WBEZ News

Brookfield Zoo in Chicago’s western suburbs says for a donation, they will name a cockroach after your ex for Valentine’s Day. Reporter: Lauren Frost

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra this week wrapped a three-week international tour. It was the orchestra’s first major overseas showcase since the pandemic. This was also the final tour with retiring maestro Riccardo Muti, who has had a sizable impact on the sound of the CSO. Chicago-raised flutist Emma Gerstein was hired by Muti in 2017. She filed this audio diary from tour, in Vienna and Budapest....

Five doctors with the Chicago-based aid organization MedGlobal recently returned home to the U.S. after volunteering in Gaza for 15 days. WBEZ reporter Adora Namigadde spoke with MedGlobal President Doctor Zaher Sahloul about his time in Gaza. Host: Mary Dixon

The previous farm bill, which governs a huge range of food and land programs, was extended but expires this fall. Reporter: Lauren Frost; Host: Melba Lara

For months, Chicago’s City Council has been arguing about how to weigh in on an international crisis that it may have little power over, but that many residents are deeply affected by. And the tense debate over the war between Israel and Hamas is expected to continue in council chambers today (wed), but this time – an actual vote on a cease-fire resolution is expected. WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel has mo...

Election officials say the stakes couldn’t be higher to find poll workers as we head into a presidential election. But low pay and long hours can make it a challenging position to fill – meaning they need to find new ways to recruit tens of thousands of people to staff the polls ahead of Illinois’ March 19th primary. As part of the Democracy Solutions Project, WBEZ’s Tessa Weinberg reports on the...

A new sober music series debuted Tuesday at The Empty Bottle in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. The first Nothing/Assumed night featured local acts along with non-alcoholic cocktails. Barworkers and musicians say it's a welcome lifeline in an industry known for excess. Lillie West is an indie rock musician and songwriter. We spoke earlier about how recovery has changed the way she approaches her...

Thousands of migrants living in Chicago are trying to figure out where to get help with their pending immigration cases or work permit applications. Some migrants living in city shelters are getting help from government officials and local agencies. So far about 1,000 people have received work permits through those efforts. But many more living outside shelters are trying to figure out how and whe...

Charter schools in Chicago face a reckoning. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Chicago Board of Education is highly skeptical of these privately run, but publicly funded, schools. These board members get their first chance to put charter schools on a tighter leash. They will consider contract renewals for 49 charters, serving 28,000 students. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp explains the ongoing debate behind this vote. H...

A night out at Silent Book Club, where everyone’s a bibliophile

The Army Corps of Engineers plans to build a billion dollar, high-tech barricade on the Des Plaines River. The goal is to deter invasive carp from traveling farther up Illinois’ waterways and reaching Lake Michigan. Scientists worry that there is increasingly an opportunity for the carp to make it through and turn the lake upside down. Reporter: JuanPablo Franco Ramirez; Host: Mary Dixon

South Suburban Ford Heights hasn’t had a library in about 30 years. But residents are still taxed for library services. Where the money goes … is a mystery. WBEZ’s Adora Namigadde set out to find some answers and discovered the village has collected more than 100-thousand dollars in taxpayer money over the last decade, but no one will answer for it.

At her graduation last month, Jenin Alharithi walked onto stage and unfurled a banner with a message for University of Illinois leaders: Divest from genocide. Alharithi s one of thousands of students across the country demanding their universities stop investing in companies doing business with Israel because of the ongoing conflict in Gaza. It’s a controversial ask – some supporters of Israel fin...

Illinois has a program that provides free or affordable childcare to low-income families, including at home-based daycares. More than 15 thousand of those providers are currently in contract negotiations with the state. They’re bargaining over pay and retirement, as more and more workers leave the field because of low wages – and lack of benefits. WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang takes a look at what ad...

Black students bypass neighborhood schools for other options more than any other group. Two moms explain their different choices. Reporter: Sarah Karp

The National Weather Service reports 120 tornadoes were confirmed in the state in 2023. Reporter: Lauren Frost; Host: Melba Lara

Black families in Chicago Public Schools are among the most likely to take advantage of school choice, sending their children to charters, magnet and selective enrollment schools. Yesterday WBEZ brought you the story of one mom worried she’ll lose the selective enrollment school her daughter loves because of the Board of Education’s plan to shift away from these schools. Today we hear from a mom w...

Hear a mom talk about why she sends her child to a selective enrollment elementary and about threats to the school choice system. Reporter: Sarah Karp; Host: Mary Dixon

Chicago migrants who can’t get work permits are in desperate need for cash and are finding ways to earn money in the underground economy Reporter: Adriana Cardona-Maguidad; Host: Mary Dixon

Sources say the team is considering building a stadium at the Clark Street-Roosevelt Road site. Reporter: Lauren Frost; Host: Melba Lara

It’s the first day of the spring legislative session for Illinois lawmakers – and some will use it to try finalizing the rules that will administer the state’s assault weapons ban. Reporter: Alex Degman; Host: Mary Dixon

When you think of surfing, the icy waters of the Great Lakes in the wintertime probably aren’t the first thing that pops into your head. But for a group of surfers in Chicago and Northwest Indiana, the cold swells of Lake Michigan are the ideal conditions for riding the waves. WBEZ Contributor Zach Nauth wrote about these extreme sports enthusiasts and the community they have cultivated around win...

A retired chiropractor from north suburban Buffalo Grove has solved an art history mystery almost two decades in the making. Reporter: Lauren Frost; Host: Melba Lara.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has submitted his paperwork to get on Illinois’ ballot this spring. But his filing with the State Board of Elections was met with drama on multiple fronts. Reporter: Dave McKinney; Host: Melba Lara

The Chicago Bears ended their season yesterday (SUN) with a 17 to 9 loss against the Green Bay Packers. It was a rough game for Bears Quarterback Justin Fields – who was sacked five times. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 148 yards but struggled to find the endzone. The third year Quarterback says he gave it his all this season.