In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

The past year was devastating for many music fans with the passing of icons like Prince, David Bowie, Phife Dawg, Sharon Jones, Leonard Cohen and George Michael. Jim DeRogatis of WBEZ’s Sound Opinions and Ayana Contreras of Vocalo’s Reclaimed Soul reflected on the many musicians – household names and lesser-known figures alike – who died in 2016.

The year’s biggest sports stories - in Chicago and nationwide - according to WBEZ contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout and Jim Litke of the Associated Press.

From the Zika virus to the U.S. presidential elections to the Cubs World Series win, 2016 was jam-packed with big news.  As 2016 winds down, we revisit some of the biggest stories of year with the Jeopardy! 2016 News Edition!  Our contestants are two of WBEZ’s finest: politics reporter (and reigning champ) Tony Arnold against senior producer Carrie Shepherd. We hit the worlds of politics, pop culture, sports and everything in between.

Earlier this week, the Chicago Tribune published an article headlined "Chicago-area Chefs Name The Best Meal They Ate in 2016." It gets the taste buds going to say the least.  Here at the Morning Shift, it inspired the staff to think about the best meals we’ve eaten. We open that question to listeners and hear about what you’re looking forward to eating over the holidays.

There’s a lot of great holiday music out there in “Soulsville”, but hardly any of it gets played on the radio.  Ayana Contreras, host of Reclaimed Soul on Vocalo, dives deep into her Christmas archives to enlighten us with some great music that we should know about.

In the latest installment in our series What’s That Building? Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business gives us the backstory on the synagogue used by KAM Isaiah Israel, the oldest Jewish congregation in Chicago. It’s a handsome brick and stone building topped by a large dome, with a minaret rising above it in the rear, built in 1924.

Soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples had a pretty good 2016. She kicked off the year with a new album, Livin’ On A High Note, that was followed by an HBO documentary. This year also marked the 40th anniversary of the seminal concert film The Last Waltz, which she took part in. And she capped it all off by receiving the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor award this month. But the year also had some lows, such as the death of friend and collaborator Prince. 

At the start of the year, Morning Shift decided to follow several listeners through 2016 to see if they would be able to make their New Year’s resolutions a reality. One of those people was Cathi Green. When we met her in January, Green was an American Airlines rep from suburban LaGrange Park who wanted to fulfill a years-old dream of moving to downtown Chicago. In the spring, she and her husband seemed to be on the brink of making the move when Cathi was diagnosed with Stage 4 endometrial cancer. At the age of 58, she decided to spend what could be her last summer at a cottage along Lake Michigan.  Green beat cancer, and by the end of 2016, she's gotten her dream of moving to Chicago back on track. She’s moving to the South Loop on January 5. She sits down with WBEZ’s Tony Sarabia once again for an update of a year that included cancer, remission and the home she always wanted. 

When R.J. Nelson became the director of harbors and marine services for the Chicago Park District in 1987, he inherited a job where the last four directors had gone to federal prison.  It was a world mired in corruption, and Nelson was there to fix it. There was only one problem: he had absolutely no business being there.  At that point, Nelson was a former college chaplain with no experience as a harbor boss, but he made the job his own, and he tells the tale in his new book Dirty Waters: Confessions Of Chicago’s Last Harbor Boss.  Morning Shift talks to Nelson about his experiences and his book. 

Over the summer, the Morning Shift ran a series called “The Movie That Made Me,” where we talked with interesting people to hear about the one film that had the biggest impact on their lives. For Rochelle Trotter, that film was one you’re likely to see on TV a lot this time of year: It’s A Wonderful Life.