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Chicago Performs returns: We talk with the artists behind ‘Broken Aquarium’ Sep 25, 2024

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Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary art has billed itself as a space where new ideas are shown and tested since its inception in 1967.

“What many people don't know is we also have a 300-seat theater in the basement of the museum,” said Laura Paige Kyber, the performance curator at the MCA.

The museum will put that theater to use this weekend with the return of its third annual “Chicago Performs.”

“Chicago Performs is a mini-festival,” Kyber said. “Each year, it just features a cross section of contemporary performance works being made in Chicago and hopefully to introduce them on a larger platform and into a more national spotlight, which the museum can provide.”

The four-day event features interactive and multimedia performances from a few Chicago-based artists and art collectives, including cat mahari, Lakshmi Ramgopal (who leads a project called Lykanthea), and Every house has a door, which is led by husband-and-wife duo Matthew Goulish and Lin Hixson.

In this episode, Rundown podcast host Erin Allen talks with Goulish and Hixson about “Broken Aquarium,” a multimedia performance about a changing Earth, performed outdoors on Sept. 28 and 29. In it, they use textiles, poetry, dance and water to illustrate the intricacies of an “impossible ecosystem of endangered or extinct sea creatures.”

Morning News: Wednesday September 25, 2024 Sep 25, 2024

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The Chicago Teachers Union is continuing to lambast the head of Chicago Public Schools as he fights to hold on to his job. Two Springfield insiders are being named as alleged financial winners from a controversial state program. New lawsuits are attempting to get two incarcerated students in Illinois re-enrolled in their college program.

Afternoon News: Tuesday September 24, 2024 Sep 24, 2024

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The number of hate crimes against Jewish people increased nationally last year. People who live in Humboldt Park, Logan Square, Avondale, and Hermosa on Chicago’s northwest side hope a new ordinance can protect their homes from gentrification. Travelers heading from Chicago to Florida can soon opt to travel by Amtrak.

Morning News: Tuesday September 24, 2024 Sep 24, 2024

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration is trying to find new technology to replace ShotSpotter. Northwestern researchers found that a federal assault weapons ban was effective in preventing mass shootings. The FDA holds a food safety hearing this week – and an Illinois initiative could get some attention.

Afternoon News: Monday September 23, 2024 Sep 23, 2024

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A report released today says Chicago police are asked to do too much and it’s damaging public safety. Former Chicago Alderperson Ed Burke has reported to federal prison to serve a two-year sentence for racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion. With six games remaining, The White Sox are now tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in a single season.

Why Black women are ‘superlative participators in American democracy’ Sep 23, 2024

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Black women are “superlative participators in American democracy,” according to Northwestern professor Sally Nuamah, yet they remain underrepresented in national politics.

“Post-Reconstruction, we've had two elected Black women senators,” Nuamah said. “And at the gubernatorial level, we've had no Black women governors. And then we obviously have had no Black women presidents. If you consider the fact that Black women vote more than most Americans – at least for the past 20 years – and if you consider the fact that in addition they're really critical to registering people to vote, organizing protests and rallies, fundraising and a whole number of other kinds of forms of engagement, this is sort of inconsistent with what you would expect from a representation standpoint.”

In this episode of the Rundown podcast, Nuamah and host Erin Allen talked about why. Nuamah runs through the history of Black women’s participation in democracy – from Fannie Lou Hamer to Shirley Chisholm to Kamala Harris. She also explained the difference between “symbolic” and “substantive” representation, and whether one can lead to the other.

This conversation is part of the Democracy Solutions Project, a collaboration among WBEZ, The Chicago Sun Times and the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government. The multimedia series is focused on the critical issues facing our democracy in the run-up to the 2024 election.

Morning News: Monday September 23, 2024 Sep 23, 2024

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A memorial service for deceased Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was standing room only on Sunday. Gun control advocates are confident the courts will uphold an Illinois law banning assault-style firearms. Shotspotter is being dismantled in Chicago as Mayor Brandon Johnson vows to veto a City Council attempt to save the gunshot detection technology.

Afternoon News: Friday September 20, 2024 Sep 20, 2024

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Sources tell WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times that Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has told schools chief Pedro Martinez that he wants him to resign. Chicago is ending use of the gunshot detection technology ShotSpotter on Sunday. The Chicago-area is in the midst of a drought.

TONIGHT: Come on out to the Vocalo Summer Finale, a concert in Millennium Park Sep 20, 2024

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Vocalo and WBEZ are hosting a party tonight in Millennium Park and, obviously, we hope you check it out.

“This concert is kinda more than a concert,” said Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez, who’s co-hosting the event. “I feel like it is a Chicago homecoming for a lot of artists.”

The lineup features DJ Lady D, KAINA, Marquis Hill, Pivot Gang and some surprise special guests.

Co-hosting alongside Hernandez is Stephen Bekoe, the founder of iLLANOiZE Radio, a platform that showcases Chicago’s creative talent.

“Vocalo has worked so hard for an opportunity like this,” Bekoe said on the Rundown podcast. “So it's good to see WBEZ and Chicago DCASE [the Department of Community Affairs & Special Events] come together to make this happen, not just for the station, but for the city.”

The Vocalo Summer Finale is tonight, Friday Sept. 20, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park. Admission is free and gates open at 5 p.m.

Morning News: Friday September 20, 2024 Sep 20, 2024

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City and state officials now have a set of clear recommendations on how to create a combined shelter system for both unhoused Chicagoans and recently arrived migrants. A federal judge declared a mistrial in the case of a former AT&T Illinois executive accused of bribing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Jurors couldn’t agree on a verdict. The CTA chief has ideas to improve service – but he thinks the state needs to fairly fund it first.

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