The Rundown | Chicago News

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Afternoon News: Wednesday July 10, 2024 Jul 10, 2024

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Kroger and Albertsons have a list of nearly three dozen grocery stores in Illinois they plan to sell ahead of their planned merger. Chicago’s most marginalized students have almost no shot of getting into CPS’ top test-in high schools according to a WBEZ analysis of district data. Health insurance companies in Illinois have to start phasing out the practice of “step therapy,” where an insurer does not cover a treatment prescribed by a doctor until the patient first tries a less expensive option.

Anthony Spaulding on finding artistic inspiration while incarcerated Jul 10, 2024

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Anthony Spaulding was incarcerated at 16 years-old and spent 27 years in prison. When he got out in 2022, the world around him barely resembled the one he remembered. He, too, was a wholly different person than he’d been nearly three decades earlier. “I don’t wanna say it was a blessing that I got locked up,” said Spaulding. “But it definitely gave me the time to sit down and reevaluate my life.” He spent that time taking classes and developing as an artist under the mentorship of legendary artist Margaret Burroughs. Now, he’s working as a barber and performing his one-man show. In this episode, host Erin Allen talks to Spaulding about his experience of incarceration and his one-man show “To Cut a Barber’s Hands.”

Morning News: Wednesday July 10, 2024 Jul 10, 2024

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Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker is renewing support for President Joe Biden’s re-election bid while also not ruling out his own potential White House run. The City of Chicago’s inspector general says the police department has every right to fire officers who have associated once with a far-right extremist group. Leaders of Pace, the CTA and Metra throw cold water on the idea of a merger.

Afternoon News: Tuesday July 9, 2024 Jul 09, 2024

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The remnants of Hurricane Beryl are barreling into the Chicago area. Students at Larry’s Barber College on Chicago’s South Side spent time today learning how to identify and respond to opioid overdoses. White Sox ace pitcher Garrett Crochet will represent the South Siders at next week’s All-Star Game.

Morning News: Tuesday July 9, 2024 Jul 09, 2024

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson wants more federal help to address gun violence. The city is taking an inventory of this weekend’s NASCAR race, and wondering whether the 4th of July weekend is the best time for it. Chicago tenants are helping each other stay cool with a free AC lending program, at least while supplies last.

Afternoon News: Monday July 8, 2024 Jul 08, 2024

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A pair of for-profit colleges in the Chicago area have abruptly shut down. The nonprofit HEAL Palestine is working to bring Gazan children to Chicago and other U.S. cities for serious medical care. Invasive jumping worms are likely to begin turning up in your garden beds and making a mess.

No Cook County Fair? No problem. Enter the ‘Chicago’s Best Baker’ contest Jul 08, 2024

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Think your lemon meringue pie could win an amateur baking contest? Well, you can put your baking chops to the test at the annual Chicago’s Best Baker Competition on July 20 in Uptown.

“Chicago has a lot of baking competitions for people who are professionals,” said Genesis Winter, who started this contest back in 2018. “And so I wanted to do something that was just, you know, [similar to] a county fair. Your mom who's in the kitchen and she makes an amazing cookie and she wants to go show off and get the blue ribbon. That's what we're going for.”

Much like a county fair, winners go home with a ribbon and bragging rights. Non-baking attendees can taste what’s on offer in exchange for a donation to Cornerstone Community Outreach, a Chicago homeless shelter run by Winter’s husband, Andrew.

In this episode, Rundown podcast host Erin Allen sat down with Winter and last year’s overall winner, Alia Zander (a.k.a. Chicago’s reigning amateur “best baker”) to talk about the origins of the contest and what it looks and feels like to enter (and win).

Morning News: Monday July 8, 2024 Jul 08, 2024

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Some NASCAR fans say they saw a more diverse audience this past weekend in Chicago. The Chicago Teachers Union is calling out the head of the school district over the state of contract negotiations. Cook County is investing $100 million dollars into Provident Hospital on the South Side.

Afternoon News: Friday July 5, 2024 Jul 05, 2024

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An 8-year-old boy has died from his injuries after being shot in a mass shooting in the early hours of the Fourth of July. Chicago officials are encouraging residents to attend a series of budget roundtables. The popular online homestay rental platform Airbnb is going to extra lengths to crack down on disruptive parties this holiday weekend.

Sorry Papi is a world-traveling ‘girls only’ reggaeton party Jul 05, 2024

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Sorry Papi is a popular all-female traveling DJ party co-founded by Miriam Paz.

“We were just thinking one day before COVID: ‘What if we throw an all-girls reggaeton party?” Paz said.

Paz, whose stage name is DJ Miriam, talked with Vocalo’s Nudia Hernandez about the genesis of the traveling party, the general prowess of female DJs, and why women feel safer partying with other women.

Sorry Papi’s next party is July 6 at the Ramova Theatre in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.