The Rundown | Chicago News

Planned Parenthood of Illinois is reopening its Peoria Health Center Monday after a January 2023 firebombing forced the facility to close. The Chicago office in charge of independently analyzing the mayor’s budget proposal each year is understaffed, according to its new leader. Weather forecasts for both Monday and Tuesday call for a chance of severe weather.

Dont Fret is a Chicago-born cartoonist, muralist and self-published author who loves his city. He’s anonymous in part because he spent his childhood tagging walls across Chicago, “You’re a Chicagoan,” he writes in his book, “This Is No Quiet City.” “Your eyes and heart are wide open, and that is pure, raw, messy, true, and terrifying.” In this episode, Dont Fret explains how he got into graffiti growing up in Wicker Park, why he self-published his book, and why Chicago is a city that punches back. “We are a tough, tough people,” he said to host Erin Allen, “and I think that comes from the stockyards. It comes from inclusion and immigration, diversity and eclect-icity.” Dont Fret has a book-signing event at the MCA on June 11. You can find more of his work on his Instagram. This episode was originally published on Aug. 9, 2023.]]>

A corridor of Clark Street in River North will no longer be closed for pedestrians this summer. A new exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum offers a glimpse into the Kindertransport program that saved the lives of thousands of children in the 1930s. Loyola Medicine has launched a program this spring for treating women athletes in the Chicago area.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. is calling on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election results following a New York Times report that an upside-down American flag was seen at the conservative justice’s house in January 2021. A coalition of interfaith leaders will gather at the Chicago Temple downtown Sunday to honor a Palestinian-American boy who was fatally stabbed in suburban Plainfield last year. Credit monitoring agencies wouldn’t have access to some medical debt information under a bill Illinois lawmakers just approved.

What’s going on at the CTA? Sluggish ridership is a main reason that Chicago area transit agencies including the CTA are facing a $730 million budget shortfall, according to a recent WBEZ analysis of transit data.So why aren’t riders riding? And what do they think of the CTA these days?We hear from a few riders mid-commute at a pair of downtown CTA train stations, some of whom complained about reliability, safety, and cleanliness, as well as others who think things are fine. Then we hear from Sarah Freishtat, a business reporter covering transportation for the Chicago Tribune, who explains what CTA leadership has done so far and what else they have planned to counteract their troubles.]]>

The Palestinian solidarity encampment at DePaul University was cleared by police yesterday, but faculty and student organizers say it’s not the end of their activism. Seven journalists with the Chicago Tribune have filed a class-action lawsuit against the newspaper and its owner. Illinois’ rules against hazing could get a little stronger.

The Chicago Transit Authority said more people are taking train and bus rides after nearly 20 Chicago city council members have signed onto an ordinance calling for CTA President Dorval Carter to resign. A rare statue on view at the National Museum of Mexican Art is generating a lot of buzz among archeologists. The Chicago Bears 2024 schedule has dropped.

For many, getting around Chicago is pretty easy. It’s one of the few American cities that’s invested in public transit, cycling and walkability infrastructure. But, for people with a disability that inhibits their mobility, it’s just not as easy to get around. Accessibility researcher Yochai Eisenberg co-authored a study in 2022 with the Great Lakes ADA Center and UIC’s Institute on Disability and Human Development that found that communities had higher accessibility scores if they also had an ADA-transition plan, also known as a “barrier removal plan.” We talk with him about how accessible Chicago-area communities are, the various barriers to accessibility many encounter, and what citizens can do to improve conditions in their area. This episode was originally published on Nov. 28, 2022.]]>

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez is trying to convince lawmakers in Springfield that his school district desperately needs more money. Cook County wants to help some suburban residents who are struggling to pay their water bills. The Chicago Sky lost its season opener to the Dallas Wings.

Activists and elected officials are criticizing the Chicago Police Department for declining to punish cops with ties to anti-government extremism. High school juniors in Illinois public schools will take the ACT college admissions exam starting next spring instead of the SAT. Wednesday marks Brandon Johnson's one-year anniversary as Chicago mayor.

