In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Fifteen years ago, the Sinai Urban Health Institute released a report comparing health disparities in different Chicago neighborhoods. Now SUHI is out with its latest survey on health and well-being, which covers nine neighborhoods on the Northwest, West and Southwest sides. The participants in the survey answered some 500 questions about everything from mental health to smoking to their interaction with the criminal justice system. The answers provide a micro-level view of health outcomes and factors that could be missed or overlooked in the city-wide data that’s available. Morning Shift talks to Jana Hirschtick, an epidemiologist with the Sinai Urban Health Institute who was one of the principal investigators in the research.

One out of every five gallons of freshwater on the planet comes from the five Great Lakes: Superior, Huron, Erie, Ontario and our own Lake Michigan. That makes them a precious resource, but we haven’t always treated them with the care they deserve. As a result, these vast inland seas face an array of ecological threats from invasive species to pollution to climate change, not to mention cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency that appear to be in the pipeline. So, what does the future hold for the Great Lakes? Morning Shift talks to Dan Egan, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter and author of the new book The Death And Life Of The Great Lakes, where he explores the past, present and future of the lakes and man’s influence on them.

Written Inside is a new WBEZ podcast about what life is like for those incarcerated inside a maximum-security prison. Inmates at the Stateville Correctional Center about 35 miles outside of Chicago wrote essays about their experiences living in small cells for long stretches. Each inmate’s story was voiced by a Chicago actor.  Northwestern philosophy professor Jennifer Lackey and guest lecturer Alex Kotlowitz, a journalist who also helped launch the podcast, taught a mass incarceration class at Stateville. Morning Shift’s Jenn White sat down with Lackey and Kotlowitz to learn more about the project.

Morning Shift talks with two law professors from the University of Chicago Law School. William Baude is the Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Law at the school. He clerked for Chief Judge John Roberts on the Supreme Court. Dan Hemel is also an Assistant Professor of law at the University of Chicago. He clerked for Assistant Justice Elena Kagan.

NPR auto reporter Sonari Glinton talks about what would happen if the Obama-era rules went out the window, and if it’s even possible to roll many of them back.

Morning Shift talks to WTTW's Urban Nature producer Dan Protess about the benefits and drawbacks to living in big cities if you’re an animal.

Camelot’s schools so far are performing better than those run by the other new operators when it comes to attendance and graduation rates and the rate at which students are earning credits, district data shows. However, Camelot fares slightly worse than those long-time alternative schools run by community organizations.

Camelot Education is a for-profit company that’s earned $50 million dollars from the Chicago Public Schools over the last four years operating so-called “alternative schools.” The six Camelot schools in Chicago cater to dropouts and other students who have fallen through the cracks. As an independent contractor, Camelot has less stringent reporting and oversight than CPS schools. In the past, in other cities, many students and their families have accused Camelot of various forms of abuse.

Billy McKinney knows all about the joy and frustration that goes with Wildcat basketball. McKinney graduated in 1978 as the all-time leading scorer. But he never got to play post-season ball. McKinney is now Director of Scouting with the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, and he joined Morning Shift along with WBEZ’s Cheryl Raye Stout to talk about the old days and the current crop of players at his alma mater.

WNYC reporter Shumita Basu joins the 'Morning Shift' to break down all the new changes being discussed for the U.S. Census and the motivation behind the changes.