In the Loop

While some Chicago neighborhoods haven’t yet recovered from the housing crisis, a group in one part has turned the problem of foreclosures into an opportunity. On the Northwest side an initiative known as ROOTS - that’s an acronym for Renters Organizing Ourselves to Stay - has taken 19 foreclosed properties and made them into permanent affordable housing for longtime residents who were at risk of being priced out of rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. 

Musical remakes often produce results that range from the horrible to the hilarious Think Michael Bolton’s “Sittin’ On The Dock of The Bay” or Brittany Spears’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” But every once in a while, a remake is actually better than the original. That’s the territory Ayana Contreras will be mining on our next edition of Reclaimed Soul.

When Lori Lightfoot took over as the president of the Chicago Police Board a little over a year ago, the body was facing scrutiny over its track record on finding police officers culpable for abuse of power. However, as a Chicago Sun-Times report found earlier this week, the board has gotten tougher on officers during her watch. Morning Shift talks to Lori Lightfoot about keeping police accountable in Chicago.

During its three-year run, Chappelle’s Show featured some of the funniest, quotable sketches, including a well-known line about Rick James. After the show ended, co-creator Neal Brennan took his comedy to the stand-up stage, releasing his special Women and Black Dudes in 2014. Now Brennan is out with a new show that features three mics on stage, taking on very different topics for each mic. He performs it Friday at Thalia Hall, and he stops by Morning Shift to tell us why comedians can't have an off day, and how the new show was born.

When people move, it’s not just people, and a suitcase full of clothes, and a few pictures. Their culture comes with them, including their music. Chicago Blues — electrified and raw — didn’t come from thin air. It came from musicians who were part of the Great Migration. A new work by NPR’s Cheryl Corley and musician Lucy Smith chronicles the history and showcases the sounds of the players who made their way north, laying the foundation for the music that still lives today.

Last week American swimmer Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win an individual Olympic medal when she took gold in the women’s 100-meter freestyle. After the race, she said: “This medal is not just for me. It’s for a whole bunch of people who came before me,” and then mentioned the names of other African-American Olympic athletes. Her story and her comments put the long history of racial segregation of swimming in the United States right in front of Americans where they couldn’t ignore it: On live broadcast television. Morning Shift talks to historian Isabel Wilkerson about swimming and racial discrimination from segregated public pools to pools being drained because black celebrities swam in them to acid being thrown into the water. Wilkerson is author of The Warmth of Other Suns, a history of the Great Migration.

Another Olympic games, another round of body-shaming and sexism from onlookers and sometimes even the commentators. American gymnast Gabby Douglas had her hair, body and patriotism questioned by people on social media. Those same armchair critics made fun of Mexican gymnast Alexa Moreno, calling her “fat.” She’s 99 pounds, by the way. The list goes on.  One person who knows what that feels like all too well is former Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson East. After winning a gold medal and three silvers in the 2008 Beijing games, Shawn came home to compete on Dancing with the Stars, and an onslaught of criticism over her body quickly followed.  Now, she’s teamed up with Dove for #MyBeautyMySay, a campaign aimed at calling out sexist sports reporting. Morning Shift talks with Johnson East about the campaign, her career, and her own experiences with body shaming.

Every Wednesday, the Morning AMp talk show on our sister station Vocalo hosts what it calls the Council of Feminist Thought. It’s an opportunity to take on the many, many issues that affect women of all ages and races.  Media coverage of women, body image, equality in the workplace and sexual violence are some of the issues co-hosts Jesse Menendez and Jill Hopkins talk about with their guests.  This week, Vocalo is putting the segment in front of a live audience with a public event at Union Park. We talk to Jill Hopkins about Feminist Friday Night Out and why the Council on Feminist Thought is still needed.

In the latest installment in our series What’s That Building? Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business talks about the many contributions German-American architect Mies Van Der Rohe made to Chicago’s skyline, its neighborhoods and the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. 

Every Wednesday afternoon, Morning Shift Host Tony Sarabia joins our colleagues at Worldview to talk about something that’s near and dear to his heart: Music from around the globe. The segment is called Global Notes.  This week, in honor of the Olympics in Rio, Tony talked with Jerome McDonnell about Brazilian music. Most people are familiar with Brazil’s two biggest musical exports, Samba and Bossa Nova. Tony, of course, wanted to dig a bit deeper, and broke out some very modern tracks. Morning Shift presents a section of that interview for your listening pleasure.