In the Loop

Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas and Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson will face off in the first mayoral runoff debate Wednesday night at 6 p.m. on NBC 5 and Telemundo Chicago. Reset discusses with Tessa Weinberg, WBEZ city government and politics reporter.

In cities across the country, fewer people are going downtown than they did before COVID-19. Here in Chicago, developers have responded to the city’s request for proposals with six ideas for how to bring LaSalle Street back to life. Reset gets the details from Block Club Chicago reporter Melody Mercado.

The group Mariachi Sirenas is challenging stereotypes while honoring Mexican traditions. Reset sits down with members Ibet Herrera and Laura Velazquez to learn more about their music and roots.

New EPA data show that air pollution from Chicago and the rest of Cook County makes its way to neighboring states, and Wisconsin suffers the worst. Reset checks in with Chicago Tribune environmental reporter Michael Hawthorne for more on how Chicago and its suburbs are polluting places like Wisconsin, Michigan and even Connecticut.

A $200 ticket for truancy. A $175 fine for having a vape pen. A $450 ticket for disorderly conduct. In schools across Illinois, students are being ticketed and fined for minor offenses that previously may have warranted a trip to the principal’s office or detention. Reset talks to reporters Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi Cohen who have shone a light on the ticketing. Their work has prompted a bill in Springfield that aims to make the practice illegal.

Pandemic-era federal funds were a lifeline for Chicago theaters. Now, those federal funds are drying up. And theater seats aren’t filling up at the same rate as before the pandemic. Do theaters need to rethink their business model to stay alive? Reset checks in with Jeannie Lukow, executive director of Porchlight Music Theater, Kara Riopelle, managing director with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Chicago Tribune critic Chris Jones and Claire Rice, executive director, Arts Alliance Illinois.

In recent decades, more women have pursued higher education and have joined the workforce, helping narrow the wage gap between men and women during the '80s and '90s. But that progress has stalled over the past two decades, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. Reset talks to Felicia Davis Blakley, president and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women and Sharmili Majmudar, executive vice president of policy and organizational impact at Women Employed about closing the gap in the Chicago area.

The Chicago mayoral runoff pits a serial schools CEO against a former high school social studies teacher backed by the teachers union. Reset talks to Chicago education reporters Sarah Karp and Mauricio Peña about the candidates’ deep ties to education and different approaches to schooling.

For the past five years, U.S. attorney John Lausch has led major corruption cases against Ald. Ed Burke and former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. His last day as U.S attorney for the Northern Illinois District is March 11. Reset discusses his time in office and his impact on Chicago and Illinois politics with Jon Seidel, federal courts reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.