In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

More than 2.7 million American children have at least one parent in prison. In most cases, it’s the father, but mothers make up a growing percentage of parents behind bars. We talk with Colette Payne, a community organizer at Cabrini Green Legal Aid and a formerly incarcerated mother herself, about the push to allow mothers serving time for low-level crimes to do it in their communities instead of in prisons that are hours away from their homes. We’re also joined by Kim Bellware, a Chicago-based reporter for the Huffington Post who brought this story to our attention in a recent report called “Putting Moms in Prison Punishes Their Kids, Too.” She fills us in on this issue and talks about how the budget impasse is affecting reunification programs that allow kids from Chicago to visit their mother at downstate correctional facilities.

In her documentary From This Day Forward, Sharon Shattuck tells the story of her father coming out as transgender woman and the impact that decision had on her family and on her parents’ marriage.  Hint: They decided to stay together, and it wasn’t easy.  Morning Shift talks to Shattuck about the film, which will be at Facets Multimedia from May 20-26.

Sarah Vaughan is one of the great American jazz vocalists of all time. Many called her “The Divine One,” and she was known for her incredible range, vocal gymnastics and biting wit.  On Friday, Dee Alexander and two other jazz singers will pay tribute to Vaughan at Symphony Center.  Alexander is a Chicago-based singer, composer and member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. She joins the Morning Shift for a live performance honoring Sarah Vaughan and talk about Vaughan’s influence on her work.

A year ago, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart appointed Nneka Jones Tapia as executive director of the Cook County Jail.  She was an unconventional choice. Trained as a clinical psychologist, Jones Tapia did not have an extensive background in security or corrections. Nevertheless, Dart said her innovative approach to treating mental illness at the jail made her more than qualified to run a facility where one third of the inmate population is mentally ill.  Morning Shift talks to Nneka Jones Tapia about what she has done in her first year on the job and how she views our criminal justice and mental health systems.

The process for applying for a license or state ID card in Illinois is about to get a little more complicated and a lot more secure.  Starting at the end of July, applicants will receive a temporary paper card when they pass a driver’s test. The actual license will arrive about 45 days later. The change in timeframe will allow the licenses and ID cards to be processed off-site in a facility that can provide anti-counterfeiting security not currently available at the DMV.  The reason for all the changes is to make Illinois licenses and ID cards compliant with the federal REAL ID mandate from the Department of Homeland Security.  Morning Shift talks to Illinois Secretary of State spokesman Dave Druker about what the new process means for you

Research shows that only one in four adults takes part in recreational sports. It’s a stark contrast to the 73 percent of kids that play youth sports.  Morning Shift talks to Chris Hastings, president of the Chicago Sport and Social Club, about what organizations are doing to get more grown-ups playing again.  We also open the phones to hear listeners talk about what sports they play as adults and how they fit them into their busy lives.

Musically speaking, Sly & the Family Stone, Led Zeppelin and Sam Sham & the Pharaohs don’t seem to have much in common. But they all made great use of the Farfisa organ.  Made in Italy and distributed by the Chicago Instrument Company starting in the mid-1960s, the Farfisa became popular with soul acts thanks to its range of sounds and compact design.  Ayana Contreras brings us examples of the Farfisa sound in soul and beyond in this week’s edition of Reclaimed Soul.

A TSA staffing shortfall and stricter security measures mean thousands of travelers are waiting hours and hours for their flights or missing them altogether. WBEZ’s Yolanda Perdomo explains the impact on O’Hare and Midway and describes how people waiting in line Monday afternoon were dealing with the stressful, mind-numbing wait times. We also touch on what the TSA is doing to rectify the problem.

No doubt plenty of laymen in lines at O’Hare and Midway are pointing out ways their lines could be moving faster. So, do they have a point? We ask an expert on “queuing theory” about the best ways to organize and manage lines in public places like airports. Dick Larson is a professor of engineering systems at MIT, but we like his superhero name much better: Dr. Queue.

For a while now, Facebook has been crunching the data about the faces of its billion-plus users. That’s how the company makes recommendations for who is in a particular photo even before a user decides whether to tag someone. (I guess we all should have seen this coming. After all, it is called Facebook.) To some, the recommendation to tag a friend or family member is a cool, gee-whiz feature, but to others it feels like a breach of privacy. Three Illinois residents are suing Facebook in a class action over the issue. They argue that the tech giant has run afoul of the state’s law regarding biometric data. Morning Shift breaks down the case with Northwestern law professor Jim Speta, an expert on telecommunications and internet policy.