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Supreme Court Questions Texas Law Banning Most Abortions

A majority of the Supreme Court signaled Monday they would allow abortion providers to pursue a court challenge to a Texas law that has virtually ended abortion in the nation’s second-largest state after six weeks of pregnancy.

NHL Defends Disciplinary Decisions in Blackhawks Scandal

Commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday defended the NHL’s decisions and discipline meted out following an investigation into the Chicago Blackhawks’ handling of sexual assault allegations in 2010.

Indigenous Artist Builds and Floats Birchbark Canoe on Lake Michigan

Wayne Valliere, a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe in northern Wisconsin, said he’s one of only six birchbark canoe builders among the Anishinaabe, an Indigenous collective in the Great Lakes region which includes the Ojibwe.

Coroner Identifies 2 Killed at Chicago-Area Halloween Party

Will County Coroner Laurie Summers said Holly Matthews and Jonathan Ceballos, both 22 and Joliet residents were fatally shot early Sunday at the party in the city about 45 miles southwest of Chicago.

Judge Halts Dec. 31 Deadline for Chicago Police Officers to Get COVID-19 Vaccine

A Cook County judge won’t throw out Chicago’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate entirely, but in a ruling Monday he has put a hold on a Dec. 31 deadline for members of the Chicago Police Department to get fully vaccinated.

Pritzker Declares Gun Violence a Public Health Crisis in Illinois

"We will do what it takes, individually and collectively, to address the immediate violence on our streets and invest in fighting the underlying causes that cause too much despair, too much addiction, too little mental health treatment and too few opportunities,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday.

November 1, 2021 - Full Show

An update on the FOP versus city vaccine mandate. Three companies submit Chicago casino bids. A local shelter struggling to house Afghan refugee children. The Supreme Court hears arguments in a landmark abortion case.

Chicago’s Public Safety Watchdog Resigns, Says She Wants Top Job

The resignation of Deborah Witzburg as the deputy inspector general for public safety comes 15 days after former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson left office at the end of his third term in office.

COVID Vaccine for Younger Kids Already Being Packed, Shipped

Anticipating a green light from vaccine advisers, President Joe Biden's administration is assembling and shipping millions of COVID-19 shots for children ages 5-11. The first could go into kids' arms by midweek.

Here Comes the Freeze, Gardeners. RIP Green Tomatoes

All those green tomatoes still on the vine are in for a shock as November kicks off with a string of overnight temperatures dipping below freezing, according to the National Weather Service.

6 Killed, 20 Others Wounded in Shootings Over the Weekend in Chicago: Police

Those killed included a 22-year-old woman and two men who were fatally shot in separate incidents on Halloween, the Chicago Police Department announced.

Deere Workers Would Get Immediate 10% Raises Under New Offer

Union workers at Deere & Co. would get wage increases of 10% in the first year and 5% each in the third and fifth years under a tentative contract reached between the farm-equipment maker and the United Auto Workers union.

New Framework Bolsters Biden’s Hand as Climate Summit Begins

The $555 billion plan for climate spending is the centerpiece of a sweeping domestic policy package Biden and congressional Democrats presented Thursday, hours before the president traveled to Europe for another summit ahead of the climate meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.

‘Last, Best Hope:’ Leaders Launch Crucial UN Climate Summit

As U.N. officials gaveled the climate summit to its formal opening in Glasgow, the heads of the world’s leading economies at the close of their own separate talks in Italy made pledges including stopping international financing of dirty-burning coal-fired power plants by next year. 

G-20 Make Mild Pledges on Climate Neutrality, Coal Financing

Leaders of the world’s biggest economies agreed Sunday to stop funding coal-fired power plants in poor countries and made a vague commitment to seek carbon neutrality “by or around mid-century” as they wrapped up a Rome summit before the much larger United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

What Is COP26? Here’s a Quick Guide to the Global Climate Summit

COP26 is making global headlines as leaders from around the world meet to confront climate change. What exactly is this gathering and what makes it different from other summits?

COVID Vaccine Hesitancy Continues in Black Communities

Chicago health officials say they’re ready to roll out a coronavirus vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11 now that the FDA has given emergency use authorization for kid-size doses of Pfizer’s COVID vaccine

The Last Word: Oboi Reed

Chicagoans are fortunate to have many options for moving about the city — from cars, buses and trains to bikes, scooters, and our own two feet. But the infrastructure for those transportation methods is not offered in equal measure to all of Chicago's communities.

Chicago Aldermen Say 2022 Budget Is a Small Step Toward Equity

Key components include a universal basic income pilot program, $6.3 million to hire employees at the city’s public mental health clinics, $5 million to expand efforts to renovate single-room occupancy hotels to help prevent homelessness and investments in affordable housing, violence prevention and job programs.

Chicago’s Guaranteed Income Pilot Prepares to Take Flight in 2022

Chicago’s newly approved 2021 budget includes a yearlong basic income pilot for 5,000 Chicago households. We discuss what the city is hoping that money can do to help low-income Chicagoans financially recover from the pandemic.

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, October 30, 2021 - Full Show

What the city’s new budget could mean for Black Chicagoans. Efforts to get some of the city’s youngest residents vaccinated. Artistry pays off. And The Last Word on community mobility.

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, October 30, 2021 - Full Show

What a basic income program could do for low-income families. The latest at the El Milagro plant as workers protest conditions. And we break bread for Dia de los Muertos. 

Workers Notch Labor Win, But Fight Continues at El Milagro

Production line workers at the El Milagro tortilla factories have been organizing walkouts and rallies to call attention to what they say are unsafe working conditions, unfair labor practices, intimidation from management, and incidents of sexual harassment. Arise Chicago’s Laura Garza gave Latino Voices an update.

Chicago Nonprofit Awards Nearly $1M to Local Artists

Dozens of Chicago artists are receiving a total of nearly $1 million in cash grants from the Chicago-based nonprofit, 3 Arts. One of those recipients is violinist Caitlin Edwards, who shared her passion for music and the violin with us.

CSO Soars on Wings of Two Brilliant Century-Spanning Modernists

Thursday evening’s Chicago Symphony Orchestra program opened with “Coincident Dances,” a fascinating 2017 work by Jessie Montgomery, the orchestra’s current Mead Composer-in-Residence. She never fails to enthrall with her rhythmically complex, richly orchestrated, highly original pieces.

The Week in Review: Kinzinger Not Running; Newman vs. Casten

Rep. Adam Kinzinger plans to call it quits after the remap. Springfield lawmakers take on abortion. Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s big spending budget gets approved. And the Chicago Blackhawks are reeling from a sexual misconduct investigation. 
 

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