WBEZ News

In Chicago, if you were to be shot today - you’d be more likely to die from your injuries than you would have been 13 years ago. That’s the finding of a new report from nonprofit news outlet The Trace. It’s a stunning reversal of long-term trends, in which faster response times and better medical care had for years improved the chances of surviving a gunshot. Reporter Rita Oceguera from The Trace...

Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet is having an unprecedented fall. An exhibit in New York is raising the dance company’s profile in that city. And at home, the Joffrey is preparing to stage the US premiere of a brand-new ballet. WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers took a trip to the company’s State Street studios to learn more. HOST: DIXON

Chicago's major league baseball teams wrapped up disappointing seasons yesterday (Sun). The Cubs lost to the Reds 3-nothing. They finished the season with an 83-and-79 record and didn't make the playoffs. The White Sox ended on a win, beating the Tigers 9-5. But they broke the modern record for losses over the weekend to finish with 41 wins and 121 losses. Here to break down what went wrong this s...

White Sox fans turned out yesterday (Thur) even though their team came close to having the worst MLB season in history. That record will have to wait for now, the White Sox swept the Los Angeles Angels with a 7 to 0 win yesterday (Thur). WBEZ’s Araceli Gomez-Aldana went out to Guaranteed Rate Field to see how the fans were feeling. HOST: LARA

Beach season is…. over ….. Or ... is it? Lake Michigan had one of its hottest summers on record. And as Climate Change drives warmer temperatures throughout the region, Chicagoans took full advantage of it. WBEZ’s Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco headed out to the lake on a recent Saturday and came back with this story. HOST: DIXON

Art has a way of broadening understanding despite differences in language and culture. A new play about a Venezuelan migrant and his journey to Chicago offers an intimate account of the risks that many asylum seekers face in their quest for better opportunities. WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad has more. HOST: DIXON

The head of Chicago Public Schools is acknowledging that Mayor Brandon Johnson has asked him to resign. But in an unprecedented move, he is refusing. Now the spotlight is turning to the Board of Education. That’s who the CPS CEO works for. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp has been looking at the CEO’s contract and his relationship with the board. She’s here to tell us what she found. HOST: LARA

The Pulse Theater company was cofounded in 2014 by Chicago native Aaron Reese Boseman. Like many storefront theater companies in the city, Pulse has faced several challenges, like financial setbacks and the ongoing pandemic. WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis was recently in the audience for the theater's current production, Beneath the Willow Tree. He spoke with Boseman about the founding of the Bl...

Chicago is the home of house, with the genre’s creation starting in the Southside 40 years ago. While the genre has spread across the world, its roots remain strong in Chicago. In the early hours of the morning on Chicago's northside, a sunrise set is being played. At the edge of Montrose Pier, afro-groove house music is played to over a crowd of 100 people, looking to start their day with house b...

Chicago’s first school board elections are November 5th. Voters will choose 10 board members from districts covering every Chicago neighborhood. It’s an historic election and WBEZ, the Sun-Times and our partner Chalkbeat Chicago are out today with a comprehensive voter guide. It includes detailed biographies of the candidates, their answers to lots of school-related questions and more. WBEZ Engage...

A new exhibit at the former Stony Island Trust and Savings Bank pays tribute to the Johnson Publishing Company – the now-defunct Chicago-based media group behind Ebony and Jet magazines. It’s been put together by Chicago artist Theaster Gates, who has been preserving the archives that make up the exhibit. He sat down with WBEZ Rundown podcast host Erin Allen to discuss how he came into possession...

The United States has seen a large increase in voter participation in the last three presidential elections. Indicators point to a high number of voters turning out again in November. While the U-S is riding a surge of voter participation, we still lag behind other nations with mandatory voting like Turkey, Uruguay and Australia. What is the political landscape like in a country where everyone vot...

