Everything you should do this fall is on this list
Updated for 2023: Whether you’re seeking pumpkin patches or corn mazes, hikes or scenic drives, here are 10 ways to revel in the Midwest’s most glorious season.
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Johnson administration defends contract with private defense firm to prop up migrant ‘base camps’
The administration says it’s looking into whether it can staff the tent camps with local organizations once they are built.
A bomb threat cleared a Highland Park elementary school Thursday morning
The threat was unfounded. It comes after a widely-seen post about the school on an X account that caters to a far-right and anti-LGBTQ+ audience.
A preview of Chicago’s 2023 World Music Festival
Celebrate music from around the world for 10 days straight at Chicago’s annual World Music Festival.
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Going behind the music with Afrobeats musician AMAYO
Musician AMAYO talks about his work in the Afrobeats genre ahead of his performance at the World Music Festival on Saturday, September 30.
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City Council panel votes to raise minimum wage for tipped restaurant workers
The measure, if cleared by the full Council, would give restaurants 5 years to raise wages.
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Chicago students’ math scores lag behind pre-pandemic levels
Here are the tools Chicago Public Schools is using to help close the gap.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s team will scrap INVEST South/West name, but not its aims
A top Johnson aide said the INVEST South/West development program on the South and West sides, a hallmark of the Lori Lightfoot administration, is perceived as “an unfulfilled promise.”
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U.S. will expand Temporary Protected Status to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans
Venezuelan migrants in the U.S. as of July 31 can sign up for Temporary Protected Status. Homeland Security officials estimate that roughly 472,000 more people will now be eligible for work permits.
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CPS enrollment stabilizes for first time in a decade
The district had lost students for 11 consecutive years and last year gave up its status as the nation’s third-largest public school system. CPS has lost more than 80,000 kids in that time.
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Making Serena
Regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time, tennis legend Serena Williams blazed a trail for generations to come.
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Who enforces the rules at dog parks?
Dogs must be vaccinated and have a permit to visit a dog park. But is anyone checking?
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Chicago’s tipped workers could soon get a higher minimum wage. Here’s what to know.
Chicago alderpeople advanced a plan to raise tipped workers’ pay to the city’s minimum wage over five years. It still needs full council approval.
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‘A good place:’ Queer youth seek acceptance at state’s first foster home for LGBTQ+ teens
Nationally, about a third of foster care youth identify as LGBTQ+, and researchers say they are at significantly higher risk of experiencing homelessness and physical harm.
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Cook County wants to spend about $14 million to buy two suburban hotels for the unhoused
The county was already helping rent the former hotels in Evanston and Oak Park. The plan won approval from a county board committee, though some commissioners want low-income south suburbs prioritized.
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More senior citizens are giving cannabis a try
The age 65+ crowd is the fastest-growing age group of cannabis users.
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City Council ordinance would limit sales of Delta-8 drug
It’s not quite marijuana but sellers promise a marijuana-like buzz. Reset gets the details on Delta-8 and other hemp products.
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Chicago elected officials get a pay bump. But the mayor’s administration won’t say yet who accepted it.
Mayor Johnson’s salary could increase $4,800 due to an automatic pay raise tied to inflation. But his office won’t say if he took the money.
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Midwives could help prevent more deaths. Why don’t more Chicago-area hospitals have them?
Research shows midwives help improve outcomes for both parent and child. But hospitals across the Chicago area are not investing in midwife programs.
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CPS math scores still lag pre-pandemic levels, while English has recovered. Here’s a model CPS says can help.
WBEZ visited a school CPS hopes can lead the way for other schools struggling with math as state elementary school test scores are released.
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Courts in counties across Illinois take first steps into a world without cash bail
Illinois is the first state in the U.S. to abolish cash bail. The historic change took effect on Monday, prompting confusion and long days.
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Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day street closures defended by mayor, criticized by revelers
Supporters say Mexican Independence Day celebrations are no different than St. Patrick’s Day or sports championships.
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A look back at this summer’s block parties
A look at the joys of a closed-down street, passed down from generation to generation.
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Bail reform gets its first test Monday, and Cook County sees a smooth rollout
Despite a frenzied morning of last-minute preparations, the hearings at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse were not substantially different from the old cash bail system.
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Lincoln Park Zoo launches first-of-its-kind program for people with dementia
The program is social and educational. Attendees can expect sensory experiences, low-impact physical activity and lessons about wildlife.
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What’s the future of parole and clemency in Illinois?
Dozens of people in prison wrote to WBEZ’s Prisoncast! asking for updates on efforts to expand parole and clemency in Illinois. Here’s what we learned.
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Illinois Dems criticize Biden adviser, cut ties with PR firm over #MeToo conflict
Illinois Democrats said they cut ties with the prominent public relations firm SKDK following reporting by NPR about an undisclosed conflict of interest in a sexual harassment case.
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Illinois becomes first state in nation today to eliminate cash bail. Here’s how it will work.
It’s been two years since the Pretrial Fairness Act was passed, but questions remain on who will be jailed and who will not.
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Courts will be ready when Illinois ends cash bail Monday, Chicago-area officials say
“Things aren’t going to be too different for us,” said Cook County Judge Mary Marubio. “It’s just that money will no longer be a condition of release.”
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PHOTOS: Mexican Independence Day Parade puts heritage on display in Little Village
The parade landed on the holiday for the first time in its 26 years, bringing out more spectators after bad weather and COVID had dampened the event in recent years.
