In the Loop

Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will face off Monday in the first of three Presidential debates. Pundits expect Trump to try and convince viewers that he’s not a bully, and has substance. Experts think Hillary Clinton will have to work on gaining trust from the public and conveying likeability. Whatever the candidates’ strategy, we know from the campaign it will be an interesting showdown. We talk to Jason DeSanto from Northwestern University about what he expects and his predictions for how they’ve prepared. He’s been a speechwriter and advised candidates.

A Black Lives Matter chapter out of Savannah, Georgia, has developed its own theory on how to reduce gun violence in Chicago and other large American cities. The idea is that getting a large group of clergy, upper-middle-class African-Americans and social activists to move to a struggling neighborhood could act as a catalyst to improve the area and reduce crime.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel's much-anticipated public safety speech Thursday night at Malcolm X College focused on enforcement, investment and prevention. The mayor reiterated the city's plan to hire more police officers and upgrade technology at the Chicago Police Department. Emanuel also doubled-down on the need for stricter gun laws, job creation and the expansion of mentor programs.

The mayor announced a plan to increase the number of police on the streets of Chicago, as well as creating and expanding mentoring programs in the city’s toughest neighborhoods. So what do the communities most affected by this plan have to say? We are joined by WBEZ’s West Side reporter Chip Mitchell, who will tell us how community groups are reacting to the mayor’s speech and to break down the specifics of his police proposals, including giving the Chicago Police Department more resources to fight crime.

The mayor had a lot to say about violence in Chicago and what can be done to face it head on. But one thing he didn’t mention was the Chicago Police Department’s high rate of unsolved murders. In fact, the murder clearance rate is less than half of the national average. CPD blames witnesses in communities who won’t cooperate; residents blame the police’s lack of motivation to solve the crime. Journalist Alex Kotlowitz joins us to talk about why there are so many unsolved cases in Chicago and what can be done about it.

From Milwaukee to Philly, cities around the country are updating their old and aging water systems, getting rid of the lead pipes that can put so many residents at risk. So why isn’t Chicago?  Mayor Rahm Emanuel has budgeted more than $400 million to water-related projects in an effort to modernize Chicago’s water system, but none of that money will be going to replacing the antiquated lead pipes. The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Hawthorne is in the studio to delve into Chicago’s lead problem.

In 2005, a woman attempted to commit suicide by crashing her car. She walked away, but three members of Chicago’s tight-knit indie rock scene were killed. Two musicians closest to the tragedy turned their mourning into music by forming a band. That band, Pamphleteers, is releasing their first full-length album The Ghost That Follows. We hear their story and their sounds on Morning Shift. 

The percentage of “nones” -- people not affiliated or involved with any organized faith -- continues to grow in the U.S.  Writer Katherine Ozment is one of them, and was faced with 2 questions: What do I tell my kids when they ask “what are we?”, and how do I bring what I see as the most positive aspects of religion-a sense of service, community, and deeper meaning-into a non-religious house? She tackles both questions head on in her new book Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age. Ozment joins us to talk about what she found during her research. And we’ll be taking your calls.

A new study has found many Chicagoans living on the South and West sides are struggling financially, while many living Downtown and in many North Side communities are not. Teresa Cordova, director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago, said there isn’t the same access to jobs in many South and West side neighborhoods. Cordova said she believes investing in these communities is necessary to reverse the economic inequality.

The homeless population in Chicago is at a 10-year-low, according to the mayor’s office. That sounds like things are improving, right? Well, not for some in Uptown where a local shelter is closing. Just two days before Christmas, the Shelter at the People’s Church will be shutting its doors to the 72 men that it serves. Richard Ducatenzeiler, executive director of Northside Housing and Supportive Services, talks with us about what options are out there for those who depend on the shelter, especially with the winter months not too far away.