On Friday’s Afternoon Shift we talk with people who want to make it rain.

First Hour

Drought:  Despite a few rain showers over the past week, large swaths of Illinois are still suffering from drought conditions, we’ll find out what it means for farmers, and for your garden. We’re joined by Tom Skilling, Chief Meteorologist with WGN, and John Hawkins, Illinois Farm Bureau web editor and farmer.

Gardening:  If the unrelenting heat has beaten your dreams of growing a lush, green garden, we have someone who can help you reclaim that horticultural hope.  We’re joined by Eliza Fournier, Manager of Gardening at Chicago Botanic Garden, and will take calls from our listeners about their urban farming woes.

Second Hour

3@3:  Join us today as the Chicago Tribune‘s Eric Zorn and NPR’s David Schaper join us to touch on three (or four) big news items of the day.  On tap: Chicago teachers, shootings in Colorado, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his taxes, and State Rep. Derrick Smith.

Jay Pharoah: Comedian and impressionist Jay Pharoah has spent the past two seasons as a cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live.  Among Pharoah’s more than 100 impressions, he is perhaps best known for dead-on impressions of Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and President Barack Obama.  Pharoah is in town for a set of shows at Zanies and he, and the cast of characters in his head, drop by the Afternoon Shift.