In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

The legacy of Harold Washington will be honored with a summit on Monday at the main branch of the Chicago Public Library, which is named after the former mayor. Morning Shift talks with two participants in that summit: Jacky Grimshaw and Rebecca Sive.

We continue our week-long series where we talk with local small business owners about their enterprises. For this latest installment, Val Camilletti, owner of Val’s Halla Records in Oak Park, joins Tony Sarabia to discuss the ups and downs of operating a record store over the past 44 years.

Reminder: Sunday is Mother’s Day. You didn’t forget did you? Well, whether or not you did, Morning Shift has your back. On Friday’s show, host Tony Sarabia and Chicago radio legend and Vocalo host Richard Steele take listeners’ calls about the songs they would like to dedicate to their mothers.  We hear from folks with songs that remind of them of the good times with mom as well as from folks who want to use to a song to express their feelings. And, of course, we’ll play some great music.

Cristela Alonzo made history in 2014 when she became the first Latina to create, produce and star in a network TV sitcom.  The show Cristela was an homage to her Mexican mother and how she raised Cristela and her siblings in Texas border town. The self-titled sitcom was cancelled after one season, but Cristela is using her name and platform to focus on an issue that’s pressing in this election year: The Latino vote.  She’ll be part of a forum Thursday at DePaul University where she’ll discuss “hispandering,” shorthand for pandering to Hispanics, as many politicians are wont to do.  Morning Shift talks to her about the event, the importance of the Latino vote and how she found her way to comedy.

Manny’s Deli has been serving its matzo ball soup, corned beef reubens, knishes and other delicacies to Chicagoans since 1942. Over the years, the family business grew into a Chicago institution, featured in movies and frequented by city bigwigs, including President Obama.  It’s now operated by Ken Raskin, who is the third generation in his family to run the business. His son and partner Dan is the fourth. The Raskins opened a second Manny’s in Midway Airport in 2002, and the original deli is currently wrapping up renovations to update the kitchen and bolster its brand.  Ken Raskin joins the Morning Shift to talk about the past, present and future of the venerable Chicago eatery.

We’ve all heard of Frank Lloyd Wright, right? Well, his son was also a noted architect who went by the name Lloyd Wright.  He designed homes in Southern California from the 1920s through the 1950s and left his mark in the Chicago area in northwest suburban Grayslake. A star-shaped home Lloyd Wright built there in 1956 is his only building in Illinois. It’s currently listed for $3.9 million.  The question is: Did Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. leave his mark on the home as well? A listing agent was drumming up interest in the property by linking it to the elder (and more famous) Wright.  That is, until Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business set the record straight. In our latest installment of What’s That Building? Rodkin sheds some light on the relationship between the Wright the elder and Wright the younger and talks about how the house in Grayslake helps tell that story.

Composer and lyricist Irving Berlin made the Great American Songbook a whole lot richer with tunes like “White Christmas” and “Cheek to Cheek.” His music was deceptively simple, often written in the vernacular of the day. Nevertheless, he’s been lauded as one the best songwriters American history.  Big shoes to fill, but ones that actor, playwright and pianist Hershey Felder does in his one-man show now playing at Chicago’s Royal George Theatre.  Earlier in his career, Felder played other 20th-century music men George Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein, so the sounds of Irving Berlin are right in his wheelhouse. Tony Sarabia sits down with Hershey Felder for a chat and a performance.

First daughter Malia Obama revealed over the weekend that she’ll defer her enrollment at Harvard until 2017 so she can take a gap year. Morning Shift talks with two experts about the different versions of gap years, their benefits and whether they’re right for everyone.

While continuing to pay tribute to National Small Business Week, we take a look at a local walking tour that highlights something Chicago is famous for: corruption.

It’s another round of Dealer’s Choice. Reclaimed Soul host Ayana Contreras gives us a taste of this week’s deep cuts, with a deep emphasis on Chicago-bred tunes.