Author: WBEZ Chicago

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.

For decades, the FBI was a man’s world. Anybody else was just living in it, especially the administrative staff. In the last episode, we learned how the bureau recruited high school girls for clerical work during the 1940s. But for decades women were explicitly prohibited from becoming special agents. Western Springs resident Jane McCarty was hired out of high school in the late 1960s to work as a stenographer for the FBI. She held several positions during her more than four decades at the organization. Today, the former president of the Society of FBI Alumni talks about the ebbs and flows of women’s access to leadership and autonomy within the bureau. She endured a sexist work environment but later witnessed the first women become FBI special agents.

For decades, the FBI was a man’s world. Anybody else was just living in it, especially the administrative staff. In the last episode, we learned how the bureau recruited high school girls for clerical work during the 1940s. But for decades women were explicitly prohibited from becoming special agents. Western Springs resident Jane McCarty was hired out of high school in the late 1960s to work as a stenographer for the FBI. She held several positions during her more than four decades at the organization. Today, the former president of the Society of FBI Alumni talks about the ebbs and flows of women’s access to leadership and autonomy within the bureau. She endured a sexist work environment but later witnessed the first women become FBI special agents.

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.

For a few decades starting in the 1940s, the FBI recruited high school girls for clerical work. A Chicago Catholic school was a go-to spot to make new hires.

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.