We can’t let National Transportation Week pass without revisiting our conversation with Lee Crooks. He’s basically a local celebrity, with a highly-recognizable voice. He’s been announcing stops on the CTA for 25 years.“It does become something of a legacy,” Crooks said.In this episode, he talks to host Erin Allen about trains, legacy and Midwest accents. And yes, we have him do the voice.This episode was originally published on Oct. 18, 2023.]]>

Planned Parenthood wants to stop requiring patients to see a doctor for abortion access. The Chicago ethics board wants strict penalties for lobbyists who improperly donate to a mayoral campaign. Illinois families living under the federal poverty line can get extra help feeding their kids during summer vacation.

More changes are coming to this year’s Pride Parade. Illinois Republicans are glad the state is getting sued over a new law that changes how candidates are selected for elections. Chicagoans are torn over the issue of school choice.

Daniel Knowles lives in Chicago, where he rides his bike almost everywhere and the transit system almost everywhere else. Originally from the United Kingdom, Knowles has traveled the world as a reporter, so he’s seen how people across the globe get around town. His main takeaway: We need to lower our reliance on cars.“Thanks to the car, our cities are uglier and more dangerous,” Knowles writes in his book, “Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse, and What to Do About It.” “Car manufacturers want us to believe driving is freedom, but in fact we are trapping ourselves in an enormous prison made up of moving metal cells.”From automobiles’ well-publicized drawbacks — car-related deaths and climate impact — to housing insecurity and racial inequities, Knowles says driving may be taking more from us than it gives. In this episode, we sit down with Knowles to discuss the history of the car, the large and small ways they impact us, and the options we have for a reprieve.This episode was originally published on June 12, 2023.]]>

A new poll shows that most Chicagoans think students in the city’s public schools are not learning enough. Governor J-B Pritzker’s office is celebrating – millions of Illinoisans are still enrolled in Medicaid. A proposed bill would transfer a state park to Illinois’s only federally recognized tribal nation.

Nearly 20 Chicago city council members have signed onto an ordinance calling for CTA President Dorval Carter to resign. Governor J.B. Pritzker continues to distance himself from budget strategies of the past that he says made Illinois a “credit-unworthy state.” Three beloved great horned owls living in Lincoln Park have died in the span of a month.

May 12 through May 18 is National Transportation Week, so we’re revisiting our favorite transit and infrastructure conversations—and sparking some new ones. When WBEZ’s Roy Howard fellow Jessica Alvarado Gamez moved to Chicago last year, she drove around to get her bearings. She couldn’t help noticing how close she came to cyclists. “I can easily go into the painted bike lanes,” she said. Some Chicago cyclists have observed the same problem, resulting in the refrain, “paint is not protection.” Thankfully for us, Alvarado Gamez dug into city data to understand why cycling in Chicago is so dangerous and what cyclists want done.In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Alvarado Gamez about the path toward safer biking infrastructure.This episode was originally published on Nov. 17, 2023.]]>

A complaint tracking system could help the Chicago Police Department prevent officer misconduct, researchers say. Illinois lawmakers are running out of time to consider a measure to let people end their own lives with medication. A group of activists host a Mother’s Day celebration for incarcerated caregivers outside of Cook County Jail.

A Lake County judge is ordering the owner of Republican-favoring websites to remove sensitive information about Illinois voters from its platforms. A WBEZ analysis found that CTA service levels have actually declined since 2021 whereas other transit agencies in large cities increased their service during that period. It’s possible the Northern Lights will be visible in the Chicago area Friday night.

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. This reality hit Reynolds recently when she and Elliston went for a drive. “I was passing the building that I was raised in, the building that he was raised in,” she said. “Everything was gone.” Now, Elliston and Reynolds want to restore a church in the area and establish a creative hub. In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Elliston and Reynolds about Cabrini-Green’s legacy and their dreams for Cabrini Art House.