In the Loop

Kim Foxx talks about her personal reaction to the documentary series ‘Surviving R. Kelly’ and what she’s doing about his alleged sexual misconduct as Cook County’s top prosecutor. Plus, the latest on how the government shutdown — now in Day 20 — is affecting the pyschological and financial well-being of federal workers and their families.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.

In this episode of the Morning Shift podcast, we grapple with President Trump’s address on border security and discuss the latest on Lincoln Yards, the $5 billion-plus real estate development reshaping the North Side of Chicago.  Plus, an introduction to the so-called smartphone psychiatry movement, which aims to address depression and mood disorders by tracking how people use their digital devices. 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.

It’s the 18th day of the partial federal government shutdown, and with each day that passes, the nation and taxpayers feel more of an impact. President Trump will address the nation about the shutdown and border security during primetime television Tuesday night. Earlier, he said the federal government could stay closed for months or even years. Morning Shift has documented how the shutdown is affecting Chicago’s immigration courts and environmental remediation in Northwest, Indiana. In this interview, host Jenn White takes stock of many of the other effects that the shutdown is having in Chicago and beyond.

 The release of Lifetime’s new six-part documentary series “Surviving R. Kelly” has sparked renewed calls for resources to support survivors of sexual abuse. The R&B singer has been accused of keeping women against their will in an abusive "cult," according to a Buzzfeed investigation. Still, Kelly has continued to sell albums, tour and perform at high-profile events. Leah Gipson of the nonprofit  A Long Walk Home and child psychologist Dr. Tali Raviv join the Morning Shift for a conversation on how to best empower support survivors of sexual abuse and destigmatize gender-based violence, especially among young people.

As the partial shutdown of the federal government reaches its 13th day, East Chicago is one local community that’s feeling the pain. The Environmental Protection Agency was scheduled to hold a public hearing on its remediation plan for a Superfund site that includes the West Calumet Housing complex in the town on Jan. 10, but the meeting was cancelled 10 days ahead due to the shutdown. The EPA’s plan to address lead and arsenic poisoning in the soil and groundwater is complex and controversial, but residents say they have had too little time to weigh in before the public comment period ends on Jan. 14.  Morning Shift talks with an environmental lawyer and advocate as well as a local resident about what’s at stake in East Chicago and how much of a wrench the shutdown is throwing into the process.

By the time Lorraine Hansberry died in 1965 at just 34 years old, she had already made her mark in literary history. Her play “A Raisin In The Sun” gave a voice to black America, particularly on Chicago’s South Side. But while Hansberry is known for her most famous work (and as being the first black woman to bring a play to the Broadway stage), she was also a force of nature who led a complicated life that included a strong commitment to social justice and civil rights, anti-colonialism, and LGBT rights. Her world was also filled with black intellectuals, and activists, from James Baldwin, to W.E.B. Du Bois, to Nina Simone to Malcolm X. Beyond her literary contributions, however, Hansberry’s life hasn’t been deeply explored… until a recent documentary and author Imani Perry’s new book Looking For Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry. In it, Perry provides an intimate portrait of the writer—her influences, her beliefs, and her battles.

On this New Year’s Eve, Morning Shift wants to know: what’s your New Year’s resolution? And more importantly, what’s your plan for making it happen?  Because let’s be honest: how many of us actually make the change we were hoping for at the start of the year?  So if you do want to take this time to map out a game plan for your 2019 goals, maybe all you need… is a coach. Morning Shift talks to Jody Michael, the CEO of Jody Michael Associates, a life coach who specializes in executive and career coaching.

It’s New Year’s Eve and for many of us, that either means getting dressed to the nines and going out to a party, or hanging out at home with the family watching the giant ball drop in Times Square on TV. But for many people around the world—and even here in Chicago—New Year’s Eve is a time of tradition. So we wanted to know… how do you usher in the New Year?

The new year is just days away, so Morning Shift is taking the hour to look back at the biggest news stories of 2018 in Chicago and Illinois politics. And there were a bunch: Rahm’s bombshell earlier this summer where he dropped out of the very, very crowded mayoral race, the Jason Van Dyke trial and verdict, the blue wave Illinois saw on Election Day, the most expensive gubernatorial race in history puts JB Pritzker in the governor’s mansion, and longtime alderman Ed Burke’s offices being raided by the feds—twice. There are tons of stories to break down, and to help us take a look at what mattered this year, what it means for 2019 and to give their own predictions are four Chicago journalists: WBEZ’s Carrie Shepherd, WTTW politics reporter Amanda Vinicky, ProPublica Illinois investigative reporter Mick Dumke, and the Daily Line’s Heather Cherone.

Just like the Von Trapp kids, it will soon be time for Tony Sarabia to say goodbye to a place he's spent nearly half my life. So he's saying goodbye with a song. It’s reminiscent of a Morning Shift segment from the past called "Music Thursdays with Richard Steele." Richard and Tony would pick a theme in history, the news or a cultural moment like Mother’s Day, and pick tunes to match. We also opened the phones for listener song picks.