Voting is mandatory in Australia, and nationwide, 90 percent of eligible voters cast ballots in federal elections. But in many remote Aboriginal communities in the country’s vast Northern Territory, turnout is much, much lower. As part of our Democracy Solutions Project, WBEZ’s Dan Tucker visited the community of Yuendumu deep in the Australian bush to understand why voting falls so far below the...

The Chicago Sky’s season ended last night with an 87-54 loss to the Connecticut Sun. After nabbing superstar rookies Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in the draft, the Sky closed out the season with a disappointing 13 and 27 record. WBEZ sports Contributor Cheryl Raye Stout joins me now to discuss what next for the team. HOST: DIXON

The Englewood Jazz Festival kicks off today, and it’s celebrating its 25th anniversary. Legendary saxophonist Ernest Dawkins is the festival’s founder and director. He sat down with WBEZ Rundown podcast host Erin Allen to discuss what attendees can expect to see – including his jazz-poetry tribute to Paul Robeson that will be performed at the festival. HOST: DIXON

A deteriorating, 100-year-old state prison near Joliet is finally closing. Stateville Correctional Center is in such bad shape that a state-commissioned study declared it nearly inoperable. But it’s also become a hub for prison programming and education in Illinois. There are plans to eventually build new facilities at the same site… But first, WBEZ asked four people who were incarcerated at State...

Chicago’s contract for the gunshot detection system known as ShotSpotter is due to expire on Sunday. That would fulfill a campaign promise by Mayor Brandon Johnson to pull the plug. Some City Council members today are trying to compel his administration to extend the ShotSpotter contract. They’ve sided with a former CPD superintendent and the company that provides ShotSpotter. They all say the tec...

Last year was an exceedingly difficult one for navigating college admissions. A monumental breakdown in the financial aid process ground down students, parents – and even the most dedicated high school counselors. WBEZ’s Lisa Kurian Philip shadowed one as he faced the year from hell. HOST: DIXON

The play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered in London and had a successful run in New York. Now, the show's national tour is kicking off with over five months of shows in Chicago at the James M. Nederlander Theatre. WBEZ’s Mike Davis takes us behind the scenes. HOST: DIXON

Nearly half of all Chicago public schools have only one opening for an arts teacher and some of those are not filled yet. Leaders from the school district and Chicago Teachers Union are calling for more robust arts education. But there’s a debate about what is enough and how much CPS can afford. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp takes us to a theater class at one northwest side elementary school where students sp...

Immigration is a central issue in this year’s presidential election. And anti-immigrant rhetoric and misinformation is exacerbating long-standing tensions over scarce city services and job opportunities. But some groups are trying to change that through community dialogues, particularly among Black and Latino residents. WBEZ’s Adriana Cardona Maguigad went to a recent event aimed at bridging these...

For the first time in over a decade Chicagoans can celebrate Mexican Independence Day at a sanctioned downtown event. El Grito Chicago is a two-day festival taking place in Grant Park Saturday and Sunday. WBEZ’s Araceli Gomez-Aldana spoke to event organizer Korina Sanchez ahead of the celebration. HOST: DIXON

Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events has seen a staff turnover of about 18% in the six months since Mayor Brandon Johnson appointed Clinee Hedspeth as commissioner. Some city cultural advisors are concerned about the impact on the department responsible for major events like Taste of Chicago and the Chicago Jazz Festival. WBEZ reporter Courtney Kueppers has been following th...

Chicago’s historic Music Box Theatre is cherished by film lovers. It just reopened after a renovation — with the Noir City: Chicago film festival. WBEZ contributor Robert Loerzel paid a visit to see the fancy new flourishes. HOST: DIXON

Monday’s quadruple homicide on a Chicago Transit Authority train has increased fear and anxiety among riders. WBEZ reporters dove into data from both that agency and the police department. And they reached a stark finding: Violent crimes per CTA rider trip are more than triple this year compared to 2015. WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell worked on the reporting and joins us now. HOST: LARA