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

Winter could be wetter-than-normal in the Chicago area this year. Some Chicagoans are concerned about the police department’s proposed Criminal Enterprise Information System, also known as the gang database. A gym for introverts opens in Fulton Market.

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

Winter could be wetter-than-normal in the Chicago area this year. Some Chicagoans are concerned about the police department’s proposed Criminal Enterprise Information System, also known as the gang database. A gym for introverts opens in Fulton Market.

Erin Allen: Good morning. Welcome to Tuesday. I'm Erin Allen and this is The Rundown.

I never got into Game of Thrones, but I do know the reference that got everyone on the edge of their seats a few years ago. Winter is coming. And in our case, ready or not, it'll be here this week. Climatological winter starts this Thursday, December 1. And while it's hard to make weather predictions more than a few days in advance, Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford says the Chicago area will see a wetter than normal winter season. 

Trent Ford: A lot of that coming from La Niña, we're entering our third straight La Niña. With those anomalous cold sea surface temperatures out in the Pacific, it's kind of opposite twins to El Niño and what La Niña Winters can bring, and they tend to bring us a bit wetter weather in Illinois. And that's really what the outlooks are leading to. 

Erin Allen: And if you're wondering how cold this winter will be, well, you still have to wait for it says there's still an equal chance temperatures could go either above normal or below normal. So I guess we'll find out. 

Some Chicagoans are deeply concerned about the police department's proposed criminal enterprise Information System, also known as the gang database. At a commission for public safety and accountability meeting last night attendee said they fear the proposed policy will continue to target communities of color. Chicago police officials said the database is meant to help them investigate criminal activity and that under the new policy, people will be able to access and appeal their status on the list. 

Many things haven't been the same since before 2020, including open hours at some of our favorite places if they're still even open. According to a new survey by Chicago Firm, restaurants in River North cut their operating hours more during the COVID 19 pandemic than restaurants in any other part of the country. The country. Some restaurants have stopped serving lunch altogether, while others are now closed several days a week. Restaurant owners say the deep cuts in operating hours is partly due to inflation, lack of workers and changing consumer habits. But the biggest issue may be the sluggish return of downtown workers.

Indicted Chicago alderman Edward Burke will not run for re election next year, ending his reign as the city's longest serving council member. My colleague Mariah Woelfel tells us more. 

Mariah Woelfel: Burke, who has served in the council since 1969, declined to run for a 15th term as he faces a federal corruption case set to go to trial late next year. He's charged with racketeering, bribery and attempted extortion for allegedly using his clout at City Hall to gain business for his private law practice. The 14th Ward he represents it's on the southwest side is majority Latino and has been the seat of Berks power for decades. His decision not to submit election paperwork by yesterday's filing deadline makes it a wide open race for the two candidates vying to replace him. A Cook County district director, Jeylu Gutierrez, and a long-time Burke aide, Raul Reyes.

Erin Allen: That was my colleague WBEZ reporter Mariah Woelfel. 

Here in the Midwest, getting active in the winter often looks like going to the gym, but for some of us the thought of working out around other people: stress. Think about all those videos you see online making fun of people working out without them even knowing about it, or how much unwanted attention you might get. Well, there's a new gym in Fulton market where you can work out with some solitude and privacy. The gym pod is a group of mini gyms set up and shipping containers according to block club Chicago. You can rent a pod for 30 minutes at a time $6 per timeslot. The company was founded in Singapore by Damian Chow who says he created it for introverts like him, but he says the pods have also been popular among personal trainers and their clients. The Fulton market location has three smart pods equipped with all the basics for traditional strength and functional training. And some of the pods have machines for cardio like treadmills and rowers.

And a few quick hits before we get to the weather. Two city wide elected officials will run unopposed in the February 2023 election. City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and city clerk Anna Valencia were the only ones to file paperwork in their respective races. And so far 11 people have put their hat in the race for Chicago Mayor. We'll keep you updated on the final numbers at WBEZ.org.

And I'd like to remind you that it is giving Tuesday. If you're feeling this podcast well it's a part of a little nonprofit radio station called WBEZ. We'd love it. If you put some dollars worth of content you look forward to every day. Throw us a bone at donate.wbez.org. And if you don't have anything extra likes and shares are all free, tell your friends. 

As for weather it's the type of day these in between seasons are known for - warmish and rainy, high in the mid 50s and showers throughout the day, tonight low in the low 40s. And that's it for today. See you bright and early tomorrow morning on The Rundown. I'm Erin Allen, 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.