEZ producer Cianna Greaves recently broke bread with Draper. So, we had to talk with Greaves about the importance of soul foo...

Migrants have been moved from the 10th District police station following allegations of sexual misconduct against officers. The state of Illinois is using $40 billion to tackle improvements around many modes of transportation. Northwestern University is considering even more penalties after suspending its football coach due to evidence of hazing by players.

It’s a challenging moment to be an immigrant in the United States. Some elected officials run on anti-immigration platforms, and new policies are targeting undocumented workers. With their very existence up for debate, immigrants have a lot at stake. In this episode, we discuss how immigrants participate in democracy. Naturalized citizens are able to take part in formal ways, like voting. But perm...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has a 223-page report filled with policy proposals to wade through after his transition committee released it Thursday. Illinois has a chance to improve its troubled prison healthcare. Chicago police are investigating allegations that multiple officers had sexual relations with migrants sleeping at police stations - including a claim an officer impregnated a teen girl...

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s picks for the Chicago Board of Education are steeped in grassroot organizing and advocacy. Business owners downtown are saying they saw mixed results during the recent NASCAR race weekend. A new Illinois law requires landlords to accept any type of rent payment – including cash.

Last week, the Supreme Court issued two rulings with big implications in the world of higher education. First, they ruled that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were unconstitutional, effectively ending affirmative action at colleges nationwide. The next day, they ruled that an executive action by President Joe Biden – one that would have canceled u...

Fourth of July looked different in suburban Highland Park, which spent the day marking one year since a deadly mass shooting. Chicago officials are taking inventory of recent damage caused by torrential rainfall and flooding. Millions in state funding will be made available to help people navigate the court system in Cook County.

Highland Park’s 2022 4th of July parade kicked off on a beautiful morning. But it wasn’t long before a shooter opened fire on the festivities. The mass shooting resulted in seven deaths and left 48 other parade goers injured. A year later, the community is coming together to process. Mayor Nancy Rotering has become an outspoken advocate for gun control, including the assault weapons ban that has s...

The Chicago area saw record rainfall over the weekend, followed by flash flooding. The rain caused problems for NASCAR. More than a million student loan borrowers in Illinois asked for loan forgiveness through a Biden administration plan and the Supreme Court struck it down.

Where are the queer spaces outside of Northalsted for those who either cannot or don’t want to trek to Lake View? Adam Rhodes is a training director at Investigative Reporters and Editors and a former social justice reporter at The Chicago Reader, where they covered the Northalsted community during its period of recent tumult. On today’s episode, they talk about the history of Chicago’s main gay e...

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down affirmative action, local professors and state officials react. Wildfires, NASCAR and Independence Day celebrations have experts wondering how Chicago’s air quality will be over the next several days. There are now six remaining candidates under consideration to be Chicago’s next police superintendent.

We could get a break from unhealthy levels of air quality soon. The Cook County Juvenile Detention Center is facing questions over its use of physical restraint in the facility’s school. Chicago emergency officials are setting up a new security system ahead of NASCAR this weekend.

Chicago now has nine city council members who identify as LGBTQ+, and they’re working together as the “LGBT Caucus.” It’s the largest of its kind in the country, according to Block Club Chicago reporter Jake Wittich. He spoke with all of them, and in this episode of The Rundown he explains the humble beginnings of Chicago city council’s LGBT Caucus and what it hopes to accomplish with its newfound...

Chicago’s air quality Tuesday was among the worst in the world, and it’s not getting much better. The CTA received $25 million in federal money to advance its electric bus fleet. Local health officials want to bring attention to a rising rate of maternal mortality in Cook County.

A WBEZ analysis shows Chicago Public Schools still has ongoing lead paint remediation projects, despite saying the work is done. Chicago leaders are hosting budget town halls to get feedback from residents. Cook County prosecutors have dropped murder charges for Carlishia Hood and her son.

The Chicago Sun-Times announced a new policy earlier this month that allows people who have appeared in its news coverage to ask for a review – and possibly have those stories removed from internet searches. Sun-Times executive editor Jennifer Kho says the policy is a response to the permanence of the internet and Chicago’s history of unjust arrests. “At the Sun-Times,” Kho wrote when the policy w...

An Illinois health care coverage program for kids loses millions in federal matching dollars due to clerical errors. An Illinois lawmaker wants a new ticket tax to help communities hosting major music festivals. Migrants in Chicago say they’re getting better treatment at police stations than they would at city shelters.

The WBEZ Summer 250 is live! It’s our interactive guide to 250 (and counting) activities in the Chicago area this season. Stopping by to explain what’s inside the guide are WBEZ editor Cassie Walker Burke, who curated the content for the guide, and WBEZ visual producer Andjela Padejski, who designed the product experience.

Illinois Medicaid providers are encouraging customers to renew their coverage plans. Three Metra stations on Chicago’s South Side are getting major upgrades that’ll make them more accessible to people with disabilities. Cook County is seeking resident input on ways to improve biking around Lake Calumet.