The Rundown | Chicago News

We’re revisiting a story from the WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times arts and culture desk, in which our bookish colleagues share some of their favorite new books of 2025. Their recommendations range from a wide breadth of genres, including a novel that explores the complexities of friendship and family as well as a memoir detailing New York City nightlife in the '90s.

In a town full of foodies, Chicago pizzamaker Jonathan Goldsmith’s pies rise to the top at his restaurant, Spacca Napoli, located in Ravenswood on Chicago’s North Side. The eatery spent several years on the Michelin Guide’s Bib Gourmand list and an Italian-based website ranked it among the best pizza in the world in 2023. At the beginning of 2025, the restaurant was named the best pizza in town at the local Banchet Awards. Days later, Goldsmith underwent surgery for stomach cancer. As the year wraps up, we checked back in with Goldsmith to see how his recovery is going and took a look back at the restaurant’s journey.

This holiday season, the Evanston Symphony Orchestra hosted a new kind of concert. The so-called “barrier-free” performance was designed for people with disabilities and their loved ones. That includes accessible parking, an ASL interpreter and a sensory-free room where people could retreat if they got overwhelmed. About a hundred attendees of all ages poured into the performance at the Evanston Township High School Auditorium, where volunteers encouraged the audience to participate in a singalong performance and shake jingle bells.

Faith leaders were denied access to pray with detainees at the Broadview ICE facility today. Illinois is part of a multi-state coalition suing the Trump administration for targeting gender affirming care. A holiday-themed pop-up in Humboldt Park takes inspiration from a Puerto Rican Christmas tradition. And Jake Connelly, a 13-year-old from Arlington Heights, is the newest star of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things." Plus, one Curious City listener wanted to know: What customs associated with Christmas are distinctly Chicago traditions? Well, Curious City goes behind the scenes of one long-time local tradition: "A Christmas Carol" at the Goodman Theatre.

Who is Gregory Bovino? For months, the Border Patrol Commander-at-Large led agents through Chicago on an aggressive immigration enforcement campaign, while making sure his noticeably uncovered face was in front of as many cameras as possible. But there’s very little information online about Bovino’s background, his experience, or his rise to overnight prominence. So our team went digging – to his hometown in North Carolina, and to California where his Border Patrol career got started. In “Becoming Bovino,” Sun-Times investigative reporter Lauren FitzPatrick and WBEZ investigative reporter Dan Mihalopoulos sit down with WBEZ’s Patrick Smith to share what they found about Gregory Bovino – from his upbringing, to his efforts to keep himself in the limelight.

The Chicago Bears are the toast of the town after an overtime win Saturday against the Green Bay Packers. The Cook County Clerk’s office has selected the couple who will receive the county’s first marriage license of 2026. Operation North Pole is an annual holiday charity event for children with life-threatening illnesses. It returned for the first time since COVID. Plus, the biggest life expectancy gap between Chicago neighborhoods is 20 years, from West Garfield Park to the Loop. One of the solutions to closing this gap is playing out in Garfield Park.

The Chicago City Council has approved the revenue portion of a rival, aldermanic-led spending plan that does not include a corporate head tax as Mayor Brandon Johnson wanted. It still requires a second official vote to be fully adopted. The Trump administration said the Chicago Transit Authority’s new security plan “fails to meet the need for immediate, measurable corrective action” and threatened to withhold up to 50 million dollars from the agency. Chicago six-piece soul band Hollyy will play its fifth-annual holiday show at Thalia Hall. Plus, a state panel documenting alleged abuses by federal immigration agents held its first meeting. The Illinois Accountability Commission plans to interview witnesses and review bystander videos on social media.

A state commission examining wrongdoing by federal agencies during the so-called “Operation Midway Blitz” is now taking testimony. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will do "whatever it takes" to avoid a government shutdown. A coalition of alders advanced a rival budget proposal, and the plan still needs a full council vote. The Chicago Bears will host arch-rivals the Green Bay Packers Saturday night. Plus, fans of the novelist Jane Austen celebrated her 250th birthday through a Regency ball – complete with a string quartet, historical snacks, and dancers in gowns stitched from YouTube tutorials.

Chicago's Jewish community continues to mourn the victims of the mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration in Australia. An Illinois state task force is investigating why violence against women and girls in Chicago is disproportionately high. Chicago officials are urging people to get their vaccines before gathering with friends and family for the holidays. Plus, a school on Chicago’s southwest side has long had a club to support students without legal status and to raise money to help them go to college. But this year with immigration enforcement tearing families apart, the club has changed course.

U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has returned to the Chicago area. Illinois might not be able to generate all the power it needs to meet future demand because coal-fired plants are shutting down and newer, cleaner sources aren’t coming online fast enough. The Chicago Blackhawks are playing in Toronto without star center Conor Bedard due to an upper-body injury. Plus, a Chicago theater company created its own holiday-inspired version of the “Real Housewives” reality television series: The Real Housewives of the North Pole.

Jewish leaders in Chicago are mourning the lives lost in Australia this weekend, but say they won’t live in fear as Hanukkah celebrations continue this week. Actor and film director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were killed in their Los Angeles home yesterday. Some anti-violence advocates want the Chicago Transit Authority to allow violence interruptors to patrol the transit system. Plus, the move-out deadline has passed for the last residents of a Chicago apartment building raided in the fall by federal immigration agents. A judge ordered the troubled South Shore building vacated by last Friday and appointed a manager to secure the property and help residents relocate. Tenants say that “help” was merely a check and a list of phone numbers to call. WBEZ's Esther Yoon-Ji Kang spent some time with one resident as he scrambled to figure out where he goes from here.

