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Chicago Democratic convention leaders ready for anything and see no echoes of 1968
With less than 15 weeks to go before a national spotlight descends on Chicago, Democratic National Convention leaders are swatting away comparisons to 1968 and trying to get ahead of worst-case scenarios. That includes combing through social media posts to prepare for what-ifs, trying to target disinformation, vetting 12,000 volunteers...
Some key dates in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first year in office
WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter. From crime to migrants to Gaza to a slew of progressive initiatives, Mayor Brandon Johnson had a busy first year in office, with successes sprinkled amidst a variety of crises. Here are some of the highlights, lowlights and key events from the past year.
Cabrini Art House founders want to give back to Cabrini-Green community
Marques “Merk” Elliston and Cher’Don Reynolds have been friends for decades. They met as kids living in the Cabrini-Green Homes, a former public housing project Near North Side. But as adults, they can’t return to their childhood landmarks: Cabrini-Green was demolished over the course of the early-2000s, displacing several thousand residents.
Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline deluged with calls, hindered by lack of shelter beds
Domestic violence survivors looking for a safe place to stay are driving a surge in contacts to the state’s hotline, which has seen its volume of calls, texts and messages from those experiencing abuse nearly double since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Compounding the problem, Chicago and the...
A kitchen therapy session with Tamar Adler
This week, cookbook author and leftovers lover Tamar Adler joins us to answer YOUR questions on cooking, hosting and eating. Tamar is the author of The Everlasting Meal and The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z. She also writes the newsletter “The Kitchen Shrink,” where she regularly gives out culinary advice.
A Conversation with Mom
Mothers are like superheroes, they don’t always wear capes, but they seem like they always know how to save the day. When they take off their proverbial capes, who are they as people? What is their secret to being our mothers, why did they instill certain values and while they’ve helped our dreams come true, what are theirs? This week, in honor of Mother’s Day, Taylor, Jennifer, and Cheryle sit down with their moms to ask questions they’ve never asked before, and the answers might have you shed a tear. Grab your tissues and let’s celebrate the mamas!
Behind Chicago band Red Scarves’ latest album ‘Nice Try’
Local indie band Red Scarves is out with their new album ‘Nice Try.’ It features nine tracks that navigate themes of failure, freedom and just doing your best. The four best friends came together during lockdown in the summer of 2020 to write the music for this latest project.
Medical residents are starting to avoid states with abortion bans, data shows
Isabella Rosario Blum was wrapping up medical school and considering residency programs to become a family practice physician when she got some frank advice: If she wanted to be trained to provide abortions, she shouldn’t stay in Arizona. Blum turned to programs mostly in states where abortion access —...
Musician Steve Albini — ‘provocateur, troublemaker, firestarter’ — had an outsized influence on Chicago’s sound
As a musician, sound engineer and provocateur, Steve Albini was a dominant force across Chicago’s musical landscape for more than 40 years. He died of a heart attack late Tuesday at 61. Albini’s influence as a recording engineer and punk sage spanned genres and all levels of the recording...
Steve Albini, legendary rock underground pioneer, dies at 61
Steve Albini, the legendary studio sound engineer and artist who produced albums for Nirvana, the Pixies, Jesus Lizard, PJ Harvey and countless other icons of the indie rock underground has died. He was 61. The frontman for Shellac and Big Black died Wednesday, according to a report by Pitchfork. For...
‘We Are the Culture’ author Arionne Nettles says Black Chicagoans are limitless
Journalists often avoid including themselves in the stories they tell. But when Arionne Nettles sat down to write a book about Black Chicago, she knew she had to include some of her story. “I am a byproduct of the culture that I’m talking about,” Nettles said. Her book...
Friends of the Parks ‘prepared to fight for the lakefront’ in battle for new Bears domed stadium
Friends of the Parks is “prepared to fight for the lakefront” but not ready to say if that will mean mounting a legal challenge to prevent the Bears from building a domed stadium. Gin Kilgore, acting executive director of the group, tried hard to thread a needle Tuesday,...
An insider’s guide to Albany Park: Where to eat, shop and savor spring outdoors
From Middle Eastern grocery stores to a warm bowl of Pho, Albany Park is a dining paradise. Bordered by Foster, Montrose and Elston avenues, the Northwest Side neighborhood is home to historic bungalows, a melting pot of people and an abundance of green space. We talked to four locals who...
‘Jump’ play confronts grief and family drama with magical realism
When she read the script for the play “Jump,” actor Jazzma Pryor said the themes of grief and family drama spoke to her. “[They’re] topics that everybody can relate to, will go through, have seen,” Pryor said. “Us looking at grief in a really open way...
Police clear pro-Palestinian encampment on campus of University of Chicago
Campus police at the University of Chicago cleared a pro-Palestinian encampment at the school early Tuesday morning, ending an eight-day demonstration that brought student protesters and university officials to an impasse over the protesters’ demands. The action, which sparked a subsequent standoff with demonstrators, began around 4:30 a.m. as...
Would you trade your smartphone for a dumb phone?
Nine out of ten people in the U.S. own a smartphone, according to the Pew Research Center. As our society becomes built around this technology, some people are nostalgic for a different time — where smartphones didn’t dominate daily life. There’s a burgeoning movement to switch to flip...
Cost of living squeezing your wallet? You might consider co-op housing.
In Chicago, it can feel impossible to find housing you can afford and actually want to live in. Some Chicagoans have found an answer in cooperative housing. “It’s a model that can lend itself sometimes to a lower cost of living and then also a sense of community,” said freelance writer Olivia Dimmer, who has been reporting on co-ops for the Chicago Sun-Times. In co-op living, residents own a share in a house or building, and often share household responsibilities.
Illinois utility spending will greatly increase consumer bills, a new report warns
This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Sign up for WBEZ newsletters to get local news you can trust. Illinois ratepayers could see their gas bills soar over the...
Pro-Palestinian camps remain at Chicago-area campuses
Several pro-Palestinian encampments remained Sunday at Chicago-area campuses after nearly 70 people were arrested at the School of the Art Institute. They are among about 2,500 people who have been arrested at about 50 campuses nationwide since April 18. In Chicago, campus encampments stayed in place through the weekend, many...
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