The Rundown: Oral fixation, with fancy food and the mouth organ

The Rundown: Oral fixation, with fancy food and the mouth organ

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Restaurant row in the West Loop (Flickr/Seth Anderson)

It’s a mix of serious and seriously silly on Friday’s Eight Forty-Eight with Tony Sarabia for Thursday, February 16:

Stream the show live at 9 a.m.

Medicaid: Illinois’ Medicaid problem is drowning in red ink. The program that provides state and federal health care coverage for the poor, the elderly and the disabled cannot sustain itself going forward. As health care costs have risen, and the program has been expanded, Illinois’ ability to pay for it is reaching a crisis point. WBEZ and Chicago News Cooperative reporter Kristen McQueary gives the details and previews Gov. Pat Quinn’s upcoming budget address.

National Restaurant Week: National Restaurant Week starts today. WBEZ bloggers Louisa Chu and Claire Zulkey delve into what this really means for restaurants, give the lowdown on prix fixe menus and debate whether they’re worth the hype.

Onstage/Backstage: WBEZ bloggers and dueling critics Jonathan Abarbanel and Kelly Kleiman tell Eight Forty-Eight about the growing trend toward short plays and review the Shattered Globe Theatre 2.0 production of Orpheus Descending.

Harmonica Hoedown: Chances are, whenever you hear a harmonica, it’s usually in some ancillary role. This weekend, three masters of the mouth organ, Bob Kessler, James Conway and Joe Filisko, bring a ‘harmonica hoedown’ to the Hideout. They stop by WBEZ’s studios to demonstrate their chops.