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Posts published in “Latest News”

What is a ‘normal’ amount of snow for Chicago?

With more snow possible later this week for Chicago, atmospheric scientist Dr. Scott Collis joined WBEZ to share more about what makes snow flurries form and fall. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

Chicago has the most 311 complaints per capita in the U.S.

Storage Cafe analyzed ten major cities in the U.S and found Chicago had the most 311 complaints per capita in 2020. Monica Eng wrote about the high number of complaints for Axios Chicago. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

January 6th, One Year Later

January 6, 2021, will forever be marked in history as the date of the Capital riot. Now that we’re a year out, what does this anniversary mean for American democracy? We asked three of our leading political science authors to offer their perspectives. Darren W. Davis, coauthor of Racial Resentment

The post January 6th, One Year Later appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

‘Dilla’ Thomas on Chicago’s first panel on police misconduct

On the evening of April 15, 1972, Doctor Daniel Claiborne, an African American, was arrested by white police officers on Chicago’s south side. Two weeks later he died in a south side hospital. Shermann “Dilla” Thomas discusses how Doctor Claiborne’s de...

Great Lakes researchers want more ‘smart’ technology

Scientists say sensor networks, cloud-based data and other innovations could reveal more about how climate change is altering the Great Lakes. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Mark LeBien; Producer: Lauren Frost

Read an Excerpt from “We Are All Whalers” by Michael J. Moore

The North Atlantic right whale is a species so endangered that there are likely more researchers in the world studying them than there are individual whales in the sea. Killed by entanglement in fishing lines and collision with boats moving along global shipping routes, their population has declined more than

The post Read an Excerpt from “We Are All Whalers” by Michael J. Moore appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer’s Chicago origins

You know Dasher and Dancer … but do you know the most famous reindeer of all was created right here in Chicago? Local historian Sherman “Dilla” Thomas and WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz discuss the origin of Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. Host: Mary Dixon; Produce...

Chicago set for record low snowfall this Christmas

This is the latest Chicago has gone without a first measurable snowfall on record. State climatologist Dr. Trent Ford shares what’s causing the lack of flurries. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

How downstate Illinois is shaping the race for governor

The deepening polarity in Illinois' politics promises to shape next year’s race for governor, in what could be a big Republican year nationally. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dave McKinney

Read an excerpt from “Being Somebody and Black Besides” by George B. Nesbitt

The late Chicagoan George Nesbitt could perhaps best be described as an ordinary man with an extraordinary gift for storytelling. In his newly uncovered memoir—written fifty years ago, yet never published—he chronicles in vivid and captivating detail the story of how his upwardly mobile Midwestern Black family lived through the

The post Read an excerpt from “Being Somebody and Black Besides” by George B. Nesbitt appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

Remembering Miles Thompson, lost to Chicago gun violence this year

When he was murdered in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood in July, Miles Thompson left behind his parents, step parents and three siblings. He's one of more than 800 people who have died by homicide this year in Chicago. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Patrick...