Author: WBEZ Chicago

The nation mourns the killing of six-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume. Meanwhile, as the city attempts to set up housing for migrants ahead of winter, some residents are upset. We went behind these headlines and more with Block Club Chicago’s Melody Mercado, WTTW’s Heather Cherone and Axios Chicago reporter Monica Eng. Check out more conversations like this at wbez.org/reset.

Jewish Voice For Peace and If Not Now planned protests in cities across the country and in Washington D.C. at the White House and U.S. Congress. They’re calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Reset hears from an organizer who went to D.C. and a local rabbi about why they support this movement.

After hundreds died in an explosion at al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City Tuesday night, international efforts to verify claims about who is responsible have been unsuccessful — and it’s overshadowed the loss of life and trauma inflicted on health care workers and civilians seeking safety. Reset speaks with a Dr. Zaher Sahloul, a local doctor who is president of MedGlobal — an NGO with doctors working in Gaza — to get an update on the needs of Gazans amid demands for an end to the blockade on international aid and war monitoring.

Cities like Chicago and New York have more migrants than they can handle. St. Louis says it would like more migrants to come to town. We get the story from Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, WBEZ race, class, communities reporter.

At Morton College in Cicero Thursday, you can visit a “human library.” No, we’re not kidding. It’s a library where you can “check out” a person — like you would a book — to listen to their life story. Each “reader” can ask questions that you might avoid in polite conversation. Reset spoke with Prairie Markussen, organizer of a “human library” event at Morton College, and Alejandro Joleanis, a human “book” participating in the library.

Lawmakers in City Council have until the end of the calendar year to approve the budget. Reset talks with WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg about the process as well as steps the administration is taking to house migrants ahead of the cold winter months to come.

Nearly 200 people from more than 30 nations have not been seen since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Among them are an Evanston mother and daughter. Reset speaks with the family’s rabbi Meir Hecht of Chabad of Evanston about their kidnapping and how it’s impacting the Evanston community.

Last year, 60 people died from opioid-related overdoses on the CTA, according to an analysis by the Chicago Reader. Reset talked with impacted Chicagoans and the reporter who broke down those numbers.