The Chicago area played a key role in Black aviation in the early 1900s. The founders of the first Black-owned airport learned to fly in Chicago and went on to teach thousands of others.
When Illinois legalized recreational use of marijuana five years ago, it came with a goal to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. “We’re addressing the past harms of discriminatory prosecution of drug laws,” Governor J.B. Pritzker said at the time. Many low level cannabis charges would automatically be expunged and legal aid would be made available.
Last episode, we looked at two areas where the state spent the largest share of its $500 million in marijuana sales tax revenue: the state budget and R3 funding, a program to invest in communities that have been harmed by violence, excessive incarceration and economic disinvestment.
Some of that sales tax revenue also goes toward social programs, like legal aid for cannabis record expungement. Today, we’re looking at how well Illinois’ expungement program is working. Advocates and people getting their records expunged tell us that “automatic” doesn’t apply to everything and the process itself is “too complicated.”
The state has made about $500 million in marijuana tax revenue since the state legalized recreational use. Social programs have benefited from those funds, but experts say it won’t last forever.
What does it take to get a wrongful conviction overturned?
Quite a lot, according to investigative reporter Alison Flowers, who says proving innocence is much more difficult than proving guilt. She has investigated the cases of many wrongfully convicted individuals, including that of Chicagoan Robert Johnson.
In our last episode, Invisible Institute reporter Erisa Apantaku explained how Johnson has spent nearly 30 years in prison for a murder almost everyone knows he did not commit.
What’s clear is that a lot must go right to overturn a wrongful conviction (and even more so before the exonerated can try to earn compensation from the state). Flowers explains what a wrongfully convicted person needs — “the three-legged stool of wrongful convictions” — an advocate on the outside, an attorney in your corner and media attention.
Chicago is a city of food as much as it is a city of neighborhoods and cultural communities.
Last episode, we talked about how Chicago may not have a concentrated Filipino enclave, in the way neighborhoods like Chinatown and Humboldt Park are cultural hubs. But the community comes together and supports each other nonetheless.
And Filipino food in Chicago is definitely a part of that. This cultural cuisine has been on the scene for a long time, but only in the past few years has it really started to get its flowers. It’s even grabbed the attention of the Michelin Guide and James Beard Awards. Today, we taste some creations by serial entrepreneur, Francis Almeda as well as chef and owner of A Taste of the Philippines, Kathy Vega Hardy. And we talk about why Vega Hardy says “a sense of community” goes a long way for Filipino food entrepreneurs in the city.
While a concentrated community area might not be as easy to spot as a neighborhood like Chinatown or Little Village, the Filipino community has a long history in Chicago that stretches back to the early 1900s.
It’s no secret that last year was the worst year in Chicago sports. Last episode we got into what that means for future fans.
But 2024 wasn’t the absolute worst for every individual Chicago team. Sometimes a bad season isn’t defined by a long losing streak or a record number of losses. Sometimes it’s the internal turmoil and drama on the team.
Today, we take a look at the individual worst years for our beloved Chicago teams with legendary sports journalist Cheryl Raye-Stout and Chicago sports superfan and host of Quita Loves Sports, Quita. We get into how some of these teams redeemed themselves … only to end up back here.
Collectively, 2024 was the worst year for Chicago sports teams. Chicago fans are used to remaining faithful to some loveable losers. But the younger generation of sports fans aren’t as forgiving.
Travel times and transit delays are part of the daily commute. There's a lot of chaos and information to sift through to bring you those traffic reports.
