Results tagged “wbez”

We mentioned earlier today that the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority is in debt but we didn't offer any solutions. Fortunately, WBEZ's Justin Kaufmann put his thinking cap on and came up with a few ideas that might help out. Our one caveat: we like Shakespeare, Justin. Don't mess with the lit nerds.

With yesterday's petitioning deadline come and gone and the deadline to petition challengers and withdraw from a race approaching next Monday, there's still just a teeny bit of positioning left to do for this February's primaries, but the races are starting to shape up. Luckily for us, WBEZ has a nice, concise breakdown of who's running for what. For instance, did you know that there were actually a few Republicans running for Cook County Board President, too? But seriously, the list is pretty comprehensive though we'll know more a week from now, especially as we await on which race U.S. Rep. Danny Davis will settle on.

WBEZ's Alison Cuddy sat down for a one-on-one with Mayor Daley and while we can't say she was soft on Daley, there are no major revelations in the interview. Daley defends his decision to dip into the parking meter fund for the 2010 budget; when asked how that money will be replaced, Daley simply says, "You replace money as the economy gets better," and then makes a joke about praying for the economy to get better. On the subject of TIFs, the Mayor said, "Most TIF funds don't generate any money." And on the topic of TIF transparency, Daley chuckles when Cuddy mentions the Chicago Reader and then seems to brush off the question with a less-than-genuine answer. Not that we're surprised. On the subject of privatizing other city assets, Daley side-stepped the question, saying, "There's no market. If there's no market, you cannot lease a public asset," as if to imply, "No." Which we don't believe as getting fair market value for the asset never seemed to be Daley's main concern. Other topics tackled include his approval rating and youth violence, on which Daley still manages to find a way to blame the media for something.

As the city moves on from the 2016 Olympic loss, one group of citizens is hoping that as the Olympic dream fades, the attention focused on their neighborhood doesn't. Residents of Washington Park found themselves in the spotlight as Chicago's plans for the 2016 Olympics put them squarely in the middle of it all as the proposed location for the main Olympic Stadium. Residents now hope the neighborhood can stay in the spotlight even as the Olympic plans are tossed on the scrap pile.

Not since Pee Wee Herman had his bike stolen have we felt such pity for a victim of such theft. Watch this video and see if we can't help Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me host Peter Sagal reclaim what's rightfully his!

• Chicago 2016 CEO Patrick Ryan, speaking at today's press conference in Copenhagen, cited a new Zogby poll that claims 72 percent of Chicagoans support the Olympic bid.
• The Teen Cop Impersonator is back in the news as a judge has ordered him to three months in juvenile detention for violating the rules of his home confinement.
• The FBI is asking for the public's help in tracking down a Cicero man wanted in connection with a 1996 murder.

The story goes that when Talking Heads were planning the concert that would be captured on film as Stop Making Sense, frontman David Byrne asked a stage designer friend for pointers. She told him that on stage, everything needs to be bigger. He took her advice literally. Thus was born the Big Suit.

It's been three weeks since (most) Chicago Public Schools kicked off the new school year, but in some schools, like Amundsen High School, there's still a heavy need for teachers. WBEZ has the details.

Yesterday, Mediabistro reported comments from This American Life's Ira Glass on the future of the program's TV show: "I don't know if I can say this yet, but we've asked to be taken off of television." So why did it all go down? Is Ira Glass bringing the show back to Chicago HQ? WBEZ's Justin Kaufmann talked to Ira and got some answers.

Bummed Talk Of The Nation and Afropop got booted in the latest reshuffle of the WBEZ schedule? Want to know why there's only 5 episodes of Radiolab listed? Bummed you have to wait until the afternoon to hear Terry Gross spar with guests like Gene Simmons? Acting Program Director Steve Edwards explains all.

• The latest parking meter issue has Mayor Daley annoyed, calling the issue "unacceptable."
• The Sun-Times' union workers will shortly assemble to vote on concessions requested in Jim Tyree's bid for the paper's parent company. A smaller paper in the STMG family - the Post-Tribune - voted against the concessions last night.
• The IHSA has reinstated all levels of football at North Chicago High School after the program was suspended following a brawl with Simeon High earlier this month.

The state of Illinois has been the recipient of a whole bunch of that federal stimulus cash - to the tune of several hundred millions of dollars. But how much of that is reaching Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), businesses owned by minorities and women? According to an excellent, in-depth report from WBEZ, not a whole heck of a lot. Check out the entire feature, part of their Hard Working series.

With Todd Stroger's approval rating apparently lagging badly, the field seems wide open for the four challengers who have already announced their candidacy against Stroger: Clerk of courts Dorothy Brown, Congressman Danny Davis, Chicago Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District's Terry O'Brien. WBEZ takes a look at the early jostling for front-runner status as well as how race has become a factor, including the involvement of State Rep. James Meeks who has been busy organizing the black candidates. Says Meeks, "Four African Americans who are running in an election, and one white candidate who runs, the four African Americans cancel each other out."

• Anne Lockett, the ex-girlfriend of Brown's Chicken Massacre defendant James Degorski, testified against Degorski at his trial today.
• WBEZ takes a look at the case of Devon Young, a 25-year-old man shot and killed by police in June 2008, and the seeming lack of a police investigation into the shooting.
• The Trib talks to Patti Blagojevich.

Ever felt like reading a short story on your phone while traversing the city on the El or bus? Given the way so many people make their commutes with their noses in their phones anyway - not to mention the number of services being added to the subway tunnels - it's not at all out of the question. Now you can thanks to CellStories, a new service from Dan Sinker (founding editor of Punk Planet, journalism teacher at Columbia College, and all-around awesome guy). The service sends a new story to your mobile device each day that you can read at your leisure. Sinker sat down with WBEZ to answer a few questions about the new service.

WBEZ's Andrew Gill celebrated local chef Rick Bayless' big Top Chef Masters win by rounding up some Bayless appearances on WBEZ from back in the day before he was the Master. Enjoy!

• A 15-year-old girl continues to fight for her life after being shot in the head last night while trying to shield another family member; police say she was not the intended target of the gunfire.
• WBEZ's blog has a very comprehensive breakdown of who's in for 2010 races.
• Blah blah blah Mayor Daley blah blah blah defends alderman blah blah blah clout.

Yesterday's approval by the CTA board of a plan to extend the Yellow, Red, and Orange lines has been met with a variety of responses from both supporters and detractors. WBEZ spoke to several people in Skokie about their concerns of extending the Yellow Line.

Our friends over at WBEZ got creative and had a little fun. For a recent review from Sound Opinions - the new Fiery Furnaces album - the crew got Arthur Jones of Post-it Note Stories to animate Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. Check out the WBEZ Blog for more information. It's a pretty entertaining twist for a program we quite enjoy. But animating music critics? It's been done!

The state is due to explore it's once-every-10-years redistricting plan in 2011 once the census is delivered. Exactly how does the state go about redrawing those boundaries? It's a pretty crazy process, which doesn't surprise us at all. According to WBEZ:

• Chicago Now's one story up has the story of a family who is facing eviction from Section 8 housing after the death of their mother.
• The Clout College hearings continued today with a pair of admissions experts expressing surprise at the elaborate nature of the system in place at the University of Illinois.
• If you haven't heard it yet, please, go listen to Sen. Roland Burris's interview this morning on WBEZ's 848. While nothing new is revealed, Burris's reactions to questions like what he thinks the impact of his not seeking the seat in 2010 on his staff will be straddle the line between hilarious and horrifying.

This time, they're helping you pick between Fucked Up and The Antlers. What Sayeth WBEZ's Council?

We'll have our picks for the upcoming Pitchfork Music Fest next week, but WBEZ and their Council of Hipsters has already started breaking down the schedule.

• A man died in an area Dunkin Donuts in 2007 and now his mother is suing the franchisees for wrongful death.
• The search continues for toddler Jada Justice, missing since last week, but Indiana police claim they have no promising leads.
• WBEZ examines some of the possible fall out from putting caps on campaign contributions.

Tomorrow is the Chicago Media Future Conference (register to go if you haven't yet!). In preparation, one of the conference's organizers and former Chicagoisto Scott Smith - who talked to Karl in this week's podcast - stopped by WBEZ to check out the situation at Chicago Public Radio. What he found was not quite what he expected.

As of today, the 26th Ward of Chicago has a new alderman for now: Hector Villagrana. Ocasio officially began working for Gov. Quinn today, an announcement he made last month. Villagranna talked to WBEZ and assured the residents of the 26th Ward everything is going to be just fine.

Yesterday's Game Three between the Blackhawks and the Red Wings has us pumped for tomorrow's Game Four. For those that aren't as familiar with hockey, WBEZ aims to explain to us what the "Odd Man Rush" is (that's former Chicagoista Kristin Moo in goal) and the results are pretty funny. But don't worry - Andrew's fine.

• More developments in the case against Marni Yang.
• The Tribune profiles Settler's Pond, an exotic animal shelter that's facing rough times in the current economy.
• Controversy is swirling at the University of Chicago over a column in the school's paper that was retracted.

Ah, the public radio fundraising drive. We love NPR - and we've got a whole heap of love for the badasses at WBEZ - but sometimes we get a bit miffed with the interruptions asking us for money. Well, our pals at the BEZ have come up with a pretty clever campaign that not only raises money to help keep them on the air, but keeps us entertained to boot. They've launched WBEZ20, a new website featuring videos, comments, and other interactive features while at the same time asking readers to donate $20 to help keep the station going. It's a pretty great idea and will help keep their programming interruption to a minimum.

WBEZ is reporting that former alderman and Richard J. Daley adversary Leon Despres has passed away at the age of 101. We highly recommend checking out his memoir, Challenging the Daley Machine.