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(WTTW News)

5 Killed, 38 Shot Over Holiday Weekend in Chicago: Police

According to the Chicago Police Department, 38 people were shot in 32 separate incidents between Friday at 6 p.m. and Monday at 11:59 p.m.

(WTTW)

January 17, 2022 - Full Show

A new entrant in the race for Illinois governor is creating buzz. Plus, what's behind a nationwide blood shortage? And commemorating Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Muhammed Ali Day. We also remember a photographer who documented the civil rights movement. 
(Irvin Campaign)

Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin Jumps into GOP Governor’s Race as Expensive Campaign Season Looms

It’s been nearly a year since candidates began announcing their intent to run for Illinois governor, but Monday brought a new entrant to shake up the race. Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin declared he’s running as a Republican in an online video. 

(PBS / Florentine Films)

Muhammad Ali’s Fight for Civil Rights Celebrated, Remembered in Illinois

Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Day coincided with the first celebration of Muhammad Ali Day in Illinois on what would have been the champion boxer and civil rights activist's 80th birthday.

(WTTW)

New DuSable Museum Exhibit Tells Stories of Those Killed During Civil Rights Movement

More than 150 names of people killed during the civil rights movement are on display in a special exhibit at the DuSable Museum. Their lives were cut short due to race-related killings more than 50 years ago, but the lessons learned from their deaths live on.

People wearing masks line up for a food drive in Brighton Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side on April 23, 2020. (WTTW News)

CDC Updates Guidance on Face Masks

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its guidance on face masks for preventing the spread of COVID-19. An infectious disease doctor explains what you need to know. 

A Red Cross blood donor rolls up a sleeve to give blood during the COVID-19 outbreak at the Rockville Donation Center in Maryland. (Photo by Dennis Drenner / American Red Cross)

Red Cross Warns of National Blood Crisis Due to Supply Shortage

The U.S. is experiencing a “national blood crisis” during what the American Red Cross says is the worst blood shortage in over a decade. Winter weather, a COVID-19 surge and limited volunteers are seen as the major causes.

(Courtesy of Symphony Center)

Pianist Igor Levit’s Orchestra Hall Concert Heightened the Art of Listening

Pianist Igor Levit’s riveting concert at Orchestra Hall on Sunday afternoon not only displayed his technical brilliance but also raised the art of listening to a science.

Les Grobstein (Courtesy 670 The Score)

Grobstein, Chicago Reporter Who Got Elia’s Rant, Dies at 69

Les Grobstein, a longtime Chicago sports radio reporter and talk show host who recorded Lee Elia’s famous profanity-laced postgame rant about Cubs fans, has died.

(WTTW News)

Steve Schapiro, Prize-Winning Photographer, Dies at 87

Steve Schapiro started out as a freelance photographer in the early 1960s and was on hand for many of the decade's historic moments, whether the 1963 March on Washington or Robert F. Kennedy's presidential run in 1968. The Chicago resident's work appeared in Time, Rolling Stone, Life and other publications.

In a long exposure photo, lights from a snowplow illuminate sleet at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022. Ceremonies scheduled for the site on Monday, to mark the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday, have been canceled because of the weather. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

On MLK Day, Biden Says Americans Must Commit to King's Work

“It’s time for every elected official in America to make it clear where they stand," President Joe Biden said. “It’s time for every American to stand up. Speak out, be heard. Where do you stand?”

An aerial view of police standing in front of the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue, Sunday, Jan. 16, 2022, in Colleyville, Texas. A man held hostages for more than 10 hours Saturday inside the temple. (AP Photo / Brandon Wade)

British Man Identified as Hostage-Taker at Texas Synagogue

Authorities identified the hostage-taker as a 44-year-old British national, Malik Faisal Akram, who was killed Saturday night after the last hostages ran out of Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, around 9 p.m. 

Stewart Rhodes, founder of the citizen militia group known as the Oath Keepers, center, speaks during a rally outside the White House in Washington, on June 25, 2017. (AP Photo / Susan Walsh, File)

For Oath Keepers and Founder, Jan. 6 Was Weeks in the Making

The indictment last week of the leader of the Oath Keepers and 10 other members or associates was stunning in part because federal prosecutors, after a year of investigating the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021, charged them with seditious conspiracy, a rarely-used Civil War-era statute reserved for only the most serious of political criminals.

Melvin Goldstein, 90, smiles as his daughter Barbara Goldstein gives him a kiss on the head during their first in-person, indoor family visit inside the Hebrew Home at Riverdale, March 28, 2021, in the Bronx borough of New York. (AP Photo / Kathy Willens, File)

COVID Deaths and Cases Are Rising Again at US Nursing Homes

Nursing homes reported a near-record of about 32,000 COVID-19 cases among residents in the week ending Jan. 9, an almost sevenfold increase from a month earlier, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WBEZ’s Araceli Gómez-Aldana guest hosts the 63rd episode of “Latino Voices.” (WTTW News)

Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices, January 15, 2022 - Full Show

Concerns over kids’ mental health are on the rise. Plus, protecting workers from wage theft, Mexican printmaking makes a comeback, and who wants a free mosaic mural?

(WTTW News)

Chicago Tonight: Black Voices, January 15, 2022 - Full Show

What’s at stake for Black voters in Illinois as voting rights bills flounder. Afro-optimism is the word for our Black Voices Book Club pick. And remembering Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali.

(WTTW News)

Caring for Children’s Mental Health Throughout Pandemic Poses Challenges to Latino Families

Throughout the pandemic, parents have expressed concern about the toll these uncertain times might be exacting on their children’s mental health. Among Latino families, who have experienced higher infection and death rates as well as more financial insecurity, those concerns are especially acute.

(WTTW News)

Working Against Wage Theft with the Office of Labor Standards

Wage theft can take many forms, from failure to pay for overtime to withholding tips. The city of Chicago estimates over $400 million are stolen from workers each year here. And Latinos and immigrants are especially at risk of wage theft. 

(WTTW News)

Win a Free Mural for Your Community from Green Arts Movement

Local youth arts organization Green Star Movement has installed murals all over the city. This year, in partnership with Amazon, Green Star is inviting Chicagoans to apply for a chance at getting a free mural created in their community.

(WTTW News)

Two Bills Setting Nationwide Voting Rights Standards Stalled in Senate

A battle over voting rights legislation in Washington D.C. President Joe Biden and Democratic lawmakers are pushing for two bills that would set national standards for federal elections.
Here in Chicago, Dr. King led the Chicago freedom movement to fight for open and affordable housing. (Courtesy “American Experience: Eye on the Prize”)

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Event Highlights Chicago Freedom Movement

The nation marks Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday. Dr. King led the Chicago freedom movement to fight for open and affordable housing. United Way of Metro Chicago will hold a Zoom webinar where local Tik-Tok star and urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas will share some facts about the movement.

(WTTW News)

‘Energy Never Dies’ Reflects on Chicago’s Black History, Culture

The book “Energy Never Dies: Afro-Optimism and Creativity in Chicago” takes readers through different points in time in Chicago’s Black history and reflects on how those moments influence the creativity and achievements of entrepreneurs and artists today.

(Courtesy Florentine Films)

Illinois Celebrates First Holiday Dedicated to Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali

Monday marks not only Martin Luther King Day but in Illinois, it will also recognize the first Muhammad Ali Day. To celebrate, the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition will host a virtual event honoring the boxing legend, featuring speakers including the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Ali’s daughter Maryum Ali.

(WTTW News)

The Last Word on Supporting Diversity in Tech Entrepreneurship

Tech start-ups often rely on investors to get their business up and running, but tech entrepreneurs of color often don’t get the same amount of funding as their white counterparts. That unequal playing field is what led to the creation of TechRise, a Chicago initiative to support and fund Black and Latino-owned tech companies.

Zell Music Director Riccardo Muti leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an all-Beethoven program on January 13, 2022. (Credit Todd Rosenberg Photography)

A Night of Sheer Brilliance, Maestro Muti & CSO’s Bravura Musicians Prove Beethoven is Forever New

Maestro Riccardo Muti was in stellar form during Thursday night’s concert in Orchestra Hall. He clearly is in love with the indomitable musicians of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and they return that passion with a magnificent combination of sound and fury and absolute beauty.

A tractor sits in front of a pile of salt used to create a brine that will help clear road of ice and snow ahead of a winter storm at the GDOT's Maintenance Activities Unit location on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, in Forest Park, Ga. (AP Photo / Brynn Anderson)

Major Winter Storm: South Braces for Big Blast of Snow, Ice

By Friday, the fast-moving storm had already dropped heavy snow across a large swath of the Midwest, where travel conditions deteriorated and scores of schools closed or moved to online instruction. Iowa was hit the hardest.