The Block Club Chicago Podcast Block Club Chicago

Two years after busloads of migrant children began arriving in Chicago, many have landed in schools where most don’t speak Spanish. Custodians and kindergarten teachers are taking on the role of translator, but students are still falling behind.

Chicagoans took more than twice as many bike trips last year as they did in 2019, with increases of nearly 200 percent in some parts of the South Side, according to recent estimates.

But that growth isn’t uniform, as ridership is growing more slowly on the Far South and Southeast sides — mirroring trends elsewhere on the city’s outskirts.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the proposed $4.7 billion stadium and surrounding green space will be open to Chicago’s kids and teens, but some organizers who work with youth question what that access will actually look like.

Mayor Brandon Johnson is finishing up his first year in office. The Block Club Chicago team examined his campaign promises, and analyzed which ones have been met, are being worked on, or have been left to the side -- for now.

Distinguished film, television, stage actor and producer (and South Side native) Harry Lennix joins 'On The Block' to discuss performing back in Chicago, and how he is turning a building on South Cottage Grove into an African-American museum and stage.

In Pullman, A roughly 150-year-old home the Chicago Housing Authority owns has sat vacant since 2005. Facing criticism, the CHA pledged to rehab it and others six months ago — but work hasn’t begun and it’s unclear if it ever will.
In West Humboldt Park, neighbors surrounded by the drug trade are desperate for help as the house has been left empty by the CHA for seven years. But the CHA and police point fingers.