Culture

Liesl Olson started as director at The Jane Addams Hull-House Museum earlier this month. She joins WBEZ to talk about her future plans for this landmark of Chicago history. Host: Melba Lara; Reporter: Lauren Frost

The city faces criticism for issuing red light camera tickets at intersections where yellow lights fall slightly short of the city’s 3-second policy. And many traffic engineers say the lights should be even longer.

There was a time Chicago gave New York a run for its money. How did we end up the Second City?

Union Gen. Gordon Granger set up his headquarters in Galveston, Texas, and famously signed an order June 19, 1865, “All slaves are free.” President Biden made Juneteenth a federal holiday last year.

As the U.S. celebrates the second federal holiday honoring Juneteenth, several myths persist about the origins and history about what happened when enslaved people were emancipated in Texas.

In his first inaugural address as Chicago mayor in April 1983, Harold Washington said he’d like to be “remembered by history as the mayor who cared about people and who was, above all, fair.” Those words are emblazoned on a plaque next to the front door of one of the most substantial memorials to the late mayor — the city’s main library on State Street in the South Loop. Not including the many murals, posters, and museum exhibits that honor Washington, who was Chicago’s first African-American mayor, there are eight buildings and parks named for the late mayor — more than any other former mayor of Chicago.