The Rundown | Chicago News

Chicago is a hotbed for innovation in music and has long drawn crowds for concerts and festivals. This year is no exception. From the Sueños Festival in Grant Park during Memorial Day weekend to Babyface Ray and Rico Nasty concerts, the concert season is already up and running. In this episode, we talk to freelance music writer Alejandro Hernandez about his guide to the best spring concerts around...

A proposal to use the former South Shore High School to house migrants is getting major pushback from residents. Illinois’ attorney general is taking a close look at pension payments for one of the convicted “ComEd Four.” Revenue forecasters for the state are worried about a looming recession.

Fred Waller will serve as Chicago’s interim police superintendent while the city searches for a permanent hire. Chicago and Cook County leaders continue looking for ways to manage the number of migrants in the city. Illinois lawmakers are combatting book bans.

Chicago has had a heavy metal problem for decades. The city is home to more lead service lines – those are the pipes that carry your tap water the final few meters into your home – than any other major metropolitan area in the country. That means that dangerous lead seeps into the water for hundreds of thousands of residents, often unknowingly . The issue has gone unresolved over multiple mayoral...

Four former executives and lobbyists at ComEd were found guilty on every count they faced related to a wide-ranging government bribery scheme. Members of the newly-elected Police District Councils were sworn in yesterday. Two dozen employees in the Illinois House Speaker’s office want to unionize.

Conditions are not good for migrants living temporarily in police station lobbies. Gun sales are up while Illinois’ assault weapons ban is on pause. The deadline is May 10 for creative workers hit hard by the pandemic eligible for the state’s Back 2 Business grants.

In advance of the 2024 election, Chicago Public Media is launching a new initiative,The Democracy Solutions Project, where journalists from WBEZ and The Chicago Sun-Times dig into the big themes and questions surrounding democracy in the United States. Expect installments of the project to appear from both outlets, in partnership with The University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government. We...

Chicago is struggling to provide care for the thousands of migrants who have been arriving in the city since August. Incoming Mayor Brandon Johnson’s team is preparing to take over. A federal judge in southern Illinois temporarily blocked enforcement of the assault weapons ban.

WBEZ’s Spring Culture Guide has everything you need to say goodbye to winter in style, and we’re rounding up our favorite recommendations from the guide. In today’s episode: visual art, theater and opera. It’s always tough to know which shows and exhibits are worth your time. So host Erin Allen sat down with WBEZ producer and curator Julia Binswanger and producer Sarah Stark to talk about the prod...

A wide majority of parents in Chicago think their children are on track at school, but that's not the case. Chicago daytime talkshow host Jerry Springer died yesterday. The Chicago Bears selected Tennessee offensive tackle Darnell Wright with the No. 10 overall pick in the NFL draft.

A bill sponsored by Illinois Democrats would put guardrails on Crisis Pregnancy Centers and has led anti-abortion protesters and Republican lawmakers to speak out. A West Side school serving students with autism abruptly announced it will close at the end of the school year. A physician at University of Illinois Health says men are living about six years fewer than women because they have to get d...

There’s a weird discrepancy in the field of particle physics: basically, it’s unclear why we all exist. All the matter and antimatter particles produced during the Big Bang should have annihilated one another, according to Sam Zeller, a physicist at Fermilab in Batavia, Illinois. But our presence on Earth – as well as the presence of Earth, and everything else – is evidence that didn’t happen. In...

Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx is not running for re-election. Jury deliberations continue today in the ComEd trial. And the NFL draft kicks off tomorrow.

Cannabis production programs are popping up at Illinois’ colleges and universities. Local advocacy groups are holding a summit today to encourage landlords to rent to people who were in prison. An Illinois Senate council will meet today to discuss mandating full day kindergarten state wide.

Ọmọlará Mino is a social worker and educator from Englewood whose goal is to connect Black students with their African roots. “It’s all with the idea of us reclaiming our history, reclaiming our truths, reclaiming parts of ourselves that we’ve been taken away from,” she says. Mino is also a musician known artistically as Omo Nyame. As part of the “Chi Sounds Like” series from WBEZ’s sister station...

Illinois abortion providers say they are relieved by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that preserves widespread access to a key abortion pill — for now. Chicago's incoming mayor says developing more affordable housing will be a priority under his administration. Local clergy led a march over the weekend to show support for Chicago’s youth.

Eddie Sanders, Eric “Phero” Lopez and Pilar McQuirter founded The New Vanguard , a coalition of BIPOC creators, during the pandemic. Not long after, Chelsey Carter-Sanders entered the mix. She’s a prolific, Chicago-based fashion designer and founder of the Alex Carter brand. Plus, if you clocked that last name, she and Eddie are married. Chelsey’s debut art exhibit is part of “Creatives of Color,”...

Chicago’s interim police superintendent announced he will retire the same day Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson takes office. Chicago parents hoping to prevent more downtown chaos have a new way to be notified of mass youth gatherings. A study by DePaul University makes the case for why Chicago needs to keep its downtown Greyhound Bus station from closing.

For the first time in Illinois, about 100 cannabis workers from three dispensaries under the same company umbrella went to the picket lines. Chicago Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson spent time in Springfield to start building relationships with Illinois lawmakers. Chicago Park District officials are “extremely disturbed” to learn how their employees have allegedly defrauded a federal pandemic-aid progr...

Twenty years ago, Illinois developed a safety net for children from low-income families who are in a mental health crisis. It’s called Screening, Assessment and Support Services, or SASS. After a six-month investigation, WBEZ found the program isn’t working for thousands of children. WBEZ reporters Sarah Karp and Kristen Schorsch catch us up on what’s happened since their initial reporting and loo...

The CTA’s bus and train tracking technology needs an update. Chicago’s budget gap has narrowed significantly since the start of the pandemic. A state miscalculation is casting uncertainty over funding for after school programs serving thousands of kids.

City officials weigh in on what Chicago should do to prevent violent incidents downtown. New White House emissions restrictions mean more electric vehicles and expanding public charging stations in Illinois. Arts and culture has been the leading driver in downtown’s post pandemic recovery according to a new report.

WBEZ’s Spring Culture Guide has everything you need to say goodbye to winter in style, and we’re rounding up our favorite recommendations from the guide. In this episode: Chicago for the dance-curious. Whether you’re into ballet, hip-hop, or anything in between—including the Chicago-born hybrid “hiplet”—WBEZ external editor Cassie Walker Burke has got you covered.

Despite protests, Walmart moved ahead with its plan to close four of its stores in Chicago. Hundreds of teens gathered downtown over the weekend where crowds were dancing, stomping on cars and two teens were shot. Striking faculty at Chicago State University reached a tentative agreement with the school.

First it was faculty at University of Illinois Chicago. Now professors at Chicago State and Governor’s State are on the picket lines. What’s behind these faculty strikes and how is it affecting students? WBEZ’s higher education reporter Lisa Philip explains how low pay, small budgets and politics got us here, and what we can expect next.