Author: WBEZ Chicago

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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Activists Get Creative In Their Response To ICE Actions In Chicago

As federal immigration agents continue their aggressive actions in Chicago’s immigrant communities, residents are rolling up their sleeves and getting creative in their support for their neighbors. In the Loop checks in with Delilah Martinez, social entrepreneur, founder of the Mural Movement and owner of Valt Gallerie and Iraís Sosa, co-founder Sin Titulo and its project to help deliver groceries to folks who do not feel comfortable leaving their homes due to ICE and Border Patrol presence on the streets. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Pros And Cons Of Chicago’s Proposed Corporate Head Tax

Chicago faces a $1.15 billion deficit. To raise revenue, Mayor Johnson proposed a corporate head tax that would charge companies with 100 or more employees – who spend 50% of their time in Chicago – $21 per employee per month. This would raise an estimated $100 million annually and would be used to fund community safety and violence interruption. But some business leaders say it’s a “job killer.” In the Loop speaks with Ralph Martire, executive director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, Julie Dworkin, co-executive director of the Institute for the Public Good and Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association for different viewpoints on the corporate head tax. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Was The Rev. Jesse Jackson A Man Before His Time?

“A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power” lays out Jackson’s memorable presidential runs of the 1980s, his roots in Chicago and how his push for a “Rainbow Coalition” changed American politics. In the Loop checks in with first-time author and CNN news anchor Abby Phillip to discuss her new book. For a full archive of In The Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Oct. 17, 2025

Federal agents arrested immigrants across the Chicago area and detained U.S. citizens, including a teen protester and will extend their stay at Great Lakes Naval Base. Lawmakers in Springfield condemned ICE raids and explored state responses to federal agents in Illinois. Mayor Johnson pitches a corporate head tax in his budget address. Reset breaks down these stories and much more with journalists Alex Nitkin with the Illinois Answers Project, City Cast Chicago’s Jacoby Cochran, and Violet Miller with the Chicago Sun-Times. For a full archive of In The Loop interviews, head over to www.wbez.org/intheloop.
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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Meet The Chicago Choirboys Who Nearly Won ‘America’s Got Talent’

A high school choir from Auburn Gresham made it all the way to the finals in the national competition show ‘America’s Got Talent’ last month. Now they’re back in Chicago and back in class. In the Loop checks in with members Derrick Davis, Bernard Freeman, Kevin Wilson and Tyshawn Brown about their journey to Los Angeles, the “brotherhood” they enjoy in the choir and what comes next for each of them. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Blaming Mothers For Autism Goes Further Back Than Trump’s Tylenol Claims

Since President Trump announced at a White House news conference on Sept. 22 that pregnant women's use of acetaminophen, sold under the brand name Tylenol, might raise the risk of autism in their children, claims about the drug have been circulating online. But this isn’t the first time moms have been blamed for their children's autism. In fact, an early theory of autism revolves around the term “refrigerator mothers.” In the Loop discusses this history of parental shame and uncovers the genetic components of autism with psychologist Dr. Latha Valluripalli Soorya at Rush, and J.J Hanley, a film producer and local mother of an adult with autism. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop
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Curious City - How a group of volunteers saved a rare Illinois wildflower

The Kankakee mallow is one of the rarest plants on the continent, according to the Smithsonian Garden in Washington D.C. It’s a pink flower that grows on tall stalks and is native to just one small island in the middle of the Kankakee River, about an hour south of Chicago. But when botanist Rachel Goad paddled over to take a look back in 2014 with a group of native plant enthusiasts, instead they found an island overgrown with invasive honeysuckle. Was this special native plant gone for good? Perhaps, if not for the efforts of a small group of volunteers, initially led by conservationist Trevor Edmonson. “Hearing the phrase that the Kankakee mallow only grows on this island — anywhere in the world, like that is the extent of its remaining natural habitat — is such a draw for anybody, especially someone early on in their career,” Edmonson said. Today, reporter Claire Keenan-Kurgan from the Points North podcast at Interlochen Public Radio guides us on this floral rescue mission. Points North is a podcast that tells great stories from the Great Lakes. For more stories like this one, go to pointsnorthpodcast.org.
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In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons - Hospitals Must Remain Sanctuaries Say Local Public Health Experts

In an op-ed in the Sun-Times, public health experts call for maintaining medical facilities as “sanctuaries that protect human life,” and outline steps to protect patients from immigration enforcement. In the Loop talks with Dr. Linda Rae Murray, professor, University of Illinois Chicago’s School of Public Health and former chief medical officer of the Cook County Department of Public Health, and Dr. Claudia Fegan, national coordinator for the Physicians for a National Health Program and former chief medical officer of Cook County Health. For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop