In the Loop

The Friends of the Chicago River say there are more than 37,000 acres of open land near the banks of the river. . They want to turn some of that into natural spaces that would both protect habitats and create jobs. Executive Director Margaret Frisbee explains.  And WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye Stout gets us revved up for March Madness with a breakdown of the DePaul women’s team, and some of the other teams to watch out for in both the men’s and women’s tournament.

In the wake of the Varsity Blues scandal, two University of Chicago student journalists have uncovered one way their school has been favoring wealthy and connected students when it comes to career development. Plus the prestigious Lambda Literary Awards showcase the best in LGBTQ writing and poetry. We hear about the 5 Chicago authors and 2 Chicago presses are up for awards this year.

When Lisa Daniels received the devastating news that her son Darren had been killed during a drug deal gone wrong, she saw that media reports defined defined him only by his brushes with the law. Since then, she’s launched the Darren B. Easterling Center for Restorative Justice that works to provide healing for people impacted by violence in Chicago-both as victims and perpetrators. And WBEZ’s Carrie Shepherd brings us the latest on the impasse between musicians and management at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra that’s brought about a strike at the world-famous institution.

Joe Frank was searching for something. Call it how people dealt with key emotions like anger, fear, loneliness, and resentment.  Call it the meaning of life. But for 3 decades he took that search and poured it into scripts, and recordings,  and tape loops that he turned into 1-hour radio programs that defy description. Chicago filmmaker D.P. Carlson spent years chasing the elusive and enigmatic Frank, his friends, colleagues,  and some famous creative people who are deeply influenced by his work. The result is “Joe Frank: Somewhere Out There”.  It gets its Chicago premiere at the Davis Theater in Lincoln Square on March 24th.  An additional screening will be held at the Wilmette Theater in Wilmette on Saturday March 30th.

A divided Chicago City Council voted to approve two of Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s pet projects this week — the $6 billion Lincoln Yards development project and the $95 million police and fire training facility on the West Side. Local universities are grappling with the limits of free speech on campus. Plus, the April 2 mayoral runoff is less than three weeks away. Morning Shift breaks down the biggest stories of the week in our Friday News Roundup with Jenn White.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has just two months left in office. What is he trying to get done before his last day? On Wednesday, City Council approved two high-profile items left on Mayor Emanuel’s final to-do list: the $6 billion Lincoln Yards development and the $95 million police and fire training academy in West Garfield Park. Morning Shift checks in with David Greising, president and CEO of the Better Government Association; Heather Cherone, managing editor and City Hall reporter at the Daily Line; and WBEZ politics reporter Dan Mihalopoulos, to find out more about Emanuel’s priorities before he leaves office. Later, Chicago architecture sleuth Dennis Rodkin stops by to bring us another installment of "What's That Building?" We all know the proposed site for the Barack Obama Presidential Center is in Jackson Park, but tucked next to a Walgreen’s in Hoffman Estates, you’ll find a nondescript low rise building that’s currently home to all the documents related to former president Barack Obama’s eight years in office. 

A ProPublica Illinois report alleging neglect and abuse has led to closings and changes at Heartland Human Care Services facilities in Des Plaines. T he non-profit took in nearly 100 children separated from their parents at the border last year under the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy. And a new study shows white America does most of the polluting, and  minority communities bear the brunt of that pollution through poor health and lower quality of life. We talk to 2 Chicago women working to shine a light on environmental racism.

WBEZ’s Max Green has produced a radio documentary about a man named Terry Allen. Allen has been behind bars in an Illinois state prison for 36 years despite the fact that he’s never been convicted of a crime or sentenced for one. This story is putting a spotlight on so-called “civil commitments,” which allow the state to lock away people deemed to be sexually dangerous, for a long time...sometimes indefinitely. And Tribune reporter Tony Briscoe explains how and why the northern Great Lakes are rising, Chicago is sinking, and what that means for our environment in the future.

Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg takes us inside his article about his former colleague Bob Ringham, who cared for his wife Peg as a disease takes over her body and her mind. And journalist and filmmaker Alex Kotlowitz talks about the effects of violence on families and individuals on Chicago’s south and west sides.

As the opioid crisis has worsened, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has implemented programs to help make the County Jail a place of hope and recovery for the many inmates caught in the cycle of addiction and crime.   And after the United Methodist Church affirmed language banning LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage at a recent global council, one Rogers Park church is defying the General Council by standing with it's members and creating a positive environment for all its parishioners regardless of sexual orientation