Patients in Illinois who are terminally ill will be able to request life-ending medication with a doctor’s prescription starting later next year. A proposed city-wide ban on the sale of hemp products now includes an exception for THC-infused beverages. The National Weather Service says snow is likely Saturday afternoon with evening wind chills near 20 below zero. Plus, We recently asked people in Illinois prisons this question: “If you could spend one afternoon on the outside with a family member or friend, where would you go and what would you do?" A man named Robert Jernigan wrote us saying he’d take his mother to her church, so he could play music and sing for her. For WBEZ’s statewide journalism project called Prisoncast!, producer and editor Robert Wildeboer packed up a keyboard and drove to Pinckneyville prison in Southern Illinois.

The city of Chicago says warming centers will be available this weekend as bitterly cold temperatures move in. A commission formed in honor of an unarmed Black woman murdered in her Springfield-area home last year has unveiled their 26 “calls to action.” Red Kettle donations for the Salvation Army are down in the Chicago area. Plus, the new company that provides health care to nearly 30,000 people in Illinois state prisons has a disturbing track record. Centurion Health took over health care for the Illinois Department of Corrections this summer, after a multi-year deal with a different company fell through. Centurion already serves close to a dozen other state correctional systems – where it’s been accused of ignoring and misdiagnosing patients, leading to serious illness or death. Chicago Sun-Times reporter Kaitlin Washburn has been digging into lawsuits filed by incarcerated people. She sat down with Erin Allen - host of our Prisoncast program – to share what she found.

WBEZ lost power at our studios at Navy Pier today and will return to its usual programming schedule as soon as we can. A group of alderpersons who oppose Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget have introduced their own revenue package. Chicagoans can expect more snow going into the weekend. Plus, the widest “death gap” across neighborhoods of any big city in America is between the Loop and West Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side. Between these seven stops on the Green Line, how long someone is expected to live plummets by 20 years. WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch takes us to West Garfield Park where a mom and her son talk about what it’s like to live in the death gap and what they’re trying to do about it.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is revising his proposed and controversial corporate head tax in hopes of shaking a budget stalemate loose. Illinois Gov.JB Pritzker signed into law protections from what he called “unjust actions” taken by federal immigration agents. Top executives at the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois got hefty raises and multimillion bonuses last year despite a 54 percent drop in net income, according to Crain’s. Plus, the Chicago-rooted duo The Cool Kids built an impressive hip-hop career with seven albums across two decades and many collaborations. For the first time in three years, the Cool Kids have a new album. Chuck Inglish and Sir Michael Rocks sat down with WBEZ's sister station Vocalo and host Nudia Hernandez to talk about “Hi Top Fade.”

The prospect of a government shutdown over the city’s budget is growing bigger in the city of Chicago. Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the school board next November but a new poll finds few realize this is happening. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich celebrated Mass on Sunday in the chapel of Cook County Jail’s maximum-security division. Plus, December is Nutcracker season. Some local groups are presenting the classic holiday ballet with a twist.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget team said that an alternative budget proposal from 26 alders who oppose the mayor’s spending plan is based on faulty projections and regressive fines. Indiana state House lawmakers have passed a new congressional map that now advances to the state Senate, where it is unclear if enough lawmakers will support its final passage. Granite City Works will make steel again next year. Plus, from the 67-foot-tall Norway spruce in Millennium Park to a dizzying number of “Christmas Carol” variations, Chicago’s most festive season has arrived. WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers rounded up the best Chicago festivities you can enjoy this holiday season and she joined WBEZ’s Clare Lane to talk about it.

The city of Chicago’s running tab for police misconduct settlements tied to disgraced former police commander Jon Burge grew by $15 million today. As Chicago plunges into extreme cold weather territory, medical professionals urge the public to pay attention to the signs of frostbite. Illinois Congressman Eric Sorensen is calling on Congress to vote soon to extend Obamacare subsidies to keep health care premiums from skyrocketing. Plus, with federal immigration enforcement bearing down on Chicago, many feared student attendance would plummet, especially in schools serving mostly Latino children. Yesterday we brought you the story of community members stepping up to help out parents who were too afraid to take their kids to school during that time. Today, WBEZ’s Amy Qin and Sarah Karp explain what this year’s attendance numbers really mean.

A majority of Chicago alderpersons are backing an alternate budget plan that would double residents’ garbage collection fee to avoid a new corporate head tax. The Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party will hold a candlelight vigil and dedication ceremony Wednesday. The Illinois Secretary of State has issued warnings to national rental car companies about federal immigration agents. Plus, many people feared student attendance at Chicago Public Schools would plummet as federal immigration enforcement escalated this fall. A new analysis by WBEZ shows overall attendance this fall is similar to last year. Chicago Public Schools has turned to the community to help it with the difficult task of getting children to school, when so many parents feel vulnerable outside their homes. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp has the story of one immigrant mother and how that help has made all the difference.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed a measure allowing the state to develop its own vaccine guidelines, independent of the federal government. Thousands of Illinoisans could face homelessness once new federal requirements kick in. Capacity has been increased at Christkindlmarket in the Loop. Plus, we’ll hear from a Chicago protester who says their dismissed charges show Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino is dishonest.