In the Loop

Sound Opinions co-hosts Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis talk about Prince, his music and his legacy.

Robbie Fulks burst onto Chicago’s insurgent country scene in the mid-1990s with the witty, well-played tunes that came together as his first album Country Love Songs. Since then, he’s grown into one of the city’s best songwriters and performers.  On his latest release Upland South, Fulks mixes the sounds of honky tonk,lonesome country as he spins yarns about regret, going home, mischief and more. Fulks plays a record release show Saturday at the Old Town School of Folk Music and joins Morning Shift live with a preview.

Style is the theme for this year’s spring Chicago Humanities Festival, but it’s not all about clothes. Instead, presenters and guests will explore how art, attitude, politics, race and gender coalesce to define a person or a movement. We sit down with Alison Cuddy, CHF’s associate artistic director, to hear about events and talks on everything from emojis to the politics of the hijab to the importance of sleep.

For the latest installment in our series What’s That Building? Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business digs up stories from the old Cook County Criminal Court building at 54 W. Hubbard Street.

Today marks the 295th day that Illinois has not had a state budget, but despite the stalemate, plenty is happening in Springfield. Lawmakers have been debating constitutional amendments on everything from higher taxes for millionaires to term limits to abolishing the Lieutenant Governor’s office. They’ve also taken up issues like school funding, marijuana decriminalization and daily fantasy sports.  WBEZ’s state politics reporter Tony Arnold brings us an update on what’s hot in Springfield these days and whether Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and the Democrats are making any headway toward passing a budget.

Sharon Fairley took over as Chief Administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority in December, after public outcry over the city’s handling of police shootings, like the one that took the life of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Last week, Mayor Emanuel’s Police Accountability Task Force said IPRA is “badly broken” and recommended that it be abolished. We speak with Fairley about the task force’s report, what steps she’s taken to reform IPRA and more.

More than 50 million Americans have seasonal allergies and the itchy eyes, runny noses and congestion that come with them. A recent study by the American Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America listed Chicago as one of the worst places to live with spring allergies. With the weather warming up and allergy season swiftly approaching, we sit down with Dr. Rebecca Newman to find the best way to enjoy springtime weather while keeping allergies at bay.

Beginning in the late 1960s, producer, arranger and composer Charles Stepney helped take the Chicago sound into a new era, deeply rooted in jazz. And his adventurous Baroque Soul is still being sampled and referenced today. Reclaimed Soul's Ayana Contreras shares some highlights from his too-brief career.

The recent balmy weather has many Chicagoans itching to give their green thumbs a workout.  The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Eliza Fournier joins Tony Sarabia in the studio to take gardening questions from listeners and to talk about what you need to do to get your garden in shape this spring.

At the age of 24, Chicago Reader associate editor Brianna Wellen was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that attacks part of the immune system. A year later, she’s now cancer-free, but she still suffers from side-effects from her chemotherapy treatments, including neuropathy in her hands.  Cancer is a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, but as Wellen has learned, getting medical marijuana is a difficult, drawn-out process in Illinois.  Tony Sarabia talks to Wellen about her experience and the experiences of other Illinois residents with qualifying conditions who have found it hard or impossible to get a prescription for medical marijuana.