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The many scenes and faces of the Argyle Night Market Aug 14, 2023

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The Argyle Night Market is a weekly street festival held on summer Thursdays in Uptown’s Argyle Street, and it’s a vibe. It attracts people of all stripes, incomes, and ages, and it’s the subject of a new installation of photos, called “Faces of Argyle.” “The market is like no other market I’ve experienced in Chicago,” said Ronit Bezalel, the photographer behind the exhibit. Bezalel’s photos were curated by visual artist and writer Riva Lehrer and are on display at Everybody’s Coffee on Wilson Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood. They include posed portraits of joy and lives well-lived as well as candid shots of the spectrum of people enjoying the festival. In this episode Bezalel and Lehrer tell Erin Allen about the Night Market, their Uptown community, and the stunning photographs that came out of both.

Johnson picks CPD leader; Arwady fired; updates coming around 'The Bean' Aug 14, 2023

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Mayor Brandon Johnson goes with an insider in his pick for the next police superintendent. Illinois democratic state officials are applauding the state supreme court’s ruling in a case over a controversial gun control law. Dr. Allison Arwady announced that she’s leaving her post as the Chicago public health commissioner.

Field Museum’s Death exhibit asks life’s biggest questions Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

“There’s not such a finite line between life and death,” says Gary Feinman, an anthropology curator and content expert at the Field Museum. Feinman and his colleagues, including exhibition developer Ben Miller, spent several years working on the museum’s exhibit “Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery.” In this episode, we talk with Feinman and Miller about the exhibit and confronting our own mortality. And yeah, it gets pretty deep. “Death: Life’s Greatest Mystery” closes at the Field Museum on August 27.

State education funding, Loretto tentative agreement, looming court opinion Aug 11, 2023

Show notes

Chicago Public Schools is getting a slightly smaller increase in state funding than it was expecting. Loretto Hospital workers reached a tentative contract agreement with hospital leaders. The Illinois Supreme Court plans to issue an opinion today on the state’s ban on assault weapons.

Unknown flood risk, EV infrastructure, butter cow revealed Aug 10, 2023

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Cook County faces the second-highest unknown flood risk in the country. ComEd is spending hundreds of millions to upgrade EV infrastructure in northern Illinois. State fair officials unveiled the 102nd butter cow sculpture.

Dont Fret: Where art meets social commentary meets community engagement Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

Anonymous, in part because he spent his childhood tagging walls across Chicago, Dont Fret is a Chicago-born cartoonist, muralist and self-published author. And you can tell he wholeheartedly loves this city: “You’re a Chicagoan,” he writes in his new book, “This Is No Quiet City,” “your eyes and heart are wide open, and that is pure, raw, messy, true, and terrifying.”

In this episode, Dont Fret explains how he got into graffiti growing up in Wicker Park, why he self-published his book, and why Chicago is a city that punches back.

“We are a tough, tough people,” he said to host Erin Allen, “and I think that comes from the stockyards. It comes from inclusion and immigration, diversity and eclect-icity.”

You can find Dont Fret’s work on his Instagram, and his book here.

First-degree murder charge, Cook County Health vacancies, public transit help Aug 09, 2023

Show notes

A judge ordered a man accused of murdering 9-year-old Serabi Medina, while she was playing outside, to stay in jail while he awaits trial. Struggling with vacancies, Cook County Health has a new plan to hire people faster. Two bills signed by Gov. JB Pritzker will help support public transit in Chicago and the surrounding region.

Medicaid re-enrollment, indoor vaping banned, housing relief Aug 08, 2023

Show notes

Health experts around Illinois are urging people to re-enroll in Medicaid if they’ve been dropped from the program. Vaping is no longer allowed in Illinois’ public spaces. The Chicago Housing Authority is offering financial relief to some families living in subpar housing through a pilot program.

Is harm reduction the answer to Cook County’s opioid crisis? Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

The opioid crisis isn’t slowing down in Cook County. In fact, according to the county medical examiner’s office, a record number of people died from opioid overdoses in 2022. Addiction treatment workers say they aren’t surprised. “All of these statistics would be mitigated in some fashion by better investment in social services, housing, harm reduction programming,” said John Werning, the executive director of the Chicago Recovery Alliance. Werning said using the phrase “opioid crisis” is a misnomer. He sees it as a crisis of opioid overdoses. In this episode, we talked to Werning about harm reduction, stigma, and why he thinks policy—rather than drugs themselves—fuels the crisis.

Crowds at Lolla, new Illinois laws, credit score impacts Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

The crowds packed downtown for Lollapalooza. Gov. JB Pritzker signed a batch of bills late last week, including a number of new laws that will help support the state’s Native American residents. A new report shows how your credit score might be affecting your car insurance rates in Illinois.

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