WBEZ News

Closing arguments are set to begin today (FRI) in the trial surrounding the murder of Chicago rapper F-B-G Duck. Six members and associates of a South Side gang faction known as O-’Block are on trial in connection with the 20-20 slaying. Duck was gunned down during the daytime on a Chicago Gold Coast street. Chicago Sun-Times reporter Tom Schuba has been covering the federal trial. Host: Mary Dixo...

There is a lot of money in Illinois politics. Politicians are weaponizing their war chests in ways that threaten the election process. In her recent piece for the Democracy Solutions Project, Chicago Sun-Times Chief Political Reporter Tina Sfondeles looked at campaign finance in the state and how big money is causing big problems for Illinois voters. Host: Mary Dixon

Tamales are one of the most popular food items among Mexicans – especially during the Christmas season. Making them yourself can take a lot of work. One Northwest Indiana woman has managed to use the holiday season to recruit her tamale helpers – and there’s something in it for them as well. WBEZ’s Michael Puente takes us to her kitchen.

Over the decades, Ed Burke has been known by numerous titles: the dean of the Chicago city council, the enemy of Chicago’s first Black mayor, the city’s longest serving alderman. Now, he will be known, too, as a convicted felon, an extortionist and a bribe taker. That’s after a federal jury found Burke guilty on all but one of 14 corruption counts yesterday (thurs). WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel covered t...

The Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, known worldwide as COP, is where the world’s big climate deals happen. It was in Dubai earlier this month. Six Chicago area high school students got the chance to take part in the historic conference and watch world leaders tackle climate change. WBEZ’s Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco sat down with one of them … and h...

Unionized journalists at the Chicago Tribune, who have been without a contract since 2018, plan to rally in front of Tribune Tower downtown on Saturday to call attention to their contract fight and their struggles with the paper’s owner, Alden Global Capital. Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji Kang

Some migrants who are living inside a shelter in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood tell WBEZ that conditions are not good. Some 2-thousand people are now living there. A 5-year-old child who was staying at the shelter died on Sunday. Police are investigating and city officials say the death was not related to an infectious disease.

On Sunday, Dec. 17 at 2 p.m., WBEZ 91.5FM aired a special broadcast event dedicated to people incarcerated in Illinois and their families on the outside. Over the past months, producers for Prisoncast! made several visits to Danville Correctional Center and the Kane County Jail to record story readings for Sunday’s program. The storybook recording from Cook County Jail was made possible thanks to...

The number of Black students in Illinois enrolled in college has dropped by more than a third over the past decade. A big deterrent is cost. Need-based scholarships are one way of making sure more Black students can sign up – and finish school. But this type of financial aid is becoming less of a priority for many schools. Instead, they’ve increased spending on scholarships that target students wi...

Little Village is ranked one of the highest pollution-burdened neighborhoods in Chicago. Neighbors say public officials aren’t paying enough attention to the environment there. So they are taking matters into their own hands by doing their own air quality monitoring. They are using low-cost sensors to document air pollution. WBEZ’s Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco has the story. Host: Mary Dixon

Investigative reporter Jamie Kalven is urging the Chicago Police Department to do more to root out racist officers from within its ranks. A recent WBEZ-Sun-Times investigation found dozens of current and former CPD officers had joined the extremist organization the Oath Keepers. In his new piece in The Intercept, Kalven argues the problem of extremism goes much deeper than officers belonging to ha...

More than 25,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last year. Many carry the trauma of their harrowing journeys, but there’s a shortage of mental health providers to talk to. So a parade of helpers is stepping up. WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch brings us this story. Host: Mary Dixon

Prosecutors have played roughly 100 secret recordings to help tell the story of how Burke allegedly abused his City Hall power for private gain. WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel brings us some of the recordings likely to ring through the juror’s minds as they prepare to decide Burke’s fate. Host: Mary Dixon

In recent weeks TikTok and Instagram feeds have been filled with videos of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups shouting each other down on college campuses across America. But off screen, steps away from the clashes and anger are college students on both sides of a seemingly uncrossable divide struggling with grief and fear.

The adjunct faculty strike at Columbia College Chicago is in its seventh week. To keep classes going, the college has replaced hundreds of teachers who walked off the job after Columbia cut hundreds of classes to fill a significant budget gap. Many students support their part-time faculty, who make up the majority of professors at the arts-focused college. But some feel caught in a conflict that i...

Illinois State Police say they’re using “clear and present danger” reporting differently than they did a year ago. Reporter: Alex Degman; Host: Mary Dixon

“The Latino community is very much a part of the fabric of the western suburbs, and a growing, thicker strand of that fabric,” says one civic leader. Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji Kang; Host: Melba Lara

For years, Cook County judges have been throwing out convictions tied to corrupt former Chicago police Sergeant Ronald Watts. Watts led a tactical unit that was under investigation for more than a decade for allegedly taxing drug dealers and framing people at a South Side public housing complex. Now, people who say they were framed by Watts are suing the city of Chicago. WBEZ criminal justice repo...

Hanukkah starts at sundown tonight. For many Chicago-area Jewish people, the Israel-Hamas war and rising anti-Semitic and anti-Islamaphobic incidents have added a somber note to the holiday. WBEZ’s Adora Namigadde spoke with a few people about what this year’s celebration means to them. Host: Mary Dixon

Rachel Goldberg’s 23-year-old son is among the 138 remaining hostages in Gaza, including people of different nationalities and faiths. Reporter: Kate Grossman; Host: Melba Lara

The Chicago Fire Department is wrapping up a tragic year. They lost four firefighters in the line of duty in 2023 – the first time that’s happened in a quarter century. It’s forcing the fire department to find ways to support its firefighters as they grieve. WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko reports. Host: Mary Dixon

Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration announced today it will not move forward with constructing a base camp to house migrants in Brighton Park on Chicago’s southwest side. Reporter: Tessa Weinberg; Host: Melba Lara

Inside schools, special education aides work closely with students who have a range of challenges, from staying focused - to navigating buildings with a physical disability. Chicago Public Schools has been rapidly adding these positions as it tries to improve its long-troubled special education program. But it still struggles to fill aide positions - There are currently more than 500 aide vacancie...

Inside schools, special education aides work closely with students who have a range of challenges, from staying focused - to navigating buildings with a physical disability. Chicago Public Schools has been rapidly adding these positions as it tries to improve its long-troubled special education program. But it still struggles to fill aide positions - There are currently more than 500 aide vacancie...

In recent weeks TikTok and Instagram feeds have been filled with videos of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups shouting each other down on college campuses across America. But off screen, steps away from the clashes and anger are college students on both sides of a seemingly uncrossable divide struggling with grief and fear.