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Illinois child care centers face crisis with loss of federal dollars: ‘They’re setting us up for failure’
Without the federal funds that saved the child care sector during the pandemic, the industry risks collapse, policy experts say.
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Health officials are encouraging Chicago area residents to get the new COVID-19 booster
Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck says residents need to battle pandemic fatigue and “boost up,” even if they are feeling “boosted out.”
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As state leaders fight to protect access to books, Chicago-area libraries keep getting threats
Local librarians say the unfounded bomb threats have become almost routine and represent a deeper political and cultural divide.
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What’s on tap at the Chicago Humanities Festival this fall
The fest will host dozens of events over the next two months with actors, writers, chefs and other big thinkers taking center stage.
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What to expect when your loved one gets out of prison, from someone who lived it
La Tanya Jenifor-Sublett was released from prison a decade ago. Despite having years to prepare, her transition back was not easy.
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The commissioner behind INVEST South/West is leaving his position. What comes next?
The ambitious $2.2 billion initiative focused on neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides.
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How Thursday’s Chicago City Council was a big moment for progressives
From a tax to help the unhoused to raising the minimum wage for restaurant workers, a slew of plans progressives have long wanted got introduced — but passage remains miles away.
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CPS shortens high school admissions test but pauses plan that would have diversified selective schools
The online application GoCPS opened this week for 2024-25 enrollment, kicking off the annual scramble for K-9 students looking to get into the city’s test-in elementary and high schools.
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Secretary of State Giannoulias responds to bomb threats at Chicago-area libraries
Chicago Public Library branches and some suburban libraries closed their doors after “digital bomb threats” later deemed to be a hoax.
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When Magic Happens: How Deep Is Your Love?
In a relationship, who loves more? And is there such a thing as loving equally, and if so, show us the tutorial!
Can a banjo play Bach? This Chicago musician will make you believe.
Michael Miles, who will play Bach’s Suites for Cello on the banjo this weekend at Evanston Space, has a new album that challenges what you think the instrument can do.
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Downstate leaders say they will need help handling the historic end to cash bail
Judges will be limited in who they can hold in jail pretrial. Rural leaders say they don’t have the staffing to handle the change.
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For a top Biden adviser, a corruption trial revealed a #MeToo ethics entanglement
Newly disclosed evidence revealed an apparent conflict of interest for Biden adviser Anita Dunn, when she consulted for Michael Madigan as he faced #MeToo related allegations in 2018.
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All laughs with comedian and ‘exhausted Chicago gurl’ Maggie Winters
Winters shares her experience growing up in the South Side neighborhood of Beverly and how it shaped her journey in comedy.
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What’s behind the drop in suspension rate at CPS?
CPS data shows that the number of suspensions across the district dropped from 49,708 in 2014 to about 10,000 in 2022.
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Planned Parenthood to resume offering abortions next week in Wisconsin, citing court ruling
The resumption comes after a judge ruled that an 1849 law that seemingly banned the procedure actually didn’t apply to abortions.
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Riot Fest owner says ‘things finally made sense’ after his recent autism diagnosis
Mike Petryshyn, whose festival returns this week for its 17th edition, connects the condition to his early love of punk music and his tendency to think of solutions but have trouble executing them.
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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson vows he won’t raise property taxes to close $538 million budget gap
Johnson has criticized past mayors’ reliance on raising property taxes, saying he won’t burden working families. The budget hole is due in part to the influx of migrants and pension costs.
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Chicago mobilizes to help Moroccans and Libyans
An earthquake in Morocco and a flood in Libya killed thousands. Chicagoans are working to provide aid and resources for survivors.
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Rep. Krishnamoorthi discusses Republican impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy opened an inquiry Tuesday into President Joe Biden, claiming a “culture of corruption” in the Biden family.
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Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell launches column on aging
The new column ‘Starting Over’ will focus on redefining what it means to be an older American. It publishes on Sundays.
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Illinois’ election board is fielding questions about knocking Donald Trump off the ballot
A top board official says the courts, not the election board, would determine if Trump’s ties to the insurrection disqualify him from being on the ballot.
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Fighting poverty in Chicago as U.S. poverty soars
Poverty rose 12.4% in 2022 according to census data released Tuesday. So, why the rise? And how are Chicagoans stepping up?
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‘Sanctuary City’ playwright Martyna Majok found her theater voice in Chicago
The Pulitzer-winning playwright has come a long way since feeling intimidated by theater kids years ago at freshman orientation at the University of Chicago.
Robberies in Chicago are at a six-year high
Neighborhoods on Chicago’s West and Northwest sides have experienced the biggest increases. Citywide numbers are still lower than 10 years ago.
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Libraries in Chicago, suburbs receive bomb threats
Libraries in Chicago, Aurora, Addison and Evanston were targeted. The incidents were investigated and deemed unfounded. “It’s a little horrifying,” said a student studying at Harold Washington Library Center.
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Mothers, murals and mosaics draw the eye in new photo exhibits at Navy Pier
WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times showcase the work of its award-winning visual journalists along the walls of the popular tourist destination.
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What to know about Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to set up migrant ‘base camps’
The proposal aims to stop using police station lobbies and airports as points of intake, where nearly 2,000 migrants are currently staying.
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There’s a bold new plan to bolster public transit in Chicago. What riders should know.
Universal fare passes. A new governing structure. Here’s how a planning group wants to patch up CTA, Metra and PACE.
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Black CPS teens benefit most from shift from suspensions toward restorative practices
A new study finds moving to restorative practices to respond to student misconduct has led to a significant reduction in suspensions and arrests.
