Hoops in the Hood is taking over the streets of Chicago this summer by bringing kids and teens together to play basketball in their neighborhood backyards. Chicago Tonight’s Joanna Hernandez hears more about the mission behind the program and the leaders who are driven to make a change. 

Both Chicago and Cook County are in the process of launching guaranteed income programs that will provide more than 8,000 residents with $500 a month, no strings attached. While applications for Cook County residents will open in the fall, Chicago residents have started receiving monthly payments.

Checks begin rolling out for Chicago’s guaranteed income pilot program. Plus, how the Nature Conservancy is connecting teens to nature. And honoring White Sox favorite Minnie Miñoso.

Community members ask why the response to Highland Park was different than responses to deadly weekends in Chicago. Plus, Blackness is Golden and a poetic tribute to powerful Black men and women. 

“When Blackness was Golden!: Observation from the front line” is a memoir by Pemon Rami. It’s a coming of age story that gives readers a look into the civil rights movement in Chicago and an era when Black culture and excellence were on the rise.

A Chicago spoken word artist is celebrating Black men and women with a collection of poems praising and acknowledging their accomplishments. Harold Green’s “Black Roses and Black Oak” are odes to celebrities, leaders and changemakers.

Seven people were killed and 46 others injured in the mass shooting. That same holiday weekend, eight people were killed and 60 others wounded in shootings across Chicago. As support pours in for Highland Park, some Chicago residents are left wondering why the gun violence in the city doesn’t receive the same attention.

A new revelation in the decades-old lynching of Emmett Till, what advocates are calling for. Plus, the nation's first Black attorney general joins us. And the Last Word on Africa and innovation.

Highlighting African innovation is the goal of the Field Museum’s new assistant curator of African anthropology, Foreman Bandama. 

In the basement of a Mississippi courthouse in late June members of the Minnesota-based Emmett Till Legacy Foundation discovered an unserved warrant. Now the foundation, which includes members of Till’s family, is demanding that the warrant be served.

A Black / Latino Voices crossover discussion on the impact of the Supreme Court overturning the Roe v. Wade decision. And how journalist Natalie Moore’s new play, “The Billboard,” tackles the issue.

A Black Voices/Latino Voices crossover conversation on what the future holds for abortion access in the U.S. Leaders of women’s rights organizations worry about how this decision will specifically impact people of color and people with lower incomes.

“The Billboard,” a book-turned-play, follows a fictional health clinic in Englewood at the center of a political race and fight for reproductive rights. It was written by WBEZ reporter Natalie Moore.

A total of 29 people graduated from Cook County’s Restorative Justice Program in Englewood. County leaders say the program lasts an average of six to nine months and focuses on education, accountability and job training designed to address non-violent crime and prevent recidivism.

Reaction to the Supreme Court overturning Roe V. Wade. Plus, the impact of inflation. A new office aimed at helping people returning home from prison. And an artist-in-residence at a public library.

The inflation rate reached 8.6% last month, the highest level in 40 years. Food and energy prices, in particular, have skyrocketed forcing the government to take action. The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to bring down demand and this week President Joe Biden called on Congress to pause federal gas taxes for three months.