Stay ConnectedChicago’s daily news podcast, fresh every weekday morning. Host Jacoby Cochran brings you timely conversations with news and culture makers; activists and artists; bus drivers and students; those who love and hate this place. City Cast Chicago is a smart and delightful new way to connect with the city we share. Learn more and subscribe to our newsletter at chicago.citycast.fm.
Named Best Podcast by Chicago Reader 2022
Chicago is bracing for nearly half a million people to flood Grant Park for Lollapalooza. The four-day festival makes residents cranky anyway, with street closures, crowded buses, and trains, teenagers stumbling around during rush hour, but Lolla during a pandemic is another level. Chicago’s Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady says festival organizers and the city have made the necessary preparations to keep people safe and said other festivals around the country went on as scheduled even without COVID safety protocols. We talk to a music journalist from Miami who went to one of those music festivals about what it was like, and a Chicago reporter who talked to experts about how to stay safe if you are going to Lollapalooza this weekend.
Guests:
Kim Bellware-Reporter, Washington Post
Tony Centeno-Freelance Journalist
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This weekend, the Chinatown Summer Fair is back after taking a year off because of the pandemic. The event is also two days instead of one this year and is expected to draw about 40,000 people. There will be hip-hop music, live DJs, and booths from members of all of Chicago’s AAPI communities. Some of this year's changes are part of a push by younger Chinatown residents to make the neighborhood more welcoming and accessible and to remind all of Chicago that there’s something for them in Chinatown. We talk to Shifa Zhong who is using his social media presence and marketing skills to promote the event, and Ben Lau, a longtime member of the community who wants to see younger residents stay in or move back to Chinatown.
Guests:
Shifa Zhong-Owner, Tian Represent; Chinatown Shifa
Ben Lau-Executive Director, Chinese American Museum of Chicago
Links:
Chinatown: the Next Generation from Chicago Reader
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After several extensions of the state’s eviction moratorium, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker issued an executive order last Friday that allows eviction filings to begin on August 1. Both the state and city have available rental assistance, and housing advocates are doing their part, too. Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago expects close to 100,000 applications for some help. And while that program has been traditionally been focused on homeowners, they’re helping renters and small unit landlords because they say evictions on this scale will harm the entire housing system in Chicago. We talk to NHS about what services are available for those who could be facing houselessness.
Guest: Donna Clarke — Chief Operating Officer, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago
Links:
Illinois Rental Payment Program
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City Council passed a civilian police oversight ordinance that assuages some activists’ calls for more accountability, but ultimately, Mayor Lori Lightfoot still retains a lot of power. Host Jacoby Cochran talks about that story, as well as “Overhyped” and “Under-hyped” stories with WCIU’s Brandon Pope. Jacoby and Brandon also talk about the joy an NBA Finals win brought for all of the Midwest.
Guest: Brandon Pope, reporter & anchor at WCIU @BpopeTV
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This summer’s Olympics are the fourth for Chicago Tribune reporter Stacy St. Clair. And, it’s already like no other games she’s covered. After weeks of tests and preparations, Stacy and her colleague, photojournalist Brian Cassella, have each been quarantining in their hotel rooms for three days, and are allowed 15 minutes a day to go outside, get some fresh air, and maybe run to the minimart for coffee. But, only if they can make it back before the security guard’s timer goes off. On Wednesday, Tokyo officials reported another spike in COVID numbers, which means reporters and others won’t even be allowed that 15 minutes. Athletes are tested daily and some have already had their Olympic dreams slashed because of positive tests. We check in with Stacy to hear more about what to expect from the Chicago-area athletes, how Tokyo citizens are responding to the Games, and how the IOC is handling some of the criticism.
Guest
Stacy St. Clair--Chicago Tribune reporter
Chicago Tribune Olympics coverage
Some Chicago athletes going to the Games
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Back in April, WBEZ reporter Dan Mihalopoulos reported that that the Chicago Park District was looking into allegations by former lifeguards who say they experienced “criminal sexual assault and aggravated criminal sexual abuse” while working at city beaches and pools. The internal investigation had been happening for more than a year, and according to documents, revealed that the parks superintendent knew about the allegations for at least a month before reporting them to the Inspector General’s office. After Mihalopoulos’ reporting in April, dozens of women reached out and described a culture of abuse, harassment, and assault. The Park District says it won’t answer questions until the Inspector General’s report is done. And, now, Mihalopoulos has learned that toxic culture goes beyond Chicago’s border and extends north to Evanston, where former lifeguards signed a petition last year asking for a probe into alleged abuse.
We talk to Dan Mihalopoulos about what’s happening with each of these investigations.
Warning: There are graphic descriptions of sexual assault in this episode.
City Cast Chicago has a new, cool referral program. It goes like this:
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For most Chicagoans, the Loop is just where the office is (or used to be) or a place to take your family when they’re in town. But as downtown recovers from the pandemic, the Chicago Loop Alliance is working to make the Loop more welcoming to everyone. One way they’re trying to do that is by closing three blocks along State Street this summer for “Sundays on State.” Host Jacoby Cochran was there this past Sunday to talk about the Loop’s recovery with alliance president Michael Edwards.
Michael Edwards, President and CEO, Chicago Loop Alliance (@ChiLoopAlliance)
Hospitality Hiring Event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hospitality-hiring-event-tickets-161536503029
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For the last year, the housing market in most big cities has been in overdrive. The pandemic forced us inside our homes; they became our offices, our schools and the center of our social lives. That led families to seek more space, and low interest rates had longtime renters making the switch to homeowner.s One area of the city and surrounding area that is seeing homeowner growth? Black middle class families on Chicago’s South Side and south suburbs. Crain’s Chicago Business real estate reporter Dennis Rodkin explains what combination of factors is allowing these families to buy, and why that’s important for primarily Black areas.
Guest:
Dennis Rodkin, Real Estate Reporter, Crain's Chicago Business,
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A former Chicago Public Schools principal has been accused of stealing of $200,000 from the school to pay her mortgage, which garnered a little bit of, “Yeah, what else is new in Chicago?” from this week’s guest, Jill Hopkins. Jill hosts “Jill Afternoons” on Vocalo Radio. She and host Jacoby Cochran break down that news, Scottie Pippen’s new gig as an Airbnb host, worries about COVID at camps, and they share some mutual admiration for Candace Parker.
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Dario Durham and Sara Faddah come from very different food traditions. Faddah is originally from Jordan, and she cooks the Arab foods her grandmother made when she was a child. Durham is a born-and-bred Chicagoan, and grew up on soul food like mac ‘n cheese, cornbread and candied yams. So when they started dating in 2019, they began exploring each other’s food cultures, and building their own list of favorite dishes and restaurants as a couple. They both realized that meant expanding their tastes to restaurants all across the city. In fact, one in every neighborhood. They document their eating adventures in the new podcast, "77 Flavors of Chicago."
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