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Wednesday, October 29, 2025 Oct 29, 2025

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Former sheriff's deputy Sean Grayson has been found guilty of one count of second degree murder in the killing of Sonya Massey. Gov. JB Pritzker has declared what he’s calling an “agricultural trade crisis” in Illinois – and he’s signed an executive order he says will mitigate it. Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard got the first hat trick of his NHL career on Tuesday. Plus, we hear from WBEZ reporter Mawa Iqbal outside the courthouse in downstate Peoria, where she’s been following the trial of Sean Grayson. She reports on reaction to the verdict from the community and from Sonya Massey’s family.

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 Oct 28, 2025

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A federal judge is ordering Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, a leader of the Trump administration’s Chicago deportation blitz, to appear in her courtroom every evening over the next week. The murder case of a white former sheriff’s deputy accused of killing Springfield-area resident Sonya Massey is now before a jury. Chicago has been dethroned as the rattiest city in the country. The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago is currently overflowing with Yoko Ono artwork. It’s all part of a major retrospective that highlights her decades-long career of art and activism. WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers takes us there.

Monday, October 27, 2025 Oct 27, 2025

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A former downstate sheriff’s deputy charged with murdering Springfield-area resident Sonya Massey last year took the witness stand. Hundreds of Illinois political candidates lined up early this morning to get their names on next year’s primary ballot. Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams says the team is having trouble capitalizing on key moments. Plus, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview has become a place where religious leaders say immigrants lack access to spiritual care, and where clergy have been attacked while speaking out against the Trump administration. Religious leaders say such practices violate religious liberties and contradict the administration’s claim to the U.S. as a Christian nation. WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang brings us the story.

Friday, October 24, 2025 Oct 24, 2025

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Federal immigration enforcement disrupted schools across Chicago’s North and near Northwest Side today with at least eight schools cancelling activities or keeping students inside after reports of agents in the area. A new investigation from the Sun-Times shows more than a dozen Chicago city council members got campaign contributions from a political action committee whose leaders include landlord Corey Oliver. Lollapalooza is telling Chicago City Council members that it generated more impact for the city this past summer than in any year prior. Plus, Illinois may have turned a corner in the fight against an aquatic menace: carp from Asia. WBEZ’s Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco brings us the story from the Illinois River.

Thursday, October 23, 2025 Oct 23, 2025

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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order he says will demand justice as deportation efforts continue in the Chicago area. Federal immigration agents faced off with protesters outside a discount mall in Little Village. Illinois gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey is mourning the death of one of his sons and multiple family members in a helicopter crash in Montana. Plus, how do you keep alive the memory of Chicagoans whose lives have been cut short by gun violence? A program called Notes for Peace thinks music is part of the answer. We follow the process of one song from start to finish.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 Oct 22, 2025

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Opening statements began today in the murder trial of a former sheriff’s deputy charged with killing Springfield-resident Sonya Massey last year. Lawyers for Gangster Disciple co-founder Larry Hoover are seeking clemency from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. The Chicago Fire are back in the Major League Soccer playoffs tonight for the first time in eight years. Plus, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sat down with WBEZ city hall reporter Mariah Woelfel to discuss the new taxes that prop up his $16.6 billion budget, his response to President Trump’s threats to federal funding and militarized-style immigration enforcement in Chicago.

Tuesday, October 21, 2025 Oct 21, 2025

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Workers from the Environmental Protection Agency’s regional office in Chicago have started receiving furlough notices amid the government shutdown. Chicago budget hearings are underway and part of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal to close the deficit includes taxing large corporations with a $21 fee per employee each month. Plus, a former top U.S. Homeland Security official is keeping an eye on President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement campaign in Chicago and he doesn’t like what he’s seeing.

Monday October 20, 2025 Oct 20, 2025

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The City of Chicago and eight other local governments are suing the Trump Administration over restrictions placed on federal emergency grants. Places of worship continue to be on high alert as federal immigration enforcement escalates in the Chicago area. Jury selection has begun in the first-degree murder trial of a former Illinois sheriff's deputy in the death of Sonya Massey. Plus, we learned last week that the Chicago Housing Authority paid approximately $22 million to three companies with close ties to a CHA board commissioner. Since then, we’ve learned two of those three insiders have faced accusations from the CHA’s inspector general. WBEZ investigative reporter Dan Mihalopoulos joins host Clare Lane to talk about what he found.

Friday October 17, 2025 Oct 17, 2025

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Illinois State Police say 11 people were arrested this morning outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing facility in suburban Broadview. Members of the NAACP rallied in Chicago against the Trump administration’s deployment of federal troops in Black communities. Some Illinois universities are seeing drops in international student enrollment. Plus, as federal immigration agents aggressively detain people all over the city, some Chicagoans are fighting back by forming neighborhood patrols and gathering outside of schools and churches. To help sound the alarm, many of them are arming themselves with whistles. WBEZ’s Anna Savchenko brings us that story.

Thursday, October 16th, 2025 Oct 16, 2025

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A federal appeals court in Chicago is refusing to undo a lower court's order blocking President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops within Illinois. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s newly unveiled budget relies on reinstating the city corporate head tax, a new social media tax, and a record, $1 billion dollar TIF surplus to close a massive budget gap. Loyola University and the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary honored the life of Jean Dolores Schmidt today. Plus, the one-time street gang the Young Lords has inspired a new exhibit at the DePaul Art Museum. The show traces the group’s transformation into an influential civil rights group and it comes at a moment when museums are under the microscope. WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers explains.

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