City Cast Chicago

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In Chicago, Nature is Closer Than You Think Apr 27, 2022

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When you live in a big city like Chicago, it can be really easy to forget just how much nature is available to us. Cook County has more than 70,000 acres of forest preserves. Our wetlands, prairies, woodlands, and savannas are home to hundreds of native plants and animals. Conservationists and organizers are working year-round to preserve these spaces and educate residents. As Chicago gets its spring colors — and the birds, butterflies, and river otters reemerge — we talk to someone whose passion is getting people outside and protecting those lands for the future. Brenda Elmore of Friends of the Forest Preserves tells Jacoby about how she got into the outdoors and why she wants to educate others.

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From UIC to Starbucks, Unions are Having a Moment Apr 26, 2022

Show notes

**UPDATE**

The Graduate Employees' Organization tweeted late Monday night that the strike was suspended. The podcast is updated to include that news.

Statement from UIC about a tentative agreement

After a year without a new labor contract, the graduate student union at the University of Illinois Chicago went on strike last week. Bargaining continues around wage increases, student fees, healthcare costs, and more. On Monday, the union sent a letter to Gov. JB Pritzker warning the standoff with the UIC administration will do “serious long-term damage to our students’ learning and to the university’s reputation.” The momentum around labor organizing is not just picking up on campus. Workers are fighting for better conditions across industries, from corporations like Amazon and Starbucks to smaller, local companies like tortillerías. We talk to Jeff Schuhrke, a labor historian and professor at UIC, about the importance of this moment. Schuhrke also did his graduate work at the university and was once part of the Graduate Employees' Organization that’s on strike.

Some good news:

Zine Club Chicago Online: Poetry Zines Edition

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Ald. Nicole Lee Aims to Chart New Course for 11th Ward Apr 25, 2022

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A month ago, Nicole Lee was appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to finish the term of former 11th Ward Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, following his conviction for tax fraud. An alderperson’s responsibilities include voting on legislation, constituent services, allocating resources to the ward, and more. Lee is a third-generation Chinatown resident, Whitney Young alumna, and she most recently led community engagement at United Airlines. Lee is Chicago’s first Chinese American alderperson, in a city where Asian Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group. Her appointment comes at a critical time as the ward remapping process continues. The two proposed maps each redraw the 11th ward as the city’s first Asian American–majority ward. We visited Ald. Lee at her Bridgeport office ahead of her first full City Council meeting Wednesday.

Some Good News:

ChiTeen Lit Fest 2022

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Do Cameras Make Us Safer? Plus, Masks Off (Again) and the Great Potato Salad Debate Apr 22, 2022

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After a judge struck down the federal mask mandate on planes and public transit, Gov. Pritzker revoked the state’s mask policy on buses and trains. Soon after, CTA, Metra, and Amtrak, along with rideshare companies and airlines began moving to mask-optional policies. Harvey World Herald founder Amethyst Davis and Block Club Chicago’s Jamie Nesbitt Golden join us and tell us why they are keeping their masks on for the time being. We also discuss weekend plans across the city, our favorite cookout dishes, and the proliferation of security cameras in both Harvey and Chicago. Share this episode with just one friend and help us grow the City Cast Chicago network!

Stories discussed this week:

Patti LaBell's Mac and Cheese

CPD's use of license plate cameras

Bronzeville trail campaign kickoff

Check out The Other Art Fair Chicago April 21-24 in Fulton Market.

AND! Get 30% off The Other Art Fair with the Code: CITYCAST (One word)

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Chicago Improv Alums Matt Walsh and Brad Morris Take on Tech Dependency in ‘Unplugging’ Apr 21, 2022

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“Unplugging” opens in theaters this weekend in Chicago and suburbs. Eva Longoria and Matt Walsh star as a married couple who leave Chicago for a rural, getaway meant to be a digital detox. But things take a turn. City Cast Chicago host Jacoby Cochran sat down with Walsh and co-producer Brad Morris to talk about the creation of the movie and what it really means to be unplugged from a world run by technology. They also discuss Walsh and Morris’ Chicago upbringing and how their time on the improv scene here shaped their careers.

Check out The Other Art Fair Chicago April 21-24 in Fulton Market.

AND! Get 30% off The Other Art Fair with the Code: CITYCAST (One word)

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

The Illinois Lottery Comes From A Bronzeville Parlor Game Apr 20, 2022

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The Illinois Lottery as we know it today with Pick 3, Pick 4, and Mega Millions games has its roots in a 19th century parlor game known as “Policy.” Brought to Chicago in the 1880s, Policy was popularized in South and West side communities and sold as an opportunity to change families' lives. Sound familiar? In fact, during the height of play in the 1930s and '40s, more than $20 million annually flowed through nearly 4,500 Policy locations. The “Policy Kings,” as they were called, became the Robin Hoods of the neighborhood, helping build businesses and wealth in otherwise disinvested areas. Host Jacoby Cochran talks to the Chicago History Museum’s Charles Bethea and local tour guide Beatrice Hardy about how Policy was integral to the development of Bronzeville, Chicago’s Black Metropolis.

Check out The Other Art Fair Chicago April 21-24 in Fulton Market.

AND! Get 30% off The Other Art Fair with the Code: CITYCAST (One word)

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

New Podcast Makes Oprah a College Level Course Apr 19, 2022

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Oprah Winfrey—aka “The Queen of Talk”—covered everything from veganism to the L.A. Riots to Dr. Phil (yeah, she had some misses, too) over 25 years of her classic talk show, which started here in Chicago in 1986. “Oprahdemics,” a Radiotopia from PRX podcast that digs into the enormous cultural impact of Oprah’s talk show, digs into the icon as a cultural syllabus.

Host Jacoby Cochran sits down with historians and co-hosts Dr. Kellie Carter Jackson and Dr. Leah Wright-Rigueur to talk about some of the Oprah show’s most iconic moments, and which ones didn’t age so well.

Check out The Other Art Fair Chicago April 21-24 in Fulton Market.

AND! Get 30% off The Other Art Fair with the Code: CITYCAST (One word)

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

'You Want Harold, You Got Him': How Harold Washington Beat the Machine Apr 18, 2022

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Friday, April 15, would have been Harold Washington’s 100th birthday, and centennial celebrations continue this week. More than 30 years after his death, Chicago’s first Black mayor is still lauded as the leader who rocked the Democratic machine that had reigned supreme at City Hall. In addition to galvanizing Black voters in 1983, he built a coalition of Latinx, LGBTQ, and progressive white Chicagoans. Journalist Laura Washington (no relation) worked in Mayor Washington’s office. She tells Jacoby what made the former mayor so magnetic, unifying, and special. We also look ahead as candidates, including incumbent Lori Lightfoot, gear up for another mayoral campaign to see what Washington’s legacy can tell us about today.

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

CTA Safety, Sky High Grocery Bills, and Let's Go Bulls! Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

Earlier this week a man opened fire on a New York City subway train shooting 10 people and injuring 13 more. This tragedy, alongside four recent incidents of violence on or near CTA trains and buses, has renewed conversations about safety on public transit. Today, City Cast Chicago Host Jacoby Cochran is joined by the Chicago Tribune’s Stephanie Casanova and The Marshall Project’s Ghazala Irshad to look back on this story and others. We also discuss rising price of groceries, the Bulls’ playoff matchup against the reigning NBA champs, and these cute, colorful birdhouses in Roscoe Village.

Come hang out with us at Karaoke Storytellers this Sunday! Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m.

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Wondering What Your Alderperson is Doing All Day? Apr 14, 2022

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City Council members have a lot of meetings. But how many of the full council, committee, and subcommittee meetings do they actually attend? WBEZ, The Daily Line, and Crain’s Chicago Business analyzed records from 526 meetings between May 2019 and December 2021, charting our alders’ attendance. The highest attendance rate was 93%, and the lowest was 54%. Guess which of those rates belonged to freshman alders and which were from Council veterans. WBEZ’s Claudia Morell and The Daily Line’s Erin Hegarty break down the numbers with City Cast Chicago Host Jacoby Cochran and discuss if they will have any impact on next year’s election cycle.

Here's where you can check your alder's score.

Call or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

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