In the Loop

Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is on the verge of an $8.5 billion expansion project.  But Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin believes the process isn’t nearly as transparent as it should be.  Plus journalist Kim Bellware takes us inside the daily lives of the people who make Chicago move-CTA employees.

We discuss the housing issues Chicago’s next mayor will face. Plus, we go inside the new WBEZ podcast “Public Official A,”  which looks at the rise, fall and possible resurrection of former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.  He’s currently serving 14 years in federal prison, but President Trump has floated the idea of a pardon on several occasions. 

Isaac Gomez grew up on the U.S.-Mexico border, across from El Paso Texas in Ciudad Juarez.  For years, it was called the most dangerous city in the world. And while some of the drug cartel-linked violence has eased, hundreds upon hundreds of young women have been murdered or disappeared since the 1990’s.  La Ruta, a new play at Steppenwolf Theater, tells the stories of some of the missing, and those who continue to seek answers.

The former Chicago Police officer was sentenced to nearly seven years Friday for the 2014 shooting death of a black teenager.

As Chicago’s longest-serving alderman faces a federal corruption charge, we do a deep dive on Ed Burke and how he rose to prominence. Plus, we check in with the Chicago Sinfonietta, the most diverse orchestra in America, about efforts to get more minority musicians into the classical music world.

A deep dive into a new WBEZ-ProPublica investigation into video gambling in Illinois. A look at “deflection,” a new technique police are using to get opioid abusers into rehab rather than jail. Plus, two Chicago-area sites are contenders for UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

A new report by the National Safety Council has revealed the harrowing statistic that the number of Americans dying by accidental opioid overdose has eclipsed the number of those killed in car accidents. And while the opioid epidemic has taken hold of wide swaths of society, it’s hitting young adults especially hard, because there aren’t many programs geared specifically toward helping people in their late teens and early 20s. We talk to 2 people who are reaching out to young people and helping them with recovery by creating the one thing they crave even more than the drugs-community.   

Deputy governor Christian Mitchell lays out the Pritzker agenda, which includes everything from a graduated income tax to legalizing cannabis to improvements in early childhood education. WBEZ’s Dave McKinney puts that agenda in context and explains which goals are realistic and which are more like pie in the sky.  Plus, everything you need to know about the Super Blood Wolf Moon, which you’ll be able to see in Chicago on Jan. 20.  

Earlier this week we talked with a librarian…who’s also a rapper. Or, is that a rapper who’s also a librarian? Either way, Chicago’s Roy Kinsey is a unique Chicago artist whose recent work is getting a lot of attention. He sat down to talk about his personal journey, and how he’s always aware of how his family’s stories shaped who he’s become. And you can’t talk with a hip hop librarian without talking about authors. And you can’t talk about authors in Chicago without mentioning Lorraine Hansberry. Hansberry is known best for her seminal play “A Raisin In The Sun”. But while many of us are familiar with Hansberry the writer, few people know about Hansberry the person. Princeton professor Imani Perry aims to change that with her new biography “Looking for Lorraine: the Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry”. Let’s listen in as Perry fills in some details of Lorraine’s short but fascinating life with WBEZ’s Natalie Moore.

It’s Day 21 of the partial federal government shutdown. In the Friday News Roundup, Morning Shift host Jenn White gets you up to speed on the latest effects of the shutdown in the Chicago area. We also have the latest on the allegations against R&B superstar R. Kelly. After the “Surviving R. Kelly” docu-series aired on Lifetime, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx has asked witnesses and survivors to come forward, and at least two have so far. In state politics, the 101st legislature was sworn in in Springfield, and the Pritzker administration has been preparing to take office on Jan 14.   It was also a big week in the lead-up to the Chicago mayor’s race. Election day is Feb. 26. Morning Shift discusses those stories and more in our weekly roundup. 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.