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It’s a random Tuesday night and you need live music. Here’s how to find it. Jan 23, 2024

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On any given night in Chicago, you’ve got options when it comes to seeing live music. Dozens and dozens of options. The Chicago Show Calendar is an Instagram account and weekly newsletter that tries to give you all the information on every show in the city, big names and small.

“I do think the calendar gives people a place – like someone starting out – a place to get their name on a calendar when normally it would cost money to do that elsewhere,” said Caroline Patton, who created the calendar.

Patton personally sorts through over 120 venue websites for show information every Tuesday night. She sends out the week’s slate of shows every Wednesday. It’s a labor of love.

“We put out really good music in this city,” Patton said.

In this episode, Patton explains how a personal project expanded into a public service, why she keeps going, and what it’s taught her about Chicago’s music scene.

Morning News: January 23, 2024 Jan 23, 2024

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The Chicago City Council is weighing new regulations for dollar stores. A Cook County state’s attorney candidate is calling on his Democratic primary opponent to return a campaign donation from a former prosecutor tied to alleged torture. It’s been 51 years since the U-S Supreme Court granted nationwide abortion access, and anti-abortion advocates say a lot has changed since then.

Afternoon News: Monday January 22, 2024 Jan 22, 2024

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A Chicago City Council vote on a resolution supporting a ceasefire in Gaza will be postponed. The onslaught of bad weather around Chicago continues. A Boston-based solar energy company is making Chicago its second home.

From page to stage, two student playwrights share their work Jan 22, 2024

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Pegasus Theatre wraps up its 37th Young Playwrights Festival this week. This year’s festival features one-act plays by four Chicago high school students who worked with teachers to submit their work. Professional actors perform the winning scripts. “It was really empowering,” said Grant Parris, one of the playwrights. He and another winner, Alexander Loaiza, submitted their plays to the festival last year and are now freshmen in college. In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Parris and Loaiza about what it was like to see their words come to life onstage.

Morning News: January 22, 2024 Jan 22, 2024

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The Illinois Supreme Court could rule next month on whether the odor of cannabis is enough to search a vehicle. Many Chicagoans suffer from the “winter blues” during the city’s colder months, but experts say there are a few ways to combat feeling down when the weather is dreary. A state lawmaker from northwest Indiana has introduced a bill that would create a sports commission to look into luring a professional sports team – namely – the Chicago Bears.

Afternoon News: Friday January 19, 2024 Jan 19, 2024

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Nearly 2,000 migrants must leave Chicago shelters by February 1st under new deadlines on shelter stays. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson today publicly addressed reports of unsanitary conditions at city-run migrant shelters after new details emerged this week. Bitter cold returns to the Chicago area tonight; expect high temperatures in the teens both Saturday and Sunday.

A look at the Chicago “food scene” in 2024 Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

Today, we accomplished three things: 1) Mourned some of the Chicago restaurants we lost last year, 2) Rejoiced in some of the delicious new spots we’ve recently gained, and 3) Talked about the local food trends to watch for in 2024.

To do that we were joined by Michael Nagrant, the food critic and writer behind The Hunger, a Substack site with local, anonymously-procured food reviews, and Brenda Storch, a food writer, Chicago Eater contributor and the creator of the food and culture site LaVitaminaT.com.

“We’re so lucky in Chicago to have so many cultures converging. And have the availability of ingredients and experiences.” Storch said. “People who cannot go back to their countries will find that memory in a dish that they will find nearby.

Morning News: January 19, 2024 Jan 19, 2024

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Chicago City Council members are weighing whether there should be more limits on having jobs outside of their aldermanic duties. A candidate in the Democratic primary to replace Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx is raising more funds than the person endorsed by the party. Today is the first day of Chicago Restaurant Week.

Afternoon News: Thursday January 18, 2024 Jan 18, 2024

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The White Sox could be on the move. A federal judge has approved a more than $12 million dollar class action settlement for people in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood who were affected after a former coal-fired power plant imploded. The University of Illinois is freezing in-state tuition at all three of its universities.

Police interact with the unhoused. A new guide could improve those encounters. Jan 18, 2024

Show notes

The Illinois State Police released a guidebook late last year for officers interacting with unhoused individuals. The goal is to offer up-to-date resources and to bring dignity and humanity to those encounters for “the new face of homelessness,” according to Rev. Dwight Ford, the director of Project Now, a community action organization that helped develop the guidebook.

“The new face of homelessness is a woman that works everyday, with a good cell phone and a nice SUV, but those are the paraphernalia of a life once lived,” Ford said. “They’re actually sleeping in that SUV in a Walmart parking lot, and taking their kids to a Casey’s bathroom to wash up at a gas station and go to school.”

In this episode, Ford explains what needs to change in these police interactions and how he wants us all to work toward bringing homelessness to “functional zero: rare, brief and non-reoccuring.”

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