Author: WBEZ Chicago

Many Venezuelans in Chicago will have their work permits and protection from deportation revoked as early as April. WBEZ checked in with local TPS recipients about how this uncertainty is affecting them and their community. Reset checks in with WBEZ reporters Adriana Cardona-Maguigad and Chip Mitchell. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

On Feb. 28, President Trump issued an executive order that the federal government will not fund gender affirming or “transition” surgeries. In response, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago announced it would pause these surgeries, and not schedule future ones, for patients under 19 years of age. Reset discusses the impact this is having on trans teens and their parents with WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch and a parent to a trans child, Michelle Vallet. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

During her 40 years at the Sun-Times, Fran Spielman has been a fixture at City Hall through seven mayoral administrations. Reset checks in with the city’s longest-tenured local politics reporter as she marks a milestone with the Sun-Times. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

A small park used to be home to the first Catholic Church for African Americans west of Baltimore, served by the first openly Black priest. Reset gets the story from architecture guru Dennis Rodkin for our series What’s That Building? For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

From the creation of fabrics to the washing of synthetic fibers to the quick disposal of yet another piece of en vogue clothing, fast fashion harms the environment in multiple ways. Reset discusses local alternatives to fast fashion with Reset sustainability contributor Karen Weigert, co-director of Monarch Thrift Shop Mireya Fouché and Kate VanAsten, founder of the sustainable fashion brand Wulfka. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to borrow $830 million squeezed through the City Council Wednesday. Meanwhile, two high-profile trials are underway in Chicago and a near-miss at Midway Airport had Chicagoans questioning the safety of air travel. Reset checks in on those stories and other big local news of the week in our Weekly News Recap with WBEZ’s Patrick Smith, Tessa Weinberg and Alden Loury. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Most people celebrate paczki day on Fat Tuesday, but in keeping with Polish tradition, many bakeries in the Chicago area actually start selling paczki on the Thursday before Lent. We caught up with a bakery manager and people picking up their paczki orders to hear what makes this jelly filled donut so special. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Feeling the impact of inflation, many Americans are leveraging their buying power – by not buying anything. Thousands of people on social media are promoting what’s called the Economic Blackout. People in Illinois and Chicago are also mobilizing around the idea. To learn more about the effort and motive behind it, Reset was joined by the founder of The People’s Union USA John Schwarz; Rev. Otis Moss III, Senior Pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ; and Peg Dublin, co-chair of Third Act Illinois Peg Dublin. We also sat down with DePaul University economics professor Brian Thompson and small business owner Julie Horowitz to learn more about the impact of consumer activism. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

A new report from WBEZ finds that the rise in rents in Chicago is rising faster than the rise in median household income. Whereas the latter has only risen 9% on average, rents in the city have gone up more than 28%. The result? Families are struggling to find an affordable place to call home. Reset digs into it with WBEZ data reporter Amy Qin and housing director of Impact for Equity Daniel Kay Hertz about where rents are going up the fastest, the slowest, and what options are left to residents trying to live within their means. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.