City Cast Chicago

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot recently boasted that Chicago is the 4th best city in the U.S. for startups. The Chicago Innovation Awards are one way companies get their ideas to the rest of the world. Earlier this month, Chicago Innovation gave the “Up and Comer” award to a company called Joe and Bella, which makes adaptive apparel aimed at older adults. City Cast Chicago’s Carrie Shepherd talked to the company’s co-founder and president Jimmy Zollo.Some news: Some of the city's overnight parking bans go into effect early tomorrow.Some good news: The Chicago Kids Company's "Mrs. Claus the Holiday Musical" opens