In the Loop

Mayor Lori Lightfoot spars with President Donald Trump over the city’s response to recent gun violence. Advocates criticize CPD’s plan to arrest teens on “drug corners” ahead of the holiday weekend. Plus, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx plans to drop charges against those arrested in recent protests.   Reset breaks down the biggest stories of the week in our weekly news roundup.

Pediatrician and spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics Dr. Shelly Varizi-Flais discusses the AAP’s recommendation that children return to school in the fall. And Chris Jones ponders the future of Broadway, the theater scene, and the culture engine that drives the economy of America’s biggest cities.

Chicago’s biggest public high school, Lane Tech, is setting the wheels in motion to change the school’s “Indians” mascot, after a push from alumni that called it “wrong and racist.” Reset hears from an alum — who once played the mascot role at Lane Tech — on why he thinks it’s time for a change. We also take a look at why other potentially offensive mascots in Illinois sports haven’t gone anywhere, and what it would take.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike has shaped and led Illinois’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk with Dr. Ezike about how far the state has come, and how far we have to go in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

The state is moving into Phase 4 of the coronavirus reopening, city deals with increasing violence, and President Trump says Chicago is like “living in hell”. We’ve got all the week’s big stories for you as A.D. Quig of Crain’s and David Greising of the Better Government Association join Justin Kaufmann for the Friday News Roundup

Progressive activists and politicians in Chicago believe that now is the time to reform Chicago schools, the police department, and more. But the protests and the shifts in attitudes in the wake of the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police have yielded few tangible results. Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) discusses her frustration with the mayor, CPS, the police, and more.

More than 50 of Chicago’s top drag performers signed an open letter demanding change for how Black performers are treated in Boystown. Two of the leaders of that movement discuss the history of the scene, their grievances with it, and the solutions they’d like to see.

J. Nicole Brooks has made a name for herself by writing plays about Chicago and its long history with racial injustice and segregation. Reset discusses how this current protest moment informs her craft, her play about Jane Byrne that got shut down because of the covid-19 pandemic, and more

In his new memoir “Plague Years: A Doctor’s Journey Through The AIDS crisis,” Dr. Ross Slotten gives us a first-hand account of fighting for patients and battling AIDS during the epidemic that exploded in the 1980's. 

From the continued protests over police misconduct to the latest on the city and state’s handling of the covid-19 pandemic, we’ve got all the week’s local news for you in less than 30 minutes. WTTW’s Heather Cherone and the Chicago Tribune’s John Byrne join Justin Kaufmann for the Friday News Roundup