Author: WBEZ Chicago

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap, Feb. 21, 2025

Efforts to reduce Chicago’s speed limit stalled in City Council. Mayor Brandon Johnson named his final appointee to the Chicago Board of Education. The Chicago Bears announced a 10% ticket hike. Reset goes behind the headlines of those stories and much more in our Weekly News Recap with City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran, Chicago Tribune investigative reporter Ray Long and WBEZ statehouse reporter Alex Degman. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Chicken Soup Might Have Healing Properties After All

We’re in the thick of cold and flu season. To what extent can the foods we eat strengthen our immune system? Reset chats about chicken soup, Vitamin C and more with a clinical assistant professor of nutrition at UIC Shayna Oshita. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Chicago Ukrainians Respond To Trump Admin’s Negotiations With Russia

The Trump administration has begun negotiations with Russia about the war in Ukraine – without any representatives from Ukraine involved. Reset checks in with Ukrainian Americans from Chicago Olya Soroka and Dania Hrynewycz to hear their hopes, apprehensions and predictions for the future of diplomatic relations between the United States and Ukraine. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Curious City - “It’s too complicated”: The state of cannabis record expungement in Illinois

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.”
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Analysis: Gov. Pritzker’s State Of The State Address

Gov. JB Pritzker took to the Illinois House floor in Springfield on Wednesday to deliver his State of the State address. In it, he presented his budgetary priorities and legislative plans, including regulating prescription drug prices, and he discussed how to address the state’s $3.2 billion deficit. Reset digs into the main takeaways of the governor’s budget address with WBEZ statehouse reporter Mawa Iqbal and Ralph Martire, executive director, Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - Local Farmers On Bird Flu, Tariffs, Federal Funding Freeze

Illinois grocers are scrambling to meet egg demand as farmers try to contain an avian flu outbreak, all while dealing with tariffs and end of USAID. Reset hears from Investigate Midwest editor-in-chief Ben Felder, ChiliTrout Farm owner Chad Troutman and Kakadoodle Farms owner Marty Thomas about how they and other farmers are coping. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - How Trump’s Mass Firing Of Federal Workers Could Impact Chicago

President Trump directed federal agencies to fire probationary workers on Thursday, Feb. 13. Federal workers are typically on probation for a year or two after being hired. There are roughly 82,000 federal workers based in Illinois according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Reset gets the latest from Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mitch Armentrout and gets reaction from former federal worker Anthony Stanford. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - ‘Don’t Go To That Part Of Town’: Breaking Chicago’s Segregation Messaging

Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in the country. It’s driven by policy decisions over the decades, but it’s also reinforced by personal networks and perception rather than experience. A new book, titled “Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How To Disrupt It,” uses first-person testimonials to explore how racist messaging can perpetuate this dynamic. Reset sits down with co-authors Tonika Johnson and Maria Krysan to hear how this book came to be, and how it could inform disrupting segregation. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.