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Thursday, October 2, 2025 Oct 02, 2025

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Chicago advocates say calls from immigrants seeking deportation legal support have skyrocketed since Operation Midway Blitz started last month. Public defenders and legal aid groups are pushing to bar arrests by ICE officers at Cook County courthouses. The federal government has placed a restriction on all private drone activity around the Chicago area. The Trump administration is cancelling $7.6 billion in grants that supported hundreds of clean energy projects in Illinois and 15 other states. Plus, victims of corrupt former Chicago police sergeant reflect on historic legal settlement.

Wednesday, October 1, 2025 Oct 01, 2025

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Illinois Democrats in Congress are condemning the federal government shutdown and are demanding funding to save health care subsidies that are set to expire leading to soaring insurance costs. A Chicago non-profit that helps patients find abortion care expects to field more calls from Wisconsin after Wisconsin Planned Parenthood paused abortion services today. A new study from Rush University Children’s Hospital and the Cook County Medical Examiner reveals some common causes of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome that largely involve unsafe environments. Plus, an initiative called Hope Chicago announced in 2022 that every student at a group of high schools on the South and West Side could go to college for free. Three years later, it is helping to answer the question of what happens when money is no longer a barrier to education beyond high school. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp introduces us to one family.

Tuesday, September 30, 2025 Sep 30, 2025

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President Donald Trump told hundreds of the country’s top military officials today that he spoke to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about using “dangerous cities as training grounds” for the military. A small Mexican grocery store in Cicero is pivoting to grocery deliveries as immigration operations continue in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. A WBEZ analysis of federal data for H-1-B visa applications shows which employers in Chicago could be impacted by an executive order that President Trump signed last week. Plus, WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell spent a day with the leader of the People’s Patrol, a rapid-response network that monitors immigration agent activity.

Monday, September 29, 2025 Sep 29, 2025

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A top U.S. Border Patrol official tells WBEZ that immigration agents are arresting people based on how they look. Federal criminal charges have been filed against four people detained during protests Saturday outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview. And, Latino activists are calling for an end to the targeting of day laborers at Home Depot stores in the Chicago area. Plus, a Black woman-owned grocery store celebrated its opening this past weekend. WBEZ’s Esther Yoon-Ji Kang has the story.

The Country in Our Hearts: Episode 4 Sep 27, 2025

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Chicago is home to people and cultures from all over the world — including a large Kurdish community. The story of how they came to America is an epic one, a story of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of sacrifice and above all… perseverance. All month, we’ve been hearing from host and reporter Rose Gilbert from Nashville Public Radio in a series called “The Country in Our Hearts.” It’s focused on the story of one Kurdish family and their generations-long fight to exist. This is the final episode.

Friday, September 26, 2025 Sep 26, 2025

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Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson is accusing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents of “making war on my community.” Four Chicago alderpersons voted against a symbolic resolution to apologize to Black residents for slavery. Republican Darren Bailey formally announced his gubernatorial campaign yesterday during a tour of the state. Plus, Chicago youth organizations brought together a group of teens last week to talk about what they are feeling and thinking as federal immigration agents continue making arrests in Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp brings us their voices.

Thursday, September 25, 2025 Sep 25, 2025

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Illinois abortion-rights advocates and providers are preparing for an influx of patients from Wisconsin. At 29 years old, Walter “Red” Burnett is now the city’s youngest alderperson. The first satellite designed at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign was deployed to space Wednesday. Plus, The fifth solo project from Chicago musician Jeff Tweedy comes out Friday. We hear how “Twilight Override” feels both familiar and pushes his sound in fresh directions.

Wednesday, September 24, 2025 Sep 24, 2025

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The Illinois Department of Public Health is recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most people in the state, in direct contrast to recent guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Chicago police officer is accused of using his law enforcement credentials to buy guns, including an AR-style rifle, for a man who then smuggled them into Mexico. Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been awarded NFC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in his career for his performance Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. Plus, it’s been just over two weeks since the Department of Homeland Security started an expanded immigration enforcement campaign in the Chicago area. Sun-Times reporter Nader Issa talked to WBEZ’s Clare Lane about where things stand today.

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 Sep 23, 2025

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Illinois Democrats in Congress have signed a letter asking the federal government to end what it's calling "dangerous and reckless immigration operations" in the state. New video obtained by the Sun-Times is raising questions about the narrative put forth by the Department of Homeland Security after the September 12th shooting death of Silverio Villegas González in Franklin Park. The Illinois Department of Public Health has issued new guidance expanding COVID-19 vaccine access ahead of the fall respiratory virus season. Plus, Chicago artist Theaster Gates has exhibited work all over the world but it has taken him nearly two decades to get his first solo museum show in his hometown. WBEZ contributor Ben Austen paid a visit to Gates as he prepares for his show opening at the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum.

Tuesday, September 23, 2025 Sep 23, 2025

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