WBEZ News

University researchers have been left in limbo by federal funding freezes ordered by the Trump administration. This includes medical researchers here in Chicago who have spent decades digging into critical public health problems. HOST: MELBA

Sueños is one of the largest Latin music festivals in the country. It’s known for its reggaeton music and bringing Latin artists from across the globe to Grant Park in Chicago. But the city’s influence on the festival may be causing a shift in its identity.

This month, a new play premiered in Chicago that offered audiences a glimpse into the experiences of foster children. The show Alex in Windyland was co-written by children who are in the foster care system …. and it encouraged theatre-goers to take action after watching. WBEZ contributor Adora Namigadde takes us inside Filament Theatre on the Northwest Side. HOST: DIXON

The Chicago Housing Authority has a brand new Healthy Homes Division. The team will help address environmental issues like lead, mold and air quality for more than 30 thousand public housing residents. WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang sat down with the group’s new leader – Elizabeth Poole — to discuss what this new department means for CHA. HOST: DIXON

A research project at the University of Illinois could find a new homegrown source for sustainable fuel for air travel. HOST: MELBA

This week, Homeland Security officials are ramping up enforcement actions across the United States, arresting immigrants who show up to their court hearings. Chicago’s immigration court downtown was no exception. WBEZ’s immigration reporter Adriana Cardona Maguigad has more. HOST: MELBA

Sueños starts tomorrow. The Latin music festival is considered the unofficial start of Chicago’s busy summer event season. But at least one alderperson has raised the question of whether Chicago should do more to secure its large festivals. WBEZ arts reporter Courtney Kueppers is here to talk about that HOST: LABUZ

The Chicago Blackhawks have named Jeff Blashill (BLASH-uhl) as the team’s new head coach. WBEZ producer Noah Jennings sat down with sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout to learn more about the Hawks’ new coach. HOST: MELBA

Only three times in the history of music has the classical world convened to celebrate the composer Gustav Mahler. An invitation to play at Mahler Fest is a big deal. Last week, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra received a 10-minute standing ovation there for their rendition of Mahler’s Seventh. WBEZ contributor Hannah Edgar filed this dispatch from Amsterdam. HOST: DIXON

Chicagoans with student debt are feeling whiplash and extreme confusion under President Donald Trump. Trump has called previous efforts to ease the burden of student debt “illegal” — and is closing pathways to affordable repayment and cancellation. WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip has the story of a longtime resident of Little Village who is trying to navigate what she calls– all this “noise.” HOST: DIXO...

President Donald Trump is going after student borrowers. He’s called past efforts at student debt relief “illegal.” And he’s ramping up efforts to collect unpaid educational debt. The new approach has some Chicagoans feeling stressed…and hopeless. WBEZ's Lisa Kurian Philip brings you the story of one man who went back to school to gain financial security. But the loans he borrowed to pay for it ar...

A haul of precious artifacts once housed in the state’s Abraham Lincoln presidential museum will be hitting the auction block this week. But the famed Lincoln collector who originally owned the items is telling WBEZ exclusively she’s appalled to see the prized Lincoln relics be – in her words – “dispensed to the wind.” WBEZ’s Dave McKinney has more. HOST: MELBA

TPS allows eligible non-citizens to live and work in the U.S without fear of getting deported. The court’s decision allows the Trump administration to end TPS protections for some Venezuelans while the case moves through the appeals process. The termination came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to move forward with plans to end the program for a specific group o...

Earlier this month, a festival dedicated to the composer Gustav Mahler brought some of the world’s best orchestras under one roof. Chicago’s own symphony was there, marking a first for an American orchestra. WBEZ contributor Hannah Edgar filed this dispatch from Amsterdam after talking to festival fans …. and Mahler’s granddaughter. HOST: DIXON

About 25,000 Chicago Public Schools students were absent for more than a month last year, according to a new analysis by WBEZ and Chalkbeat. Sarah Karp went to one Southwest Side high school where the new principal is trying to tackle this staggering problem. HOST: LARA

For the past nine months, some people who were arrested protesting the war in Gaza during the Democratic National Convention have been battling their cases in court. MELBA

The man known here as Father Bob Prevost will be formally installed as Pope Leo the 14th on Sunday during an inaugural mass at Saint Peter’s Square. Cathleen Falsani is a former Chicagoan and long-time religion journalist who is covering the papal transition. She spoke to WBEZ host Mary Dixon this morning from Rome. HOST: LANE

Chicago Public School leaders often boast about the district’s record high graduation rate. But that single data point obscures a more troubling trend: An investigation by WBEZ and Chalkbeat finds that one in four high school students missed more than a month of school last year. HOST: KARP

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments today [Thursday] over President Donald Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship. In Illinois, parents who lack U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residency will be watching anxiously. WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad reports. HOST: LANE

The classical music world is gathering in Amsterdam this week for the third edition of the Mahler Festival. The celebration of the Bohemian-born, Romantic composer Gustav Mahler has drawn classical music fans from around the world. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is performing tonight, marking the first time a North American Orchestra is participating. WBEZ contributor Hannah Edgar is attending the...

President Donald Trump’s targeting of Northwestern University has gotten a lot of attention. And with good reason – federal officials froze nearly 800-million dollars in funding for the Evanston school. But on the other side of Chicago, in the Far South Side neighborhood of Roseland, Chicago State University is feeling the effects of Trump’s attacks too. The public college is the only one in the s...

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel appeared to tease a national talk show audience that he’s flirting with running for president in 2028. On ABC’s 'The View,' Emanuel said he is “in training” for a White House bid but didn’t know if he’d “make the Olympics.” Emanuel’s remarks come one day after Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker hinted that the former mayor may have an eye on the state Executive Mansion if...

Tens of thousands of Chicago-area residents rely on federal rental assistance through the Housing Choice Voucher program -- also known as Section 8 -- to pay for rent in the private market. But multiple complaints and lawsuits in recent months charge landlords with discrimination against this program, despite local and state laws to prevent that. HOST: LANE

Dan Sullivan is a Chicago furniture maker, gallery owner and musician whose creative impulses take him in many directions. His latest album, with his band NadNavillus, is called “Upper Constant.” WBEZ contributor Alison Cuddy sat down with Sullivan to walk through the project, starting with the title track. HOST: DIXON

Even though Illinois Governor J-B Pritzker is being coy about his political future, there’s a widening view in Springfield that he’ll seek a third term. But there’s also a question about whether he should seek re-election if he’s also eying a 2028 bid for the White House. WBEZ’s Dave McKinney has more. HOST: DIXON