Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

Mayor Lightfoot had good news and bad news when she delivered her state-of-the-city speech last night. The good was the number of reforms and cost-saving measures she implemented in her first 100 days. The bad news is, those reforms may not be enough to save us as we face major-and immediate-fiscal challenges. WBEZ political reporter Dan Mihalopoulos fills in for Jenn White, and is joined by Heather Cherone of the Daily Line and Paris Schutz of WTTW for a lively roundup of the speech, and the other important local news of the week.

In the latest installment of The Movie That Made Me, Lesle Honore of the KLEO Community Family Life Center talks about her attachment to, and struggles with, the classic film Gone With the Wind.

Plus A.D. Quig of Crains’ takes a stab at what Mayor Lightfoot will say tonight at her first State of the City address. The speech airs at 6pm here on WBEZ.

Tens of thousands of people in Cook County have a hard time getting a job, finding housing, or moving on to become productive citizens after a conviction for a marijuana-related offense. But when weed becomes legal in Illinois on January 1, many of those convictions will be expunged. This will break down some of the barriers so that these people can better provide for themselves and their families. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx talks about the work that her office is doing in tandem with San Francisco-based Code For America to make these expungements happen.

Plus WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp answers some of the questions we couldn’t get to with CPS CEO Janice Jackson yesterday.

From budgets to hiring, from staffing to special ed, people in Chicago have a lot of questions when it comes to the 2019-2020 school year at Chicago’s public schools. CPS CEO Janice Jackson joins us for an extended one-on-one where she talks about those issues, answers questions from listeners, and addresses the possibility of a teachers strike

When Lori Lightfoot campaigned for Mayor of Chicago, she talked about rooting out corruption, making government more transparent, including communities in discussions about how to make better policy, and having an all-around more equitable city that works for everyone. 3 key members of her transition teams talk about how they’ve done so far, and the work that still needs to be done to keep those promises.

Then, the trend was to tear down Englewood in order to save it. The problem is, nothing has gone into those empty spaces. So what’s the plan? What do the residents want? And how can neighbors and the city bring new housing and investment to the neighborhood?

CJ Run was born in Germany, grew up in England, spent their high school years in rural North Carolina, and finally found community and a sense of belonging at college in Champaign-Urbana. Now, they’ve moved to Chicago, and the music is flowing like never before. They hope that music provides inspiration to kids like them who are trying to figure out who they are and what life’s all about.

Mayor Llightfoot and the billion dollar budget hole. Why national Democrats need to stop in Chicago. A Tea Party firebrand looks to run against Trump. And rampant bullying and sexual harassment in the statehouse outlined in a new report. Those stories and more on this week’s Friday News Roundup.

Last year a staffer in Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s office came forward with allegations of sexual harassment against her superior Kevin Quinn. Now a new report fully outlines the circumstances and situations women have endured for years. And while Madigan himself has not been accused of wrongdoing, the powerful politician has apologized for not seeing it, or responding to these allegations in a timely manner.

Plus Eugene Jones Jr. was the CHA’s 5th CEO in 4 years. Residents liked his accessibility and his can-do spirit. But just a few months after he refuted rumors that he was moving on from the job, Jones turned in his resignation.

The Trump administration’s decision to withhold funds from health providers that talk about abortions has led Planned Parenthood to leave the federal program Title X and go without the millions in funds that comes with it. We talk about what that means for the organization, and women across the country and in Illinois

Plus we look at the nonprofit I Grow Chicago, and the services and a safe space they provide for the residents of Englewood and beyond.

It’s not quite the old smoke-filled back room of yore, but Cook County Democrats met late last week to choose who they’ll be supporting in the 2020 elections. WBEZ county reporter Kristen Schorch explains who got the nod, and how the county party’s backing helps a candidate.

Then Mother Jones’ AJ Vicens talks about the reporting he’s done around election tampering via social media, and how rules to combat it might inadvertently be hurting municipal elections across the country, including here in Chicago.