In the Loop

Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples had a pretty good 2016. She kicked off the year with a new album, Livin’ On A High Note, that was followed by an HBO documentary. This year also marked the 40th anniversary of the seminal concert film The Last Waltz, which she took part in. And she capped it all off by receiving the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor award this month. But the year also had some lows, such as the death of friend and collaborator Prince. 

At the start of the year, Morning Shift decided to follow several listeners through 2016 to see if they would be able to make their New Year’s resolutions a reality. One of those people was Cathi Green. When we met her in January, Green was an American Airlines rep from suburban LaGrange Park who wanted to fulfill a years-old dream of moving to downtown Chicago. In the spring, she and her husband seemed to be on the brink of making the move when Cathi was diagnosed with Stage 4 endometrial cancer. At the age of 58, she decided to spend what could be her last summer at a cottage along Lake Michigan.  Green beat cancer, and by the end of 2016, she's gotten her dream of moving to Chicago back on track. She’s moving to the South Loop on January 5. She sits down with WBEZ’s Tony Sarabia once again for an update of a year that included cancer, remission and the home she always wanted. 

When R.J. Nelson became the director of harbors and marine services for the Chicago Park District in 1987, he inherited a job where the last four directors had gone to federal prison.  It was a world mired in corruption, and Nelson was there to fix it. There was only one problem: he had absolutely no business being there.  At that point, Nelson was a former college chaplain with no experience as a harbor boss, but he made the job his own, and he tells the tale in his new book Dirty Waters: Confessions Of Chicago’s Last Harbor Boss.  Morning Shift talks to Nelson about his experiences and his book. 

Over the summer, the Morning Shift ran a series called “The Movie That Made Me,” where we talked with interesting people to hear about the one film that had the biggest impact on their lives. For Rochelle Trotter, that film was one you’re likely to see on TV a lot this time of year: It’s A Wonderful Life. 

From spinouts to breakdowns, plenty of things can go wrong while driving in frigid conditions. Each frigid morning, traffic becomes unbearable because of the stalls and accidents. You can avoid the worst of it by “winterizing” your car. But what exactly does that mean?  Morning Shift talks to Joe Betancourt of Joe’s Expert Auto and take your calls about what happens when the car meets the cold. 

Telling the story of America’s Founding Fathers through hip-hop and a uniquely diverse cast, the show created by and starring actor-composer Lin-Manuel Miranda has achieved cult status. So what does it take to wear the mantle of the talented Miranda, and do justice to a show that has won nearly a dozen Tony awards? And why did the hit show choose the Second City as a second home?  Morning Shift talks to performers Miguel Cervantes, who plays Alexander Hamilton in the Chicago show, and Ari Afsar, who plays Eliza Hamilton, about taking up Broadway’s most popular show. 

“Surreal” is Merriam-Webster’s 2016 word of the year. A few weeks ago, lexicographer and Merriam-Webster editor-at-large Peter Sokolowski told Morning Shift that “fascism” was the favorite to top its annual list of words that best reflect the year.

In Donald Trump, the American Civil Liberties Union sees a president who could try to roll back many of the initiatives the organization has been working on for decades. The ACLU is non-partisan, but that hasn’t stopped it from speaking out in opposition to many ideas that Donald Trump promoted during his campaign, including deporting millions of undocumented immigrants, re-authorizing the use of waterboarding and other “advanced interrogation” techniques and requiring women to be punished for getting an abortion, to name a few. ACLU Illinois says it will use lawsuits and other means to combat Trump where necessary. Morning Shift speaks with Colleen Connell, executive director of ACLU Illinois about how she and her colleagues are preparing for the Trump administration. 

The truancy rate is stubbornly high in Chicago, and chronic truancy rose this year compared to last. WBEZ has taken a look at the problem and produced maps, infographics and a radio and web story that track just how bad it is across the city. Morning Shift talks to WBEZ education reporter Sarah Karp about her reporting.

A new study from University of Chicago and the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center shows that high quality birth to 5 programs can improve outcomes for disadvantaged children in things like education, health, and future employment. We talk to Professor James Heckman, one of the leads on the study, about the kinds of programs that really help kids and why it’s so important to start so young.