The Rundown | Chicago News WBEZ Chicago

Chicago government officials will try to spend down hundreds of millions in federal grant money before it expires at the end of the year. Illinois lawmakers are heading back to Springfield today after their last break of the spring session. The Illinois Department of Corrections is proposing moving the Logan women’s prison onto the same site as the Stateville men’s prison.

Some Illinois state lawmakers are pushing a bill that would merge the CTA, Metra and Pace into one transit agency. A tent encampment was erected this morning at the University of Chicago, in solidarity with the people of Gaza. A new kind of music festival is coming to the Chicago area in September.

Poet Tarnynon Onumonu grew up in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. She discovered poetry at 10 years old, and as an adult, she uses her writing to find community and healing.

“I’ve just always used poetry as a tool to activate my creativity, to return to myself, to feel comfort in difficult times,” Onumonu said.

In this episode, Onumonu meditates on how creativity helps her connect with herself and the world around her.

This episode was produced by Ari Mejia for WBEZ’s sister station Vocalo and their Chi Sounds Like series.
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Funeral services begin at 10 a.m. for a fallen Chicago police officer. Hundreds are expected to attend – many from out of town. The American Lung Association’s State of the Air report lists Chicago among the top 25 most air-polluted cities in the nation. A study surveying 765 Black and white women found that poor heart health leads to cognitive decline among Black women.

Former workers at the Foxtrot Commissary on Chicago’s South Side rallied today after abrupt mass layoffs. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said the owners of the Chicago Bears should pay for the vast majority of the costs of a new potential stadium – not Illinois taxpayers. Former USC quarterback Caleb Williams is now a Chicago Bear; he was the first overall pick in Thursday’s NFL draft.

We often hear the phrase “LGBTQ+ community.” But in a city as big as Chicago, it can be challenging for queer people to actually find their community. That’s where Jake Wittich comes in.

“We have one of the more thriving LGBTQ districts in the country,” Wittich said. He is the newsletter editor at the Windy City Times, where he and his colleagues recently launched the queer events newsletter Chicago Social Butterflies.

In this episode, Wittich gives host Erin Allen the lowdown on where to find LGBTQ+ bars, pop-up parties and community around the city.

If you want to keep up with queer goings-on in Chicago, you can subscribe to Chicago Social Butterflies here.
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