Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

Fixing stuff around your house can be intimidating. You need the right tools, parts and know-how to take on many home or car projects. Fortunately, there are places and people in Chicago who are here to help. Reset talks to Tessa Vierk, founder of the Chicago Tool Library, Nancy Bennett, education manager at Rebuilding Exchange and Molly Heyen, co-founder of Gearhead Workspace about their workshops and programming that teach all things DIY. Then they talk to advocates Gay Gordon, executive director of The Repair Association and Kyle Wiens, founder and CEO of iFixit about the Right To Repair movement.

Fewer performances, less staff – those are just a few ways arts organizations have had to cut back to keep their doors open. But that can’t go on forever; could there be a better way? Reset learns how arts organizations are funded and how it needs to evolve to keep up with the changing entertainment economy with Claire Rice, executive director, Arts Alliance Illinois Julie Jenkins, artistic director of The Midnight Circus and Dave McDermott, executive director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago

As two business women, actress Jessica Alba and Lizzy Mathis know that it’s easy for a house to get out of control when trying to juggle family and work life. That’s why in their new show, “Honest Renovations”, they want to make the lives of families easier by giving the home a makeover. Reset talks to the co-hosts about their new project and what it was like to get their hands dirty with the construction.

We learn more about the role of fentanyl in causing opioid overdoses to reach record highs in Cook County, the nine-year-old shot while playing outside, and the woman tapped to chair the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Reset breaks down these top local stories and more with Paris Schutz, reporter and anchor, WTTW, John Fountain, journalism professor, Roosevelt University and David Greising, president of the Better Government Association.

Artists from across the globe have gathered in Chicago this week for Titan Walls, the city’s 5th annual mural festival. Festival goers can enjoy food and drink while watching more than a dozen artists paint murals on the walls of District Brew Yards in the West Loop. Reset talks about the ins and outs of public art with Chicago-based muralists.

Crafting can be the low-commitment, low-stakes and low-cost relationship you need in your life. Reset discovers more on how to let your creative side shine, and maybe learn a new skill with Greta Johnsen, host of WBEZ’s Nerdette podcast, Donna Palicka, owner of Sister’s Art Studio, Shaun Devine, founder and instructor of Chicago School of Woodworking, Andy Kuby, turning-saw instructor at Chicago School of Woodworking and Chris Busse, owner of Penguin Foot Pottery.

Since the start of the pandemic, people have opened more than 70 million new credit card accounts. In addition to the quantity of cards, interest rates have also been rising, reaching 22.2% in May. Reset talks to Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist with the Washington post, to learn what this means for the average consumer and best practices for navigating and paying credit card debt.

Gov. JB Pritzker approved a commission to explore whether or not Illinois needs a new flag. The current one — which has been the same for about a century — has a lot going on. An American eagle clutching a stars-and-stripes-decorated shield while taking a bite out of a red banner in the foreground. There’s a yellow sun over blue water in the background, and a gray rock bearing the years 1818 and 1868. But what would an updated flag look like now? What should it look like? We turn to a longtime flag maker for his take. Reset talks to Carl “Gus” Porter III, owner of WGN Flag Company for insight on what makes a flag iconic.

Over 47,000 Illinoisians lost Medicaid coverage at the start of August and hundreds of thousands more could lose coverage before the redetermination process is complete. Reset discusses how to get reinstated and what residents need to do to prove coverage eligibility with Samantha Olds Frey, CEO of Illinois Association of Medicaid Health Plans.

Trauma can be passed down from generation to generation. It can impact families and whole communities and our relationships with both. But how do you identify it and – more importantly – break the cycle and take the first step towards healing? Reset sits down with Dr. Niranjan Karnik from the University of Illinois Chicago, Amanda Seanior with RUSH’s Division of Community Behavioral Health, and Vee L. Harrison, with the West Side Heroin/Opioid Task Force and author of Hood Healing.