In the Loop

We caught up with the legendary Mavis Staples. She stops by to discuss her upcoming album, her father Pops and her time spent working with MLK.

Vocalo's Ayana Contreras, host of Reclaimed Soul, brings us a preview to this week's soundtrack to unity - music that creates a mood of brother and sisterhood.

As the President returns to Springfield this afternoon to address the Illinois General Assembly, we’ll look back at his 2007 speech there that announced his candidacy and the plan it laid out for the war in Iraq, health care, the economy, and much more. Wheaton College students will embark on a hunger fast after a scheduled reconciliation for professor Larycia Hawkins. The school halted its termination process of the tenured professor and both agreed to part ways. We hear an update. Vocalo's Ayana Contreras, host of Reclaimed Soul, brings us a preview to this week's soundtrack to unity - music that creates a mood of brother and sisterhood.

President Obama returns to Springfield to address lawmakers. It's where nine years to the day he announced his bid for the presidency. We continue to take a look at his promises and accomplishments throughout his candidacy as well as presidency. NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsley discusses whether or not Obama was able to deliver on said promises.

On this day in 2007, a U-S Senator named Barack Obama stood on the steps of the old Capitol Building in Springfield with his family beside him to announce his run for President of the United States. Today, we take a look back with RTA Chairman Kirk Dillard and Sun Times Columnist Mary Mitchell to discuss his rise to presidential candidacy.

Students at Wheaton College will embark on a hunger fast after a scheduled reconciliation for professor Larycia Hawkins. Hawkins was put on leave in December for saying Muslims and Christians worship the same God. We hear an update.

Ronald Reagan’s presidential bid took a fateful turn in 1980 after his fiery “Nashua Moment” during a New Hampshire primary debate. As that state’s voters head to the polls today, we look back at the 40th president’s legacy with Jacob Weisberg, author of the biography 'Ronald Reagan.'

As residents of Flint, Michigan continue to deal with lead-contaminated drinking water after being exposed for two years to toxic waste levels 10 times higher than the EPA limit, Chicagoans aren’t being told of tap water risks, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune. Michael Hawthorne of the Tribune breaks down how Chicago fits into the national water crisis.

Yesterday we discussed the Chicago Reader and City Bureau’s detailed look at the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police’s control of the local media narratives given by spokesman Pat Camden and how they perpetuate throughout the city’s investigative process in the courtroom. Dean Angelo Sr., president of the FOP, responds to the piece titled “Fraternal Order of Propaganda.”