Author: WBEZ Chicago

In what ways is democracy under threat in the United States? And how do we strengthen our union? Those are two of the key questions posed in a new series of reports, editorials, podcasts and radio segments from WBEZ and the Sun-Times called “The Democracy Solutions Project,” which will run through the 2024 presidential election. The project is a partnership between Chicago Public Media and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government at the Harris School of Public Policy. To kick off the project, Reset sits down with the center’s director Will Howell.

The frequency with which we buy new clothes, wash and care for them and design clothes all contribute to this problem. But many environmental advocates say that the greatest responsibility of addressing this pollution is on manufacturers, not individuals, and that finding ways to design and manufacture clothes without petrochemicals is what’s needed. Reset learns about the scope of this problem, the way microplastics harm aquatic and human life and what can be done about it with Andrea Densham, senior strategic advisor with Alliance for the Great Lakes and Karen Weigert, director of Loyola University Chicago’s Baumhart Center for Social Enterprise and Responsibility

Chance the Rapper’s mixtape Acid Rap turns 10 this week, and the independent Chicago rapper is celebrating this major milestone with a concert at the United Center on Aug. 19. Reset hears from one of his early-career mentors, Ayana Contreras, content director of Vocalo, about his music and career.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announces she’s not running for a third term. Plus, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson picks more members of his transition team. Reset goes behind the headlines of these stories and more with Alex Nitkin, reporter with the Illinois Answers Project for the Better Government Association, Heather Cherone, Chicago politics reporter for WTTW, and Kimberley Egonmwan, commentator for WVON and attorney.

New data from the American Library Association show attempted book bans are at its highest since the organization began collecting data more than 20 years ago. In 2022, there were more than 1,200 reported attempts to ban library books and resources. During National Library Week, Reset catches up with Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association, to learn more about why book challenges are on the rise and what made the ALA’s list of the most challenged books.

Only one in four third graders in Illinois can read at grade level, a gap that has only widened since the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this disparity in literacy, the Illinois State Board of Education is seeking to overhaul the way reading is taught by the state, and lawmakers want to give them a deadline to do it. Reset hears the latest on the proposed changes from Cassie Walker Burke, WBEZ editor.

In her new book Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother, University of Chicago gender historian Peggy O’Donnell Heffington investigates the biggest reasons women have given for not having children and the impact it has on society today. Reset talks with the author.

Chicago is home to many federally recognized Native American tribes, including the Potawatomi. However, the guidance for teaching Native American history is based on pre-1900 standards. Reset hears from Susie An, WBEZ education reporter, who has been following the issue and Andrew Johnson, board member of the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative, about how to improve education and how this relates to the fight for native land.

Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has decided not to run for a third term, leaving the seat up for grabs next fall. Kim Foxx made history in 2016 when she became the first Black woman to be elected Cook County State’s Attorney. The progressive prosecutor announced Tuesday she won’t seek another term. Reset discusses what’s next for Foxx and the country’s second-largest prosecutor's office with WBEZ criminal justice reporter Patrick Smith.