Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

It’s been two years since Gov. JB Pritzker declared a statewide stay-at-home order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Illinois. Since then, the pandemic has taken many twists and turns and has shaped our lives in countless ways. Reset reflects on the lessons we’ve learned and what we want to take us with moving forward. GUEST: Jonathan Malesic [ma-LESS-ik], author of The End of Burnout: Why Work Drains Us and How to Build Better Lives

The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson kick off Monday. Her nomination is being praised by Democrats and condemned by the GOP. Reset previews what to expect from the hearings for President Biden’s pick. GUEST: Steven Schwinn, Professor of Law, University of Illinois Chicago Law School; Co-Editor, Constitutional Law Prof Blog

Crime and policing dominated the local news cycle this week. The mayor’s vaccine deadline for Chicago Police came and went, and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx declined to press charges against the officers who shot and killed Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez last March. Plus, the city’s ward remapping may end up in the hands of the people. And former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson gives gas away for free, with lines around the block. GUESTS: Heather Cherone, political reporter for WTTW News Patrick Smith, WBEZ criminal justice reporter

Illinois’ senior senator will have a front row seat to history being made, as Judge Jackson could soon be the nation’s first Black female Supreme Court Justice. But the Republican National Committee has called Jackson a radical, left wing activist. How will Sen. Durbin keep the hearings from turning into a bitter partisan process? The senator also shares his concerns over what’s next in Ukraine, and gives a look ahead to Democrats’ priorities for the midterms. Guest: Sen. Dick Durbin

Reset checks in with a police accountability expert following State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s decision not to file criminal charges against the officers who shot and killed 13 year-old Adam Toledo and 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez. GUEST: Craig Futterman, Clinical Professor at University of Chicago Law School; founder of Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law, which would limit discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary schools. And now, similar measures are being introduced in at least seven other states. Reset uncovers the effects these restrictions could have on queer youth across the U.S. GUESTS: LaSaia Wade, founder and CEO of Brave Space Alliance Dr. Joseph Mello, political science professor at DePaul University

Russia attacked a military base just outside Lviv, Ukraine, near the Polish border this weekend, killing at least 35 people. Reset checks in with freelance journalist Julian Hayda, who’s reporting on the ground in Lviv, about the aftermath of that attack and the latest developments in the war in Ukraine. Guest: Julian Hayda, freelance journalist, 3rd generation Ukrainian-American, former WBEZ producer (Three Holy Hierarchs Kyiv Theological Seminary)

Chicago schools remove its mask mandate. Mike Madigan pleads not guilty. Plus, actor Jussie Smollett is sentenced to 150 days in jail and 30 months of probation. Reset goes behind the week’s headlines on the Weekly News Recap with Crain’s Chicago Business government and politics reporter A.D. Quig and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Nader Issa. GUEST: Nader Issa [NAY-der EE-suh], Chicago Sun-Times reporter, GUEST: A.D. Quig, government and politics reporter at Crain’s Chicago Business

Hazel M. Johnson founded People for Community Recovery to address tenant issues at Altgeld Gardens, including concerns about asbestos, lead contamination and high rates of cancer among residents. She died in 2011. In honor of Women’s History Month, Reset checks in with Johnson’s daughter, and current executive director of the People for Community Recovery, to hear more about her legacy and the work that continues. 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

In the latest round of economic sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday a ban on U.S. imports of Russian oil. The move comes as the country is already seeing record-high gas prices. GUEST: Ryan Kellogg, professor and deputy dean for academic studies at the UChicago Harris School of Public Policy, Molly Hart, AAA spokesperson