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Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, Oct. 11, 2023 - Full Show

Mayor Brandon Johnson unveils his first budget proposal. A controversial scholarship program is set to expire — what it could mean. And efforts to rename a Chicago neighborhood with close ties to the history of slavery.

File photo of homes in the Douglas neighborhood. (WTTW News)

Ald. Robinson to Propose Name Change for Douglas Neighborhood Due to Historic Ties to Slavery

Douglas is currently named after Stephen Douglas, a 19th century political figure in Illinois whose beliefs and actions were deeply intertwined with the history of slavery. He profited from the labor of people enslaved on a plantation inherited by his wife.

Mayor Brandon Johnson at the Oct. 11, 2023, City Council meeting. (WTTW News)

Mayor Brandon Johnson Proposes $16.6B Spending Plan That Closes Budget Gap, Expands Mental Health Services

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first spending plan does not include a property tax hike to keep up with the rising rate of inflation, or new taxes or fee hikes to cover the city’s budget deficit.

Bret Baier appears on “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW News)

Ahead of Chicago Appearance, Fox News’ Bret Baier Talks Donald Trump and New Book on George Washington

Brett Baier co-authored the new book “To Rescue the Constitution: George Washington and the Fragile American Experiment.” Baier will discuss the book this weekend as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival.

Visceral Dance performs “Take” at The Space on Rockwell. (Credit: KT Miller Photography)

Visceral Dance in a Riveting Revival of ‘Take’

At once abstract, often acrobatic, and driven by alternately intensely challenging solo turns, strongly varied and emotionally heated interpersonal relationships, and ensemble riffs that are technically demanding and expertly finessed — “Take” is performed to stunning effect. 

Leighton Criminal Courthouse in Chicago is pictured in a file photo. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Man Who Spent 16 Years in Prison for Rolling Meadows Killing Set for Release After Murder Charges Dropped

Patrick Taylor, who spent 16 years in custody following his arrest and conviction in the fatal shooting of a suburban rapper in a Rolling Meadows home, is set to be released Wednesday after prosecutors dropped charges against him.

(Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels)

Illinois Nurses Unions Push for Mandatory Staff-to-Patient Ratios

Unions representing nurses in Illinois are pushing for legislation that would impose mandatory staff-to-patient ratios in hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities. But lobby groups representing hospitals and nursing homes argue a nationwide nursing shortage makes it impossible to comply with such a mandate.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., leaves after a closed-door meeting of House Republicans during which he was chosen as their candidate for Speaker of the House on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein)

Republicans Nominate Steve Scalise to be House Speaker and Will Try to Unite Before Floor Vote

House Republicans narrowly pushed aside Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the Judiciary Committee chairman, in favor of Rep. Steve Scalise, the current majority leader, lawmakers said. A floor vote of the whole House could come as soon as Wednesday afternoon.

(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Technical Issues Force CPS to Pause High School Admissions Testing Wednesday

The district said it paused the administration of the hour-long High School Admissions Test for eighth grade CPS students seeking to enroll in a district selective enrollment high school.

Former NFL player Sergio Brown is pictured on Oct. 19, 2014. (Zach Bolinger / Icon Sportswire / Corbis / Getty Images)

Former NFL Player Sergio Brown Deported From Mexico and Taken Into Custody in Connection with His Mother’s Death in Chicago Suburbs: Source

Authorities discovered the body of 73-year-old Myrtle Brown on Sept. 16 after relatives alerted police they’d been unable to find or contact her or her son, the Maywood Police Department said in a news release. Her body was found near a creek behind her home in Maywood, about 11 miles from Chicago, according to the department.

A sign reading “No CO2, no eminent domain” stands along a rural road east of Bismarck, N.D., on Aug. 15, 2023. (AP Photo / Jack Dura, file)

CO2 Pipeline Project On Hold While Company Reevaluates the Route in 5 States, Including Illinois

The proposed 1,300-mile project would carry planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from more than 20 industrial plants across South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Illinois. The Illinois permit is crucial because that’s where the company planned to store the carbon dioxide underground.

This photo provided by Daniel Wilsey shows Dorothy Hoffner, 104, falling through the air with tandem jumper Derek Baxter as she becomes the oldest person in the world to skydive, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, at Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, Ill. (Daniel Wilsey via AP, File)

104-Year-Old Chicago Woman Dies Days After Making a Skydive That Could Give Her a World Record

On Oct. 1, Dorothy Hoffner made a tandem skydive that could land her in the record books as the world's oldest skydiver. She jumped out of a plane from 13,500 feet.

(WTTW News)

Skokie Man Charged in Connection to Several Suburban Bomb Threats

Skokie Police on Wednesday announced that 23-year-old Jacob Spiro was arrested this week and charged with two counts of falsely making a terrorist threat and one count of disorderly conduct.

Oct. 10, 2023 - Full Show

The battle for representation on Chicago’s elected school board. A local Palestinian reacts to the devastating attacks in Gaza and Israel. And a lesson in Indian history and culture, one sip at a time.

Chicago Public Schools headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

State Lawmakers Seeking Community Input on Chicago’s Elected School Board Map. Here’s What to Know

Chicagoans are set to see a new office on their ballot in November 2024. For the first time, voters will elect members to the Chicago Board of Education. While election day is set, the districts that board members will run in have not been decided.

Azadi Brewing makes a lager called Time Pass, a phrase often said in India that means hanging out. (WTTW News)

Azadi Brewing Introduces Indian Flavors, Culture to Chicago’s Craft Beer Scene

Longtime friends Bhavik Modi and Ray “Gator” Schrand have created what might be the only Indian brewery on tap in the American craft beer market: Azadi Brewing Company. The co-founders said everything about each Azadi beer is a lesson in Indian history and culture.

A view of the rubble of buildings hit by an Israeli airstrike, in Gaza City, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. Israel has launched intense airstrikes in Gaza after the territory's militant rulers carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday, killing over 900 people and taking captives. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the airstrikes. (AP Photo / Hatem Moussa)

Israel Pounds Gaza Neighborhoods, As People Scramble for Safety in Sealed-Off Territory

The war, which has already claimed at least 1,800 lives on both sides, is only expected to escalate. The weekend attack that Hamas said was retribution for worsening Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation has fired Israel’s determination to crush the group’s hold in Gaza — hiking risks of an expanded regional conflict.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to the Jewish United Fund’s Israel solidarity gathering on Oct. 10, 2023, in Glencoe. (Credit: Governor’s Office)

Pritzker Says Illinois ‘Unequivocally’ Stands With Israel Amid Hamas Attacks

Israel declared war after a surprise attack Saturday by Hamas, an Islamist militant group that controls the Gaza Strip. Authorities report hundreds of deaths.

(Credit: Rüdiger Bieler)

Snail Newly Discovered in Florida Keys by Field Museum Curator Named After Jimmy Buffett Song

Named Cayo margarita as a nod to Buffett’s song “Margaritaville,” the bright yellow specimen is a worm snail, a type of mollusk that sticks to hard surfaces within the coral reef and forms a tubular shell around itself.

The vacant fire station in Little Village set to be transformed by the National Museum of Mexican Art. (City of Chicago)

City Panel Endorses Plan to Sell Vacant Little Village Fire Station to National Museum of Mexican Art

The fire station at 2358 S. Whipple St. was in use for more than a century but has been vacant since 2011 when a new fire station was built two blocks away. The Chicago Historic Resources Survey determined the two-story structure is significant in the context of the surrounding community.

The Capitol is seen at sunrise, in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite)

After One Week Without a House Speaker, Republicans Appear No Closer to Choosing a New Leader

On Tuesday evening, two leading contenders for the gavel, Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, were scheduled to address colleagues behind closed doors at a candidate forum, but they appeared to be splitting the vote.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks at a news conference on May 24, 2023. (WTTW News)

Villa Park Man Charged With Property Damage, Stalking After Incident at Gov. Pritzker’s Chicago Home

The Illinois State Police on Tuesday announced that 38-year-old Adam Dabash had been charged with two counts of stalking and one count of criminal damage to property.

A team at the Field Museum processes birds killed in collisions with McCormick Place during a massive migratory wave Oct. 4-5, 2023. (Daryl Coldren / Field Museum)

Bird Carnage Continued Over Weekend in Chicago. Whatever Happened to City’s Bird-Friendly Ordinance?

While the full tally of dead will never be known, wildlife advocates are certain of one thing: The vast majority of bird losses in the past week were preventable.

 A nurse fills test tubes with blood to be tested during an American Red Cross bloodmobile in Fullerton, CA, in 2022. (Paul Bersebach / MediaNews Group / Orange County Register / Getty Images)

The US Has a Blood Supply Crisis. Here’s How High School Blood Drives Can Help

The American Red Cross, which provides about 40% of the nation’s blood and blood components, says the distribution of blood products to hospitals is outpacing the number of donations. Since early August, there has been a nearly 25% decline in donations, it says.

Audra McDonald performs with the Lyric Opera Orchestra on Oct. 6, 2023. (Credit: Kyle Flubacker)

The Vocal and Emotional Brilliance of Audra McDonald at the Lyric Opera House

Audra McDonald's glorious soprano voice sounded as beautiful and emotionally expressive as ever, and her delightful commentaries between each of almost 20 mostly classic Broadway songs were at once witty and revealing.

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a news conference on Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2023. (WTTW News)

Mayor Brandon Johnson Set to Unveil Spending Plan Designed to ‘Undo Trauma,’ Close $538M Gap

The spending plan crafted by Mayor Brandon Johnson and his team will provide the most comprehensive response to the myriad of intractable problems facing the mayor, including how to handle the more than 1,700 vacant positions in the Chicago Police Department, since he took office nearly 150 days ago.