Good morning!

Welcome to this edition of the Morning Drive Podcast; In today’s episode, we’ve got the inside scoop on the cultural plan for the city, and we’ll talk about how Chicago media outlets have been covering the Jesse Jackson, Jr’s medical situation. 

But first, some news:

►More Chicago Public Schools students are meeting state standards than ever before, according to preliminary test results. But the overall increase was the smallest it’s been in years, just 0.9 percentage points up from last year.

►A social service group for performers is trying to increase the number of dancers with health insurance in Chicago. According to the Actors Fund, nearly one in every three dancers is uninsured.  

►The city of Chicago today releases a draft version of its2012 Cultural Plan, after months of public and private meetings. This is the city’s first cultural plan in about 25 years; the last one was created under then-Mayor Harold Washington.

Blogs we’re reading this morning:

►WBEZ blogger Lee Bey found a YouTube video of the The McCormick Inn, a high-rise convention center hotel that was demolished after only 20 years of use. 

And don’t forget to check our our Pitchfork coverage from this weekend!

And your WEATHER for today: It’s going to be really hot out there. Highs in the mid 90s with southwest winds 10 to 15 miles per hour. Then tonight, mostly clear but really muggy - lows in the mid 70s. Then Tuesday, even hotter and humid. Highs in the upper 90s with peak index readings 99 to 104. Yuck. Tuesday night, partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. lows in the mid 70s and some wind.

Today’s featured music is courtesy of the Dirty Projectors, who played at Pitchfork this past weekend.

Subscribe to The Morning Drive Podcast on iTunes!

It’s all the news that’s fit to podcast. Click above to listen, click here to subscribe.