Author: WBEZ Chicago

There’s a movement in the works to restore voting rights to incarcerated people in Illinois. Advocates say it’s a racial justice issue and could reduce recidivism. Reset talks to associate professor of political science at DePaul University Cristina Rivers, formerly incarcerated person Jimmy Soto, and the policy manager at Chicago Votes Frederique Desrosiers. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

More than 54,000 incarcerated people, including more than 1,000 in Illinois, responded to a Marshall Project survey about their thoughts on the November election. Reset digs into what they had to say about the issues that matter to them and who they plan to vote for in the presidential race with Nicole Lewis and Jamiles Lartey of The Marshall Project. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Illinois is one of 48 states that revokes the right to vote for people in prison convicted of a felony. But that hasn’t stopped some from learning – and teaching – about voting and political engagement to prepare for when they reenter society. Reset sits down Brian Beals, a Chicagoan who was wrongfully imprisoned for 35 years and taught civics education classes to other incarcerated people. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Let’s be honest. There’s a lot to be stressed out about. And while there are umpteen tips and tricks for de-stressing, one route could be building emotional resilience. Research coming out of Northwestern University shows that positive emotions can help people cope and adapt to stressful situations. Reset sat down with Judith Moskowitz, Chief of Intervention Sciences in the Department of Medical Social Sciences at Northwestern University to learn more about the resilience challenge. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Cases of syphilis are on the rise in the United States. Chicago is also mirroring nationwide trends. The sexually transmitted infection was down to just over 30,000 cases in 2000, but that number rose to above 200,000 in 2022. To understand why, and how to slow this trend, we talked with Dr. Kimberly Stanford, associate professor of medicine at UChicago. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The U.S. Surgeon General says parents across the country are struggling with increased stress and declining mental health. Parents are juggling work, childcare, education, finances, time management, loneliness and much more. So we’re revisiting a recent conversation looking at the biggest challenges parents are facing in the U.S. today and how communities are coming together to support parents and children. Our guests are Rosalia Salgado, mother of two from Hermosa, and community healer with Community Organizing and Family Issues; and Teri McKean, parent and director of Crisis and Support Operations at NAMI Chicago. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

As early voting expands in Chicago and Cook County, voters will choose between a Democrat, Republican and Libertarian to replace Kim Foxx as the next Cook County State’s Attorney. The state’s attorney – the county’s top prosecutor – oversees an office of about 1,300 employees and sets the tone for how justice is meted out in Cook County. WBEZ’s Reset sat down with two of the candidates seeking to replace her. (Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski was not able to come to the station for an interview.) In this episode, we sit down with Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke, who is a former appellate court judge, trial court judge, defense attorney and prosecutor with 33 years of experience in criminal justice. To hear our conversation with her opponent Republican Bob Fioretti, look back at our podcast feed. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

As early voting expands in Chicago and Cook County, voters will choose between a Democrat, Republican and Libertarian to replace Kim Foxx as the next Cook County State’s Attorney. The state’s attorney – the county’s top prosecutor – oversees an office of about 1,300 employees and sets the tone for how justice is meted out in Cook County. WBEZ’s Reset sat down with two of the candidates seeking to replace her. (Libertarian Andrew Charles Kopinski was not able to come to the station for an interview.) In this episode, we sit down with Republican Bob Fioretti is a private defense attorney and former Chicago alderman who previously ran unsuccessfully for Chicago mayor, Cook County Board president and Cook County State’s Attorney. A longtime Democrat, he switched his party affiliation in 2022. To hear our conversation with his opponent Democrat Eileen O’Neill Burke, look back at our podcast feed. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Typically, freelance musicians don’t have the benefits many 9-to-5 jobs offer, like retirement accounts or health benefits. But a new group called Golden Egg, in partnership with the Experimental Sound Studio, is trying to change that through a matching grant program funded through the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. It will select 16 artists to receive a share of $50,000 to put into a retirement fund. Reset learns more about the goals of the effort with Golden Egg’s project manager Deidre Huckabay and steering committee member Adrian Ruiz. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.