In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons

For the latest installment in our series What’s That Building? Dennis Rodkin of Crain’s Chicago Business digs up stories from the old Cook County Criminal Court building at 54 W. Hubbard Street.

Today marks the 295th day that Illinois has not had a state budget, but despite the stalemate, plenty is happening in Springfield. Lawmakers have been debating constitutional amendments on everything from higher taxes for millionaires to term limits to abolishing the Lieutenant Governor’s office. They’ve also taken up issues like school funding, marijuana decriminalization and daily fantasy sports.  WBEZ’s state politics reporter Tony Arnold brings us an update on what’s hot in Springfield these days and whether Republican Governor Bruce Rauner and the Democrats are making any headway toward passing a budget.

Sharon Fairley took over as Chief Administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority in December, after public outcry over the city’s handling of police shootings, like the one that took the life of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. Last week, Mayor Emanuel’s Police Accountability Task Force said IPRA is “badly broken” and recommended that it be abolished. We speak with Fairley about the task force’s report, what steps she’s taken to reform IPRA and more.

More than 50 million Americans have seasonal allergies and the itchy eyes, runny noses and congestion that come with them. A recent study by the American Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America listed Chicago as one of the worst places to live with spring allergies. With the weather warming up and allergy season swiftly approaching, we sit down with Dr. Rebecca Newman to find the best way to enjoy springtime weather while keeping allergies at bay.

Beginning in the late 1960s, producer, arranger and composer Charles Stepney helped take the Chicago sound into a new era, deeply rooted in jazz. And his adventurous Baroque Soul is still being sampled and referenced today. Reclaimed Soul's Ayana Contreras shares some highlights from his too-brief career.

The recent balmy weather has many Chicagoans itching to give their green thumbs a workout.  The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Eliza Fournier joins Tony Sarabia in the studio to take gardening questions from listeners and to talk about what you need to do to get your garden in shape this spring.

At the age of 24, Chicago Reader associate editor Brianna Wellen was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that attacks part of the immune system. A year later, she’s now cancer-free, but she still suffers from side-effects from her chemotherapy treatments, including neuropathy in her hands.  Cancer is a qualifying condition for medical marijuana, but as Wellen has learned, getting medical marijuana is a difficult, drawn-out process in Illinois.  Tony Sarabia talks to Wellen about her experience and the experiences of other Illinois residents with qualifying conditions who have found it hard or impossible to get a prescription for medical marijuana.

In his new satirical play Carlyle, Skokie-based playwright Thomas Bradshaw explores black identity, racism and American politics through his title character, a black Republican born with every advantage in life who is trying to figure out where he fits in the world.  Tony Sarabia sits down with Bradshaw to discuss how black Republicans embody American individualism, why Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas looms so large for his protagonist Carlyle and what it means to be a successful black man in America.  Carlyle is at the Goodman Theatre through May 1.

Who picks the music you hear on commercial radio stations? Ever wonder why you never hear certain songs, even though they were super popular a long time ago? In the latest edition of our Working Shift series, Rick O’Dell, a fixture in Chicago’s radio scene, answers these questions and tells us how he’s finding success by breaking the rules of radio.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed a new site for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: The Lakeside Center of the McCormick Place Convention Center, which he'd like to demolish to make room for the museum. Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin, someone who doesn’t always agree with the Mayor, thinks it’s the right choice.