Office Of The Public Guardian Podcasts

Four former ComEd executives and lobbyists are on trial for allegedly bribing House Speaker Michael Madigan to advance legislation that steered hundreds of millions more profit to the power company. Host: Melba Lara; Reporters: Dave McKinney and Lauren FrostBy Chicago Public Media

All 18 of Cook County’s public housing developments will soon have mental health workers on site. Officials say it’s the first such initiative in the U.S. and part of an effort to help residents recover from the pandemic. Host: Melba Lara; Reporters: Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and Lauren FrostBy Chicago Public Media

How disco evolved in Chicago in the 1970s in two distinct ways: On the near north side as part of the city’s emerging Queer nightlife scene. And on the southside in warehouses, underground clubs, and even in Catholic schools where it laid the foundation for house music.

A report says US police departments face a three-fold crisis: an erosion of community trust, a violent-crime surge, and dwindling police staffing. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Chip MitchellBy Chicago Public Media

Chicago Chinatown leaders fought for representation in City Council but two candidates face off in the 11th Ward runoff — one Asian and one white. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji KangBy Chicago Public Media

Chicago and Northwest Indiana rank high on a list of places with the worst air pollution in the U-S. We talk to a reporter from The Guardian U-S who worked on the ranking. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Lauren FrostBy Chicago Public Media

Michael McClain was speaking as an ‘agent’ of Michael Madigan. Recommends to Lou Lang to resign from the Illinois General Assembly.By Chicago Public Media

Federal prosecutors are giving jurors a lesson in Illinois politics, as they make their case against four former Commonwealth Edison executives and lobbyists. Host: Melba Lara; Reporters: Lauren Frost and Dave McKinneyBy Chicago Public Media

Some residents have raised concerns about a proposed biofuel plant in Northwest Indiana. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Michael PuenteBy Chicago Public Media

Supt. Tony Sanders sees an “ever-widening gap between the left and the right … I think public education is squarely in the middle of that fight.” Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Susie AnBy Chicago Public Media

In pleading for leniency Alex Banta said he took a job as a prison guard at 23 and had no idea how it would change him. Host: Melba Lara; Reporters: Shannon Heffernan and Lauren FrostBy Chicago Public Media

For 25 years, Jeff Schoep recruited young people for one of the most active hate groups in the U.S. Now, he’s discussing forgiveness and tolerance at Clemente High School. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Nereida MorenoBy Chicago Public Media

One educator compared the learning disruption caused by the pandemic to water freezing in cracked pavement, deepening the divide. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Susie AnBy Chicago Public Media

Jollof rice is an iconic West African rice dish, filled with meat, vegetables, and intense spice. It’s gone from relative obscurity to global superstardom in the past 10 years. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Cianna GreavesBy Chicago Public Media

Unlike many states in the Midwest, including Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa, Illinois doesn’t have any federally recognized Indian reservations. Yet all around the state, in the names of cities, rivers, streets and sports teams, there are reminders that we are living on land where Native Americans once farmed, traded and made their home. So why doesn…

Outreach workers say fewer shelter beds and Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s recent crackdown on people sleeping at O’Hare has forced more unhoused people onto trains and buses. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Anna SavchenkoBy Chicago Public Media

By dosing teenage lab rats with THC, Kuei Tseng can see the impact of weed on brain development. The bottom line: There’s more the public needs to know. Host: Lisa Labuz: Reporters: Cianna Greaves, Zachary NauthBy Chicago Public Media

From property taxes to paying the pensions, the two candidates for Chicago mayor are approaching finances in two completely different ways. Host: Susie An; Reporter: Tessa Weinberg, Mariah WoelfelBy Chicago Public Media

A big political corruption trial begins Tuesday. The case involves former Commonwealth Edison officials accused of bribing former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Dave McKinneyBy Chicago Public Media

Ice is usually a common winter sight on the Great Lakes. But this season, ice cover on the lakes has been distinctly low. Host: Clare Lane; Guest: Andrea Vander WoudeBy Chicago Public Media

Several thousand people lined Western Avenue in Beverly for the South Side Irish Parade on Sunday. The parade featured floats, traditional Irish dancers, and bagpipes. The parade began in 1979 and is considered the largest community-based St. Patrick’s Day parade outside of Dublin. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Michael Puente…

Illinois’ first Black independently owned cannabis dispensary wants to change the way you think about weed. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Alex DegmanBy Chicago Public Media

Even though the Jamaican population in Chicago is relatively small, the city is flush with restaurants serving jerk-style foods. Why are there so many? And what is authentic jerk cuisine?

A Northwestern professor is writing a book about the history of the policy in higher education and spoke with WBEZ about his findings. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Lisa PhilipBy Chicago Public Media

A WBEZ investigation finds that the state’s solution is buckling under the demand among low-income children for urgent mental health services. Reporters: Sarah Karp and Kristen SchorschBy Chicago Public Media

SASS is state program that is supposed to connect low-income children experiencing a mental health crisis with treatment. One mother explains why mental health services are so hard to get. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporters: Kristen Schorsch and Sarah KarpBy Chicago Public Media

This week WBEZ is bringing you an investigation into a state program that is meant to link Illinois’ most vulnerable children with treatment during a mental health crisis. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Kristen SchorschBy Chicago Public Media

The new Acting Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Natalie Phelps Finnie, tells us how climate change intersects with her work. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Lauren Frost, Melba LauraBy Chicago Public Media

A new WBEZ investigation finds Illinois’ safety net for suicidal kids is riddled with holes. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Sarah KarpBy Chicago Public Media

Despite a critical deadline extension, Illinois craft cannabis businesses are still worried they’ll fail before getting a chance to even start. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Alex DegmanBy Chicago Public Media

Scientist Alice Hamilton’s investigations into toxins in Chicago’s factories led to some of the first workplace safety laws in the country. She was known for her “shoe leather” epidemiology, wearing out the soles of her shoes from all the trips she made to Chicago homes, factories and even saloons to figure out what was making people sick. Reporter…

We’ll hear how a gallery-owner in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood is helping newly arrived asylum-seekers find necessities they can’t get from the city. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Char DastonBy Chicago Public Media

Lori Lightfoot, the city’s first Black woman and openly gay mayor is now the first in four decades not to get a second term. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Mariah WoelfelBy Chicago Public Media

The people who sell Chicago-style hot dogs, beer and nachos at the United Center are prepared to go on strike any day now. Host: Lisa Labuz; Reporter: Esther Yoon-Ji KangBy Chicago Public Media

WBEZ checks in with Aleksey and Vera Graboviy, who we met at the Ukrainian gift shop Delta on February 24th, 2022, to hear how life has changed in the past year. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Lauren FrostBy Chicago Public Media

The city’s first crisis response teams together have handled fewer than two calls a day. New 911 protocols are expected to lift that number. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporters: Shannon Heffernan, Cianna GreavesBy Chicago Public Media

The first book from the Loyola basketball team’s beloved chaplain is fittingly called “Waking Up With a Purpose! What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years.“ Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Adora NamigaddeBy Chicago Public Media

One year on from the start of the war in Ukraine, we’ll hear from a Chicago professor and Russian national, who says Moscow's state media don't reflect how the people really feel. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Cianna GreavesBy Chicago Public Media

The sentence came five months after a federal jury found Kelly guilty of three counts of producing child pornography and three counts of enticing a minor into criminal sexual activity. Host: Melba Lara; Reporters: Lauren Frost and Robert WildeboerBy Chicago Public Media

Since 2018, the Chicago Police Department has lost at least 22 officers to suicide. In response, the Fraternal Order of Police has turned the second floor of its Chicago facility into a wellness center. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Chip MitchellBy Chicago Public Media

You’ve never heard of the Atkinsons or the Bernsteins. But these are two historic Chicago families and in big and small ways, they have left their mark on this city.

Voters along the north lakefront in Chicago's 43rd Ward, one of the whitest wealthiest and most politically active wards in the city, have a wide field of candidates to choose from for the first time in a decade. Host: Clare Lane; Reporter: Claudia MorellBy Chicago Public Media

We’re answering questions you asked in our People’s Agenda survey about what problems you want Chicago’s next mayor to tackle. Today, a question on how to improve the CTA. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Mariah WoelfelBy Chicago Public Media

Some Chicago public schools are struggling to serve the recent influx of migrant students from Central and South America. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Nereida MorenoBy Chicago Public Media

Nan Buckardt, the Director of Education for the Lake County Forest Preserves, explains the impact climate change could have on the maple syrup industry. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Lauren FrostBy Chicago Public Media

A new investigation into the kidnapping of Mary Agnes Moroney led her family to conclude she grew up as Jeanette Burchard, became a nurse and had three children, and died in Florida 20 years ago. Reporter: Lauren Frost; Host: Melba LaraBy Chicago Public Media

This election season, we asked Chicagoans to contribute to the People's Agenda with questions and comments they want the next mayor to address. Here's one on improving access to mental health care. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Tessa WeinbergBy Chicago Public Media

Illinois has paid out millions in pension payments to ex-lawmakers who have admitted criminal wrongdoing or are awaiting trial. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Dave McKinneyBy Chicago Public Media

This election season, we asked Chicagoans to contribute to the People's Agenda with questions and comments they want the next mayor to address. Here's one on the money spent to fight Chicago crime. Host: Mary Dixon; Reporter: Chip MitchellBy Chicago Public Media

Reporter Arionne Nettles brings us two stories honoring Black History in Chicago: The legacy of Ida B. Wells who empowered Black people to claim political power here. And the tale of Cadillac Baby, Nettle’s grandfather, who helped establish and nourish the Blues industry in Chicago.