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Chicago’s new police chief, colleges aid transparency, long COVID impact Sep 28, 2023

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Larry Snelling is now Chicago’s police superintendent after a unanimous vote by the city council Wednesday. A new study from North Shore University Health System is searching for treatment options for long COVID. A handful of Illinois colleges have committed to making their financial aid offers more transparent.

Chicago arts organizations committed to racial equity in 2020. What’s changed? Sep 27, 2023

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In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, many arts institutions promised to take steps toward racial equity. Enrich Chicago partners with organizations to upend racist systems in the arts, and they wanted to find out whether those promises actually brought about meaningful change. They surveyed employees of their member institutions and confirmed what many already knew: Not much has changed since 2020. In this episode, we talk to Enrich Chicago director Nina Sánchez about the survey and how to chart the path toward anti-racism in the arts.

Chicago's new top cop, 911 response without police, lifeguard abuse settlements Sep 27, 2023

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The Chicago City Council could confirm Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for top cop as soon as this morning. The council is also working on expanding a 911 response program that does not include police. More fallout from a lifeguard-abuse scandal at the Chicago Park District. WBEZ has the story of three legal settlements with young women.

CPS literacy scores, Durbin joins UAW picket, refugee puppet comes to Chicago Sep 26, 2023

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Chicago Public School officials say a literacy test shows its youngest students are improving in reading and vocabulary. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin stood with members of the United Auto Workers at the picket line in Bolingbrook. What to expect when a 12-foot puppet doll named Little Amal comes to Chicago.

What happens when Chicago ends the tipped minimum wage? Sep 25, 2023

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Tipped minimum wage is a policy that allows restaurants to pay servers 60% of the set minimum wage, assuming that tips cover the rest. Chicago’s City Council has the votes to end tipped minimum wage when it votes on a new measure next month. So what will that mean for servers, owners, and restaurant goers? Ashok Selvam, the editor of Eater Chicago, explains what we can expect next for the restaurant industry.

When leaves will change colors, Dia de Los Muertos exhibit, COVID vaccine supply Sep 25, 2023

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The National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen opened its Dia de Los Muertos Exhibit this weekend and runs through December 10th. Chicagoans can expect to see fall colors peak by mid-October. Chicago’s Department of Public Health will begin hosting COVID and Flu vaccine clinics as early as next week.

It’s Chicagohenge time. Don’t forget to look up. Sep 22, 2023

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Chicagohenge comes around twice a year: just after the spring equinox and right before the fall equinox. That means this weekend is our last opportunity of 2023 to catch the phenomenon. When the sun rises directly in the east and sets directly in the west on the equinoxes, it creates a dazzling effect in some Chicago streets. The name “Chicagohenge” is a play on Stonehenge, the ancient stone monument in England that also interacts with the sun in some amazing ways. It’s the kind of interplay between nature and infrastructure we love to geek out about on The Rundown. In this episode, we space out with Michelle Nichols, the Director of Public Observing at the Adler Planetarium. Michelle explains Chicagohenge and makes the case that we should all look up as often as we can.

Rules on isolating students, “base camps” for migrants, potential government shutdown Sep 22, 2023

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Illinois is considering further tightening rules for restraining and isolating students in schools. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is defending its deal with a controversial security firm to prop up so-called “base camps” for migrants. Local advocates praise the Biden administration for fast-tracking work permits for migrants, but say the same should apply to other undocumented immigrants

County hotel for unhoused people, subminimum wage, chemical contamination lawsuit Sep 21, 2023

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Cook County commissioners want to spend nearly $14 million dollars to buy two hotels for the unhoused population. A proposal to pay tipped workers Chicago’s minimum wage is one step closer to passing. The City of Chicago is filing a lawsuit against the company Monsanto and several co-defendants related to chemical contamination.

‘Chicago is everything’: Matthew A. Cherry shows the city love in his new show Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

Matthew A. Cherry wasn’t an artsy kid. Growing up on Chicago’s Northwest Side, he played four sports in high school, football in college, and then bounced around the National Football League for a few years.

His Plan B was a pivot to TV and film production and eventually an Academy Award, for his 2020 animated short film “Hair Love,” about a young Black father struggling to style his daughter’s hair on a special day.

On this episode of The Rundown, Cherry talks about his circuitous career journey, how he hopes he can inspire a new generation of young Black animators, and why he set his new animated TV series – “Young Love,” an expansion of “Hair Love” that premieres Thursday on Max – in Chicago.

“Chicago is everything. Chicago is hard-working. People that work nine-to-fives, they’re trying to survive, they’re trying to live, but they’re also present for their family,” Cherry said. “That’s what we’re representing.”

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