In the Loop

A new study shows that life expectancy between 2 Chicago neighborhoods, one north and the other south, is a whopping 30 year difference. Dr. David Ansell is the author of “The Death Gap: How Inequality Kills”. And Asiaha Butler is the executive director of the Resident Association of Greater Englewood. They say that the numbers are shocking, but not surprising.

For 20 years, music journalist Jim DeRogatis has been talking to dozens of young women who said they've been mentally and sexually abused by R&B star R. Kelly. Just this week, Kelly was in court pleading not guilty to 11 new charges. DeRogatis' new book "Soulless: The Case Against R. Kelly" outlines-sometimes in painful detail-the stories these young women were brave enough to tell, and the open secret of Kelly's predilections for young girls. 

Many of the world’s most difficult problems are centered in cities: think pollution, housing, poverty, or violence. But cities are also where people are finding solutions. So every year, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs puts together a 3-day event called the Pritzker Forum on Global Cities. Business leaders, elected officials, activists, and thinkers from every continent come to Chicago to share some of the successes they’ve had creatively solving the planet’s toughest problems. We talk to two Chicagoans who are working to end gun violence in our city, and someone from Rio who’s experience in Latin America might hold clues to how to deal with our own city’s violence.

In 2017, Cook County put a number of criminal justice reforms in place. Some of those reforms had to do with the way the cash bond system worked. The county determined that too many people were sitting in the county jail for too long a time between arrest and trial because they couldn’t afford the bond. Now, more people are being released on bond while they await trial. But with roughly 100 people shot and more than a dozen killed after back-to-back deadly weekends, local law enforcement is partly blaming the violence on bond reform. We’ll hear from both sides on the issues. Plus this week’s What’s That Building takes us to the corner of Canal and Kinzie, where a huge building was actually picked up and moved more than 100 years ago to make way for railroad tracks. Want more Morning Shift? Subscribe to our podcast and rate us. It really helps. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter at @WBEZMorning.

One of the things Lori Lightfoot campaigned on was an elected school board for Chicago Public Schools. That decision is out of her hands, as the change can only be made by lawmakers in Springfield. So Lightfoot is working within current parameters, and announced a new board yesterday. We’ll hear about some of the new members, and how their priorities will differ from the past board. Then, we’ll hear about some programs put in place by Second City to bring diverse voices into sketch and standup. Want more Morning Shift? Subscribe to our podcast and rate us. It really helps. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter at @WBEZMorning. And leave us a voicemail with feedback or with a comment we may play on the air at 888-915-9945.

From Legal pot to expanded gambling, from abortion protections to a massive infrastructure bill, lawmakers in Springfield extended the spring legislative session into the weekend and passed virtually everything on Gov. JB Pritzker’s list. WBEZ state politics reporter Dave McKinney breaks down all the action and explains what it will mean for the average Illinoisan. Then the latest survey from the University of Chicago’s GenForward Project looks at young adults’ attitudes toward climate change. Professor Cathy Cohen joins us to talk about the nuanced results. Want more Morning Shift? Subscribe to our podcast and rate us. It really helps. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter at @WBEZMorning. And leave us a voicemail with feedback or with a comment we may play on the air at 888-915-9945.

There’s nothing like discovering a new band. Every other week, the Morning Shift highlights an artist that you may not have heard of, let’s them tell their story, and gives you a taste of their music. This week it’s Divino Niño, a band with roots in Colombia and Miami, but now deeply entrenched in Chicago. Then we introduce you to WBEZ’s summer guide. Filter for parts of the city, for indoor or outdoor, for the type of things you like to do...and then head out and have fun!

Ald. Ed Burke, the longest-serving member of Chicago’s City Council, was hit with a 14-count indictment by federal prosecutors alleging racketeering, extortion, and attempted bribery. Mayor Lightfoot called for his immediate resignation. Gov. Pritzker continues to push his agenda with lawmakers as the spring session comes to a close. And 11 more felony charges of sexual assault and sexual abuse have been filed against R&B singer R. Kelly. Those are some of the stories we break down with Heather Cherone, Managing Editor of the Daily Line, Paris Schutz, political reporter for WTTW, and David Greising, CEO of the Better Government Association.

Friday and Saturday the sounds of gospel take over Millenium Park for the 34th annual Chicago Gospel Music Festival. Pastor Donald Gay and Elsa Harris have been two of the most respected, and in-demand musicians in the genre for more than 40 years. They each have a new album out, and tell some great stories ahead of a weekend full of great music. Plus the spring legislative session in Springfield officially ends Friday at midnight. We get an update on Gov. Pritzker’s big ticket items, and what’s left to do before the gavel bangs in less than 48 hours.

Mayor Lightfoot laid out the agenda for her first 100 days-and beyond-at the City Club of Chicago. That came one day before her first City Council meeting. The rhetoric that vaulted her into the mayor’s office has been focused on eliminating corruption inside City Hall, and changing the way “things have been done”. In other words, she wants more oversight of alderman, and to change the way they run their wards and the city as a whole. Yet she needs those same alderman, or at least 26 of them, to vote with her to move that agenda forward. We’ll talk about the push/pull politics currently governing the city, and what kind of help the mayor can expect from council members. Then, as a series of conservative states pass laws that severely restrict access to abortion, Illinois lawmakers voted to solidify a woman’s right to choose how to deal with her own reproductive questions.