In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

Bob Abrahamian was an archivist, music historian and obsessive record collector. His radio show, 'Sitting in the Park,' on WHPK in Hyde Park featured Chicago soul artists, sometimes being the only platform for that music. Abrahamian died in 2014, but his radio shows live on through the Web. And it may get a bigger audience now, as record label Numero Group just released a collection of Abrahamian’s shows.

It came down to the wire for Governor Rauner and Democratic leaders to approve a stopgap deal that would fund services for the next six months and ensure public schools open in the fall. But the state has still been without a budget for an entire year, leaving many social service agencies and higher education strapped for the cash to operate or retain staff. WBEZ statehouse reporter Tony Arnold updates us on where we are now, what’s next and we open the phones to ask: How has the budget impasse affected you?

Argonne National Laboratory is celebrating its 70th anniversary. The science and engineering research center has had a prominent place in historical research developments. They’re currently in the process of installing a new supercomputer, Theta.  Katherine Riley, Director of Science for the Leadership Computing Facility, explains what a supercomputer does.

This week we kicked off our summer series “The Movie That Made Me”. Writer, blogger, and comedian Luvvie Ajayi talks about how The Color Purple touched on race, class and gender in ways that changed her perceptions of the world, and herself.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is continuing his campaign to reduce tobacco use. Starting Friday, the legal age to purchase tobacco in Chicago goes from 18 to 21 years old. We check in with Dr. Stanton Glantz from Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education on how attempts to make it hard to buy cigarettes have affected the smoking rates for young people.

In 1963, Andrew and Marianne Fischer became the parents of quintuplets. The event was momentous because it was the fourth recorded birth of quints in U.S. history and the first to survive.  Legendary documentary filmmaker Gordon Quinn tells us how Happy Mother’s Day shaped what he wanted to do at Kartemquin Films.

Lawmakers are back in Springfield to try and make some headway on the budget impasse. Friday will mark the start of the second year without a state budget. That has resulted in cuts for social service agencies and higher education.  Lawsuits against the state have demanded that some programs remain funded, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re getting the money. John Bouman from the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law details some of the lawsuits that have demanded cash in order to still function, and how the impasse has affected services.

Did the summer months bring about some strange bird you hadn’t seen before? Did you see a coyote run across your front yard at 2 a.m. one night?  Lincoln Park Zoo’s Urban Wildlife expert Seth Magle is back to answer all your questions about the strange animals that roam the streets of Chicago in the summer.

Cubs catcher David Ross is what you call a “journeyman”. Over a 14-year career, he’s been part of seven different major league teams-eight if you count him being on the Red Sox twice. But his short time with the Cubs has been special. This year he hit his 100th career home run, and he caught his first no-hitter. Most people don’t consider 39 to be old, but Ross is so much older than his teammates, they call him “Grandpa”. He talked to WBEZ’s Cheryl Raye Stout about being “the grizzled veteran”, and about the special relationship a catcher needs to have with his pitchers

The fight for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Chicago’s lakefront kept us guessing during the twists and turns to decide its fate.  George Lucas ended the speculation on Friday when he announced that he and his wife, native Chicagoan Mellody Hobson, were pulling their plans from Chicago.  Chicago Tribune’s editorial board offers some lasting lessons to guide potential future fights involving construction on the lakefront. We talk to board member John McCormick about the lessons.