Amy Van Polen, CEO of Bridge Communities, a non-profit transitional housing program for families experiencing homelessness in the western suburbs, joins Lisa Dent to talk about their upcoming ‘Sleep Out Saturday’ event this Saturday, Nov. 2. She discusses what the event does, what many people don’t realize about unhoused families, and how the non-profit helps. Find out more about the fundraiser here.

On today’s edition of the Newsroom Temperature Check, Lisa and the crew share their daily stories about Thanksgiving sides, Tom Brady’s advice to Taylor Swift, and silly string being illegal in Hollywood on Halloween. Newsroom Temperature Check is sponsored by American Weathermakers, Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing. They won’t be comfortable until you are.

Damon Cheronis, Managing Partner at Cheronis & Parente LLC, joins Lisa Dent to talk about former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan’s corruption trial. As the trial continues, ‘politics as usual’ gets challenged. Lobbying and bribes are put under a microscope as the jury continues to hear audio recordings of defendant Michael Madigan.

Diedre Caldbeck, Senior Director of Health & Apple Watch Product Marketing, joins Lisa Dent to talk about Apple’s new hearing aids. Starting now, Apple’s new AirPod Pro 2 software update turns them into hearing aids. Offering a personalized hearing test and profile, the new hearing aid feature will transform them into an operating hearing aid.

Dr. Ludmilla Aristilde, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Northwestern University, joins Lisa Dent to talk about her team’s research on bacteria found to be thriving on plastic materials in rivers and wastewater plants and how this could lead to a solution for the growing issue of microplastics in the environment and our bodies.

Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog with the US Public Interest Research Group, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the FTC’s new ‘click-to-cancel’ rule that is currently under fire. Companies that offer subscriptions will now be required to offer an easy-to-cancel option and companies must get consent for subscriptions, auto-renewals and free trials that convert to paid memberships. Murray then gives an update to the E. coli cases that were traced to McDonald’s Quarter Pounders. McDonald’s has resumed selling Quarter Pounders after concluding that the cases were not caused by the beef.

Chicago gets its very first black-owned fine dining restaurant at the South Shore Cultural Center. Donnell Digby, Owner of Nafsi 1916, join Lisa Dent to talk about how his restaurant connects with the community that surrounds it and pays homage to the building it’s located in. Nafsi 1916 offers soulful classics with a twist.

Isabel Sefrit-Daniel joins Lisa Dent to talk about an upcoming Ping-Pong-Palooza for Parkinson’s event. The event is hosted tomorrow (October 26th) and you can find out all the information on their website here.

Dan Hampton, Chicago Bears Hall of Famer and host of the Hamp and O’B show, joins Lisa Dent and Kevin Powell to talk about the upcoming match-up for the Bears against the Washington Commanders where Caleb Williams returns to his hometown. Hampton gives his evaluation of Caleb Williams at this point through the season and explains the importance of a possible Bears win.

On today’s edition of the Newsroom Temperature Check, Lisa and the crew share their daily stories about Taco Bell’s Halloween menu, Stormy Daniels’ comedy tour, and Mary talks about WAGS. Newsroom Temperature Check is sponsored by American Weathermakers, Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing. They won’t be comfortable until you are.