In the Loop

Two houses, both alike in dignity, in fair Chicago, where we lay our debate.

Which of these two homes are the oldest in the land? Well, therein lies the dispute.

For Part One of Two in Reset’s latest “What’s That Building,” Sasha and architecture sleuth Dennis Rodkin visit two sites in Chicago and try to answer the question: which can claim the title of Chicago’s oldest house? First up: Noble-Seymour-Crippen House.

For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

On July 26, 1990, then-President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA, into law. This was a turning point for the quality of life for disabled people in the country.

But disability rights activism didn’t start when the ADA was introduced into Congress.

Reset talks about disability advocacy before and after the ADA. We also dig into recent efforts to weaken it and how the community continues to fight. Our panel: Charles Petrof, senior ADA attorney with Access Living; Mike Ervin, writer and disability rights activist; and T.J. Gordon, co-founder of Chicagoland Disabled People of Color Coalition.

For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

More Illinois suburbs are cracking down or regulating the use of e-bikes and e-scooters. In Fox Lake, e-bikes and e-scooters are now banned from sidewalks. In Elk Grove, riders must have a driver’s license. And in Hinsdale, children are banned from riding e-scooters altogether.

The patchwork of rules is leaving many potential riders confused on what they can and can’t do.

Reset finds out more about how local municipalities are trying to balance mobility with safety. We chat with Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig B. Johnson, Jim Merrell with Active Transportation Alliance, and Dave Simmons with Ride Illinois.

For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Chicago just saw its most violent non-holiday weekend so far this summer. This comes just three months after local violence prevention groups learned the Department of Justice grants those groups depended on. Despite all that, however, community violence intervention efforts in Chicago are growing, with shootings and homicides down during the first half of 2025.

Reset digs into how Chicago can keep up momentum despite federal funding cuts with Vaughn Bryant, executive director of Metropolitan Peace Initiative; Garien Gatewood, deputy mayor of community safety for the city of Chicago; Michael Harris, outreach worker at the Institute for Nonviolence Chicago; and Katie Hill, executive director, University of Chicago Crime Lab.

For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.