Author: WBEZ Chicago

Chicago City Council gears up to vote on more than $39 million in settlements for police misconduct cases. Reset was joined by Director of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law’s Community Justice and Civil Rights Clinic Sheila Bedi and WBEZ criminal justice editor Patrick Smith to look at how much progress has been made on mandatory reforms in CPD – and how much money a lack of progress is costing taxpayers. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

It’s freezing now, but in a few weeks, cabin fever is likely to set in. But the outdoors beckon. Reset gets a roundup of winter activities from freelance outdoor and travel journalist Erica Zazo to put in your back pocket. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Some insurers are denying mental health treatment when they deem the patient has started to improve. A ProPublica investigation shows that the level of improvement is hard to measure, and the guidelines insurers are using to make these decisions do not always match mental health providers’ standards of care. Reset gets the story from ProPublica reporter Duaa Eldeib. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Karina’s Bill was passed by the Illinois General Assembly last Tuesday, closing a loophole that allowed those accused of domestic violence to keep their guns. The measure is named in honor of Karina Gonzalez, a woman from Little Village who – along with her daughter, 15 – was fatally shot by her husband in July 2023. To learn more about what the legislation changes in Illinois, Reset sits down with two advocates who work closely with survivors of domestic violence: Stephanie Love-Pattersono, CEO of The National Network to End Domestic Violence; and Maralea Negron, director of policy, advocacy and research at The Network. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The beginning of the year is a great time to start making your calendars for theater you won’t want to miss. Also, Chicago Theatre Week tickets are now on sale! Reset learns more from WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

With the U.S. Surgeon General calling for warning labels on alcohol, there’s plenty of reasons to consider scaling back. And the good news? There are a lot of tasty things to drink instead. Reset gets a roundup of some great non-alcoholic drinks to sip all year long from Pat Corcoran, co-founder of Years, a craft non-alcoholic beer company and Carrie May, a nurse practitioner and founder of the sober community Chicago AF. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Nearly 300 new laws are now in effect in Illinois in 2025. Chicago Public Schools parents are under the microscope after a damning report from the district’s inspector general. Meanwhile, former Illinois House speaker Michael Madigan spoke candidly about his life and work for the first time in years during his federal corruption trial. Reset discusses those stories and much more with Chicago Sun-Times education reporter Nader Issa, WTTW political correspondent Amanda Vinicky and ABC7 News anchor Ravi Baichwal. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Drivers in New York City will now have to pay $9 to enter the “congestion relief zone” below 60th Street in Manhattan. The tolls are expected to generate billions of dollars for the city and alleviate congestion for drivers. So, could it work in Chicago? Reset discusses with director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University Joseph Schwieterman, research professor in the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Justin Marlowe and Director of Transportation at Metropolitan Planning Council Audrey Wennink. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Finding the truth could get harder on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, now that Mark Zuckerberg says Meta will no longer be fact-checking. Executive editor at NewsGuard Jim Warren and lecturer at Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism Michael Spikes join Reset to discuss. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.