Claim OwnershipIn the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons
Subscribed: 223Played: 32,748
Subscribe
© Copyright 2025 Chicago Public Media
Description
We’re unpacking the headlines and making the news make sense. Get connected with local experts, your neighbors and the stories shaping Chicago.
2780 Episodes
Reverse
In the race to replace veteran U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, analysis from the New York Times shows Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Congresswoman Robin Kelly and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton are leading in the polls.
During this final week before Primary Day in Illinois, candidates are making their final pitches to voters, and the process can be a 24/7 grind of glad-handing, raising money and not sleeping.
In The Loop checks in with the leading candidates on the campaign trail. First up: Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-02).
We’ll bring you our conversations with Lt. Gov. Stratton and Rep. Krishnamoorthi on Tuesday and Wednesday on this podcast.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Kristi Noem is out as DHS secretary; meanwhile, Cook County prosecutors dismiss 21 cases against local ICE protesters. Chicago is one step closer to video gambling in bars and restaurants and Jesse Jackson memorials conclude in Chicago.
In the Loop goes behind the headlines in the Weekly News Recap. Today’s panel: Mitch Armentrout of the Chicago Sun-Times, Geoff Buchholz of WBBM Newsradio, and Jake Sheridan of the Chicago Tribune.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Real estate developer Related Midwest bought the 62-acre site (known as The 78) back in 2016. On Tuesday, it broke ground for the Chicago Fire’s new soccer stadium.
The project’s developers have made many promises to the city from affordable housing, economic growth and developed riverfront. But some residents of neighboring communities still have concerns.
To find out what these concerns are and how developers, sports organizations and neighbors can all work together, In the Loop hears from Sarah Tang with the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community and Roderick Wilson with Lugenia Burns Hope Center.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Chicago’s premiere alt-weekly has been a hub for art, music, and local investigations since the 1970s. Following a brief hiatus from print, the Chicago Reader is returning to print with a fresh approach to its locally-rooted writing and reporting.
We check in with the Reader’s editor-in-chief Sarah Conway, and features writer Katie Prout, on how its team is building on the legacy of the Reader to create a renewed vision for community-focused journalism.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
About 17 of the 32 people charged with nonimmigration crimes during Operation Midway Blitz have had their cases dropped with no convictions. Regardless, the toll that comes with federal prosecution doesn't just disappear as soon as the case does.
In the Loop talks to Jocelyne Robledo, a defendant of one of the 17 failed prosecution cases and with Jon Seidel, Chicago Sun-Times federal courts reporter.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Six Illinois Democrats boycott President Trump’s State of the Union address. Meanwhile, Governor Pritzker demands a $8.6 billion refund for Illinois taxpayers after the Supreme Court rules against Trump tariffs. In the Loop breaks down those stories and more with Axios Chicago reporter Monica Eng, WTTW anchor and host Brandis Friedman and WBEZ investigative reporter Dan Mihalopoulos.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Who gets to be an American citizen? And what rights does citizenship afford? Those questions are explored in the new book, “Citizenship: Notes on an American Myth.” Local author Daisy Hernández blends personal stories with a retrospective on how citizenship was initially constructed and how it’s changed over time. In the Loop sits down with the author to discuss.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
A racial slur at the British Film Awards is the latest of several recent public racist incidents that have left Black people feeling dehumanized and disrespected.
Today on In the Loop, how much longer will Black and Brown people be asked to extend grace that they are often not afforded? We talk about healing from racial trauma with Pilar Audain, associate director of Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Greater Chicago; Brandon Pope, president of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists; and Danielle Robinson Bell, associate professor at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
In 2024, Republicans won on an anti-immigrant platform. Vice President Kamala Harris had a “tough on the border” message. Now, Democratic candidates for Congress and Senate are rallying around an anti-extreme immigration enforcement message, while some pundits warn that immigration could cost Republicans in the midterm.
In the Loop discusses what changed and how strategists make calculations of what will move voters. Our panel today: Jason DeSanto, senior lecturer in the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law and Democratic debate strategist, and Diego Morales, organizer, PUÑO (Pilsen Rapid Response Network).
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court decided that President Trump’s global tariffs on imported goods were unconstitutional. With Trump promising to find other ways to impose his tariffs, small business owners are unsure of how or if they’ll get their entitled refunds.
In the Loop spoke with Stephen Woldenberg, Senior Vice President of Sales for Learning Resources, the Vernon Hills-based business that led the charge to bring the legal case to the country’s highest court. Plus, we talk to Cécile Shea, nonresident senior fellow on security and diplomacy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
The Chicago City Council fails to override the mayor’s veto of an ordinance banning intoxicating hemp products, Gov. JB Pritzker blasts President Trump in his State of the State address and Illinois reports its first measles case of 2026.
In the Loop goes behind the headlines in the Weekly News Recap. Today’s panel: Christian Farr with NBC-5 Chicago, Simone Alicea with City Cast Chicago, and Alden Loury of WBEZ.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
It took years for U.S. leaders to address the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. One public figure that wasn’t afraid to bring the challenges the LGBTQ+ community were facing to the forefront was the Rev. Jesse Jackson. In the Loop reflects on Jackson’s work pushing progressive ideas and being an avid supporter of the LGBTQ+ community with Northwestern professor Martha Biondi and Equality Illinois CEO Channyn Lynne Parker.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
In the Loop continues to honor the life and legacy of Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. His 1984 and 1988 presidential campaigns were ultimately unsuccessful, but he proved that a Black American could have success at the polls and opened the door for diversity in politics.
In the Loop examines how Rev. Jackson changed the political landscape of the Democratic party and paved the way for a new generation of Black political leadership with Field Foundation Director of Journalism and Storytelling Maudlyne Ihejirika, Northwestern University political science professor Alvin Tillery and Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from Illinois.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson’s story in Chicago begins in the 1960s when he moved to the city to study at the Chicago Theological Seminary. Not long after his move, he met Martin Luther King Jr. and asked him for a job at the Chicago chapter of Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Operation Breadbasket.
Since then, Rev. Jesse Jackson became a symbol for the Civil Rights Movement, Black politics and Black America.
Rev. Jackson died on Tuesday, Feb. 17, at the age of 84.
In the Loop looks back at the life and impact of the Rev. Jesse Jackson on civil rights, politics, the nation and Chicago with Rev. Otis Moss III, senior pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ and Natalie Moore, senior lecturer, Northwestern Medill School and Chicago Sun-Times
columnist.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Tired of visiting a news website and getting hit with a paywall? Hollywood actor John Cusack feels your pain – and wants outlets to free the news that you need.
Cusack and Seth Stern from the Freedom of the Press Foundation stop by to talk about what’s at stake when newsrooms are gutted, journalists are under fire, and information is gatekept.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Illinois joins three other Democrat-led states in suing the White House over public health funding cuts. Amazon announces drone delivery coming to southwest suburbs. Portage, Ind., unveils its pitch for a Bears stadium, as northwest suburban residents and mayors rally to secure a stadium in Arlington Heights. In the Loop breaks down those stories and more in our Weekly News Recap with WTTW Chicago politics reporter Heather Cherone, Chicago Sun-Times federal courts reporter Jon Seidel and Capitol News Illinois state government and politics reporter Hannah Meisel.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Between the 1930s and ’50s, Chicago was a hub for Black writers, poets and creatives – an era known as the Chicago Black Renaissance.
A number of great literary, music and art names came out of Chicago during this renaissance – including Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, Margaret Walker, Nat King Cole, Langston Hughes and many more.
In the Loop dives into Chicago’s poetry scene then and now, with Chicago Public Library’s division chief of Archives and Special Collections Chianta Dorsey, Chicago’s first Poet Laureate avery r. young and Sudanese-American poet and archivist Israa Abbas.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order Jan. 31 instructing Chicago police to document alleged abuses by federal immigration agents and refer wrongdoers to the Cook County State’s Attorney for prosecution. State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke questioned the order’s legality, calling it “wholly inappropriate,” and Mayor Johnson walked back his order on Tuesday, saying officers would still document alleged misconduct but would not refer cases to the county’s top prosecutor. Mayor Johnson answers questions from listeners and host Sasha-Ann Simons about that and other topics.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
For 115 years, the City News Bureau was a training ground for young journalists in Chicago. Known for its long hours, low pay, and intense, fast-paced atmosphere, the wire service broke stories on courts, crime, and government for local papers, television, and radio stations.
The new book Sirens in the Loop tells the story of the City News Bureau through the voices of former staffers.
In The Loop hears about what a day in the newsroom of City News was like from James Elsener, the co-author of “Sirens,” and City News alums Abdon Pallasch and Rummana Hussain.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Lori Lightfoot has worked as Chicago’s mayor, a federal prosecutor and a top leader on police accountability. She wants local officials to do more to counter ICE. In the Loop learns about her ICE Accountability Project and how she thinks local officials can respond in the face of aggressive immigration enforcement.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
Great interview and questions
text
text
text