The Rundown Podcast - Show Tile
Stay in the loop with the Windy City’s biggest news. Angela Cheng / WBEZ Chicago
The Rundown Podcast - Show Tile
Stay in the loop with the Windy City’s biggest news. Angela Cheng / WBEZ Chicago

The Chicago Department of Transportation is getting ready for another round of free bike giveaways. The Bronzeville Children’s Museum kicked off Kwanzaa celebrations this week. The Morton Arboretum has sustainable suggestions for disposing of your live Christmas tree.

The Rundown Podcast - Show Tile
Stay in the loop with the Windy City’s biggest news. Angela Cheng / WBEZ Chicago
The Rundown Podcast - Show Tile
Stay in the loop with the Windy City’s biggest news. Angela Cheng / WBEZ Chicago

The Chicago Department of Transportation is getting ready for another round of free bike giveaways. The Bronzeville Children’s Museum kicked off Kwanzaa celebrations this week. The Morton Arboretum has sustainable suggestions for disposing of your live Christmas tree.

Erin Allen: Good morning, I'm Erin Allen, and this is The Rundown. It's Tuesday December 27th, and it’s the second day of the seven days of Kwanzaa, focusing on Kujichagulia – or self determination. And yesterday was the first day of Kwanzaa, focusing on Umoja, or – Unity. My colleague Brenda Ruiz is reporting that families were unified indeed at the Bronzeville Children’s Museum to kick off the holiday week.

Brenda Ruiz: Families celebrated the start of Kwanzaa with stories, singing, and crafts. Peggy Montess is the founder and president of the Bronzeville Children’s Museum. She says she’s more than happy to provide an opportunity for kids, especially young ones, to learn about the holiday she holds dear.

Peggy Montess: It's a celebration that should take place all year round, in terms of the beautiful seven principles that people should really start living by, in terms of not only loving themselves but also their neighbors. 

Brenda Ruiz: Kwanzaa ends on Sunday.

Erin Allen: That was my colleague Brenda Ruiz. 

And for folks who celebrated Christmas, now that the holiday has come and gone, you may have a few things you accumulated during the season that you don’t quite know what to do with – some of them being a few gifts you don’t want and can’t use. That I can’t help you with. But if you got a live tree and you want to do something sustainable with it, Julie Janoski at the Morton Arboretum says you’ve got some options. There’s composting, using it as mulch, or getting a little more creative.

Julie Janoski: If your neighbors aren't going to be upset by this, you can actually leave it in your yard for animal habitat. They're certainly not attractive at a certain point, but you can do that. 

Erin Allen: But Janoski says the easiest way is to use your municipalities tree recycling program. Chicago has 26 different part district locations where you can do so starting next month.

Parents listen up. Something else to keep on the radar for the mental health of your teens and tweens. A new law taking effect January 1st will require changes to middle and high school student IDs. IDs for 6th through 12th graders must list the national Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 988, along with either Safe2Help Illinois or a local mental health line. In a video announcing the creation of 988, its director, Jessica Rosenworcel says more people need to know about crisis lines, whether it’s for themselves or their friends. The CDC says suicide rates across the U.S. went up in 2021, with the biggest increase in males ages 15 to 24. The national suicide prevention lifeline, 988, is for all ages, and it's open 24/7. 

And y'all, we're finally getting a break this week after days of freezing temperatures and bitter windchills. Temperatures in the Chicago area will hit the upper 40s to low 50s later this week. But as my colleague Alex Degman is reporting , more degrees, more problems. Rain is also coming this week, and according to National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Friedlein some parts of the state could get several inches. Which means possible river flooding, especially when it rains after a period of intense icy cold. But Friedlein says temperatures will rise above freezing before the rain gets here, which should help ground thaw enough to prevent excessive runoff.

On the days when the weather permits cycling is one of my favorite ways to get around. But no matter when you end up wanting to hit the road on two wheels, you may not feel like you can actually even afford a bike to do so. And then the thought of cycling along these sometimes reckless driver's can be a whole other barrier. Block Club Chicago is reporting that the city's Department of Transportation is looking to address some of this, with support for residents with lower incomes who want to more. Bike Chicago is a five year program that aims to make bikes more accessible. Those who are picked for the program get a free bike, a free helmet, a light, a bell, a multi-tool and chain lubricant according to the city. They also get some pointers on biking around in a big city like Chicago. The department passed out 500 bikes to eligible residents in its first year. Though, more than 19,000 Chicagoans applied to get one. Given the high demand the city hopes to more bicycles rolling and increased biking infrastructure next year. Bike Chicago applications will also reopen early next year. Applicants must be at least 14 years of age or older, not already own a bicycle, and earn less than Chicago's median household income. They must also live in an area with mobility challenges. If you have any questions about any of that or anything else regarding this program, you can find more information at chicago.gov. 

And a few quick hits before we get to today's weather. A new helpline is available for Illinoisans ones who are addicted to gambling or fear they may become addicted. The state's Department of Human Services is launching a new campaign called "Are you really winning?" to highlight the warning signs of addiction and offer resources. A 24 hour helpline is now available at 1-800-GAMBLER. And during the holidays, fewer people typically donate blood, which can strain the overall supply available for life saving patient transfusions. Amanda Hess is vice president of donor relations for ImpactLife, which supplies donor blood to hospitals in Central Illinois. She’s reminding folks that though there aren’t as many mobile blood drives, you can still go to a local donation center close by.

Now as for weather today, we're in the coldest part of the day, still hovering around the single digits for now. But its warming up to a high in the mid 20s. We'll see some sun again too here and there tonight, windy and remaining in the mid 20s. And that's it for The Rundown today. Happy to be back here with you many thanks to my colleague Justin Bull for holding down the fort on Friday. I'm Erin Allen and I'll be back in your ears early tomorrow morning. Talk to you then.


WBEZ transcripts are generated by an automatic speech recognition service. We do our best to edit for misspellings and typos, but mistakes do come through.