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In East Woodlawn, the city of Chicago is the single largest landowner. Much of the property it owns is vacant. As residents worry about what the future Obama Presidential Center means for the area, the city has the most power to reshape the community in years to come.

WBEZ News

How Will Chicago Use Its Land Near The Obama Presidential Center?

A WBEZ analysis of 2,430 properties found that the city and its sister agencies own the most property in East Woodlawn.
May 7, 2018
The Kewanee Life Skills Re-Entry Center Prison

WBEZ News

Illinois Inmates Hope To Get Into This Prison

Inmates are free to walk where they please as long as they attend classes — but the cost of this new approach is high.
May 7, 2018
Trump Decertifies Iran Deal, Charting New Path In Middle East

NPR

Trump: U.S. 'Will Withdraw' From Iran Nuclear Deal

President Trump has long been a critic of the multi-nation agreement, criticism that began even before he was sworn in to the Oval Office.
May 8, 2018
What A Family Murder Reveals About Chicago’s Chinese Gangs

Curious City

What A Family Murder Reveals About Chicago’s Chinese Gangs

WBEZ’s Monica Eng digs into her family’s past to answer a question about Chinese gangs.
May 5, 2018
Sen. Tom Cullerton

WBEZ News

Top Democrat: Full Quincy Legionnaires’ Fix Could Come After Election

Senate Democrat says Rauner could get $16 million to repair a troubled veterans’ home, but the governor’s $245 million plan is in question.
May 4, 2018
NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur

Nerdette

How To Kill Time In Space

“You’re in space," astronaut Megan McArthur told Nerdette podcast. "You don’t want to go to bed. You want to look out the windows.”
May 3, 2018

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This June 2017 photo taken at Brickworld Chicago in suburban Schaumburg shows some art knockoffs, Lego-style.

WBEZ News

Lego-Obsessed Crowd Packs Convention Every June Near Chicago

Every June, Lego enthusiasts from around the world descend on a Chicago suburb to build, display, play, talk, swap, and win Legos.
May 7, 2018
Teachers at Burke School say cleaners emptied out their closets and shelves on Saturday and left their material scattered across their classrooms.

WBEZ News

Dirty School Gets New CPS Treatment: Chaos

CPS leaders promised to quickly deal with dirty schools across the city. But a first effort at cleanup left a South Side school in disarray.
May 3, 2018
Storycorps booth

StoryCorps Chicago

'There’s Something I Want To Talk With You About'

At the StoryCorps booth in Chicago, Mike began to address his short-term memory loss with his daughter, Katie.
May 4, 2018
Glenn Evans

WBEZ News

City Settles Suit In Incident That Put CPD Commander On Trial

Glenn Evans, now a lieutenant, was acquitted of putting a gun down a man’s throat. Now the city is paying $100K to settle the man’s lawsuit.
May 4, 2018
Singer R. Kelly performs onstage in Los Angeles in 2004.

NPR

#MuteRKelly Co-Founder On The Movement And Its Momentum

In the wake of new allegations against R. Kelly, the #MuteRKelly movement is gaining new support for a campaign to isolate the artist.
May 7, 2018
Gun-rights advocates march to the state capitol in Springfield as part of the Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day, Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

Morning Shift

Downstate County Declares Itself A Sanctuary For Gun Owners

A handful of Illinois counties now say they are “sanctuaries” for the Second Amendment.
May 8, 2018

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