The Rundown | Chicago News WBEZ Chicago

Planned Parenthood of Illinois is reopening its Peoria Health Center Monday after a January 2023 firebombing forced the facility to close. The Chicago office in charge of independently analyzing the mayor’s budget proposal each year is understaffed, according to its new leader. Weather forecasts for both Monday and Tuesday call for a chance of severe weather.

Dont Fret is a Chicago-born cartoonist, muralist and self-published author who loves his city. He’s anonymous in part because he spent his childhood tagging walls across Chicago,

“You’re a Chicagoan,” he writes in his book, “This Is No Quiet City.” “Your eyes and heart are wide open, and that is pure, raw, messy, true, and terrifying.”

In this episode, Dont Fret explains how he got into graffiti growing up in Wicker Park, why he self-published his book, and why Chicago is a city that punches back.

“We are a tough, tough people,” he said to host Erin Allen, “and I think that comes from the stockyards. It comes from inclusion and immigration, diversity and eclect-icity.”

Dont Fret has a book-signing event at the MCA on June 11. You can find more of his work on his Instagram.

This episode was originally published on Aug. 9, 2023.
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A corridor of Clark Street in River North will no longer be closed for pedestrians this summer. A new exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum offers a glimpse into the Kindertransport program that saved the lives of thousands of children in the 1930s. Loyola Medicine has launched a program this spring for treating women athletes in the Chicago area.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. is calling on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 presidential election results following a New York Times report that an upside-down American flag was seen at the conservative justice’s house in January 2021. A coalition of interfaith leaders will gather at the Chicago Temple downtown Sunday to honor a Palestinian-American boy who was fatally stabbed in suburban Plainfield last year. Credit monitoring agencies wouldn’t have access to some medical debt information under a bill Illinois lawmakers just approved.

What’s going on at the CTA? Sluggish ridership is a main reason that Chicago area transit agencies including the CTA are facing a $730 million budget shortfall, according to a recent WBEZ analysis of transit data.

So why aren’t riders riding? And what do they think of the CTA these days?

We hear from a few riders mid-commute at a pair of downtown CTA train stations, some of whom complained about reliability, safety, and cleanliness, as well as others who think things are fine. Then we hear from Sarah Freishtat, a business reporter covering transportation for the Chicago Tribune, who explains what CTA leadership has done so far and what else they have planned to counteract their troubles.
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The Palestinian solidarity encampment at DePaul University was cleared by police yesterday, but faculty and student organizers say it’s not the end of their activism. Seven journalists with the Chicago Tribune have filed a class-action lawsuit against the newspaper and its owner. Illinois’ rules against hazing could get a little stronger.