Next week, former Chicago alderman Ed Burke will stand trial on federal corruption charges that he used his power in public office to make money at his private law firm.

Though Burke won reelection in 2019 after the initial indictment and raid on his office, the charges helped put an end to his five-decade career in the council earlier this year.

WBEZ’s Mariah Woelfel brings us this look at Burke’s life, career and the power he amassed as the city’s longest serving council member.

Host: Mary Dixon

Chicago and the surrounding suburbs have seen extreme rainfall events this year that resulted in significant flooding.

When those events happen, the floodwater that’s often contaminated with sewage makes its way through the storm drains to one of the water reclamation plants in the region so that it can be cleaned.

But that bears the question, “how do they actually do that?”

WBEZ’s Noah Jennings went to one of the plants to find out.

Host: Mary Dixon

Steel continues to be the dominant industry in Northwest Indiana -- as it has been for more than a century. While the mills have provided good-paying jobs for the thousands who have worked there over the decades -- they've also been a major source of air pollution. Reporter and host: Michael Puente

A year ago the Chicago Transit Authority made a pledge to fix delays and address the crime and grime that was keeping riders away from the system.

It was called Meeting the Moment… and the goals were ambitious: make train and bus service more reliable…improve safety and the overall rider experience

The CTA is claiming progress..

Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Claudia Morell

The Chicago Sky introduced their new head coach Teresa Weatherspoon at a press conference yesterday.

Afterwards, the hall of famer sat down with WBEZ sports contributor Cheryl Raye-Stout in an exclusive one-on-one interview to discuss her plans for her first season with the Sky.

Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Cheryl Raye Stout

Educators in Illinois have a January deadline to draft a plan for improving how reading is taught.

The effort by the Illinois State Board of Education is part of a national movement to update reading instruction … so it matches what science says about the way kids learn.

Here to tell us more is Tinaya York. She helped write the first draft of Illinois’ literacy plan with educators around the state. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Kate Grossman

A dozen police officers from around Illinois appeared on a leaked membership list for the Oath Keepers, an anti-government extremist group.

They include a state trooper, a state university campus cop and an officer for a village known as “America’s First Black Town.” These officers are in addition to the more than two dozen current and former Chicago police officials found on the leaked list.

Many elected leaders say those officers should have no place in law enforcement and are pushing for new rules to be adopted to bar police participation in hate and extremist groups.

An investigation by WBEZ, Chicago Sun-Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found police departments have been reluctant to push cops with extremist connections out of their ranks. Reporters also spoke with people who said their lives were impacted negatively by officers with ties to the Oath Keepers. Host: Mary Dixon

Twenty-seven current and former Chicago cops appeared on the leaked membership list of the Oath Keepers — the anti-government extremist group that gained notoriety for the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Now, a monthslong investigation from WBEZ, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has looked into those officers in Chicago and elsewhere in Illinois, revealing the troubling records of some of those cops. Reporters Dan Mihalopoulos of WBEZ and the Sun-Times’s Tom Schuba spoke with people who say they had disturbing and racist experiences with officers who joined the Oath Keepers.

Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dan Mihalopoulos

The people who spoke with WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times say the department should rid itself of cops connected to extremist groups.

The people who spoke with WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times say the department should rid itself of cops connected to extremist groups. Reporters: Dan Mihalopoulos and Tom Schuba