Author: WBEZ Chicago

Gov. JB Pritzker unveils his plans to reopen the state and expand vaccine eligibility. Illinois lawmakers begin the redistricting process. Plus, a shooting spree in Atlanta sparks fear and anger in Chicago-area Asian communities. Reset breaks down the biggest news of the week in our Weekly News Recap with host Sasha-Ann Simons. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast and please leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, go to the WBEZ website or follow us on Twitter at @WBEZreset.

The Atlanta shootings on Tuesday have sparked fear and anger in Chicago-area Asian communities. Six of the eight victims were of Asian descent — a reminder of the ongoing wave of anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination across the country. Over the last year, nearly 3,800 incidents of racism and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the U.S. have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate. Reset talks to WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, a local official and a community leader about the rise in anti-Asian attacks and ways to move forward. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast and please leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, go to the WBEZ website or follow us on Twitter at @WBEZreset

A new program from the Illinois Housing Development Authority is looking to help those Illinoisans most burdened by student loan debt in an effort to boost homeownership in the state. We talk to the head of the IHDA about the program and why this is a priority. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast. And please give us a rating, it helps other listeners find us. For more about Reset, go to wbez.org and follow us on Twitter @WBEZReset

Over the years, Mexican-American poet and best-selling author Sandra Cisneros has earned many awards and accolades. Now, she has a new honor to add to the list: the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Fuller Award for lifetime achievement. Reset talked to Cisneros about receiving the award, her relationship with Chicago and her love for the city's writing community For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast and please leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, go to the WBEZ website or follow us on Twitter at @WBEZreset

The House Theater and Hubbard Street Dance are two well-known members of Chicago’s arts community. And each has recently named a new artistic director. Reset talks with them about the big task of navigating House and Hubbard out of the choppy waters of the pandemic.

Reset checks in with an infectious disease specialist for our weekly check-in to provide clarity and answers to your questions, comments and concerns about COVID-19.

Each week, WBEZ and Reset take you inside the biggest local and state stories from the last 7 days with help from 2 great guests. This week, WBEZ’s Patrick Smith and Block Club Chicago’s Dawn Rhodes break down everything from COVID-19 vaccine distribution to the stimulus package to what Chicago is doing about a rash of police suicides. For more Reset interviews, subscribe to this podcast and please leave us a rating. That helps other listeners find us. For more about the program, go to the WBEZ website or follow us on Twitter at @WBEZreset.

For the final entry in this edition of our Closing the Gap series, Reset explores disparities in mental health care and how the coronavirus pandemic is changing the way we think about this issue. We look at how local government — past and present — has handled mental health policy. Plus, Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez Sanchez discusses her push to reallocate city dollars away from police and into public mental health services. And the CEO of Chicago-based Thresholds talks about taking calls from residents across the state who are struggling with anxiety and depression