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Posts published in “Latest News”

Illinois has a new agency dedicated to reducing gun violence

Chris Patterson is the head of the state’s new Office of Firearm Violence Prevention. The office will help dole out a promised $250 million dollars to violence prevention organizations over the next three years. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Patrick Smith

Sean Casten and Marie Newman in Illinois 2022 election

Sean Casten vs. Marie Newman would be a vastly different match-up than these two politically promising Illinois incumbents once envisioned. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dave McKinney

Costly enforcement: from delinquent water bill to code violation

Chicago relies on private debt collectors to force Chicago homeowners with delinquent water bills to pay up. But before debt collectors get to work, past due water bills turn into code violations. More than 20 years ago, the city created the Department...

Northwestern fellow shares COP26 climate summit experience

Alexandra Tarzikhan, a fellow at Northwestern University’s Center for International Human Rights, was among the people attending the first week of COP26 - the United Nations climate change summit. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

How water became unaffordable for some Chicagoans

For years, Chicago officials turned water into a revenue stream, rapidly increasing the cost of a resource that people can’t live without. Tens of thousands of Chicagoans racked up over $421 million in delinquent water bills over the last decade. Much ...

Three Questions with Robert Cozzolino, editor of “Supernatural America”

America is haunted, marked by a violent history that is an inescapable and unsettled part of the nation’s heritage. A new exhibition and catalog, Supernatural America, brings together two hundred years of this haunted history, showcasing the paranormal in American Art. We spoke with the show’s curator, Robert Cozzolino, to

The post Three Questions with Robert Cozzolino, editor of “Supernatural America” appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

Read an excerpt from “Bette Davis Black and White” by Julia A. Stern

Bette Davis was not only one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, but also one of its most outspoken advocates on matters of race. In Bette Davis Black and White, Julia A. Stern analyzes Davis’s career against the history of American race relations. Stern weaves in memories of her own experiences as a

The post Read an excerpt from “Bette Davis Black and White” by Julia A. Stern appeared first on The Chicago Blog.

Thousands of CPS students are still without bus service

Some 2,300 of them are special education students. CPS expects all students with special needs to have service after winter break. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Adriana Cardona-Maguigad

Chicago budgets unprecedented mental health spending

Chicago will be spending an unprecedented amount of money to support mental health next year, but some activists say the fight isn't over, until all the mental health clinics shuttered under Rahm Emanuel are re-opened. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Claud...

How Scotland’s climate change summit affects Illinois

Illinois State Climatologist, Doctor Trent Ford discusses how strategies for cutting emissions, amongst global leaders at COP-26, affect us here in Illinois. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Lauren Frost

How to make health care more equitable in Chicago

This week, we’ve been chronicling the saga of historic Mercy Hospital on Chicago’s Near South Side – WBEZ’s Kristen Schorsch has been reporting on this story for more than a year. Host: Melba Lara; Producer: Al Keefe

Chicago parks leaders’ secret briefing on lifeguard abuse

The board president and chief executive were told that an unfolding probe involved 34 subjects at seven beaches and three pools, eight months before WBEZ made it public. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

Five Questions between Michael Frame, author of “Geometry of Grief,” and Barbara J. King

At a moment of profound collective grief, we are all looking for tools that will help us to process and grow from the challenges of our time. Few would suspect that such tools might be found in geometry. In his profound and hopeful book, Geometry of Grief: Reflections on Mathematics,

The post Five Questions between Michael Frame, author of “Geometry of Grief,” and Barbara J. King appeared first on The Chicago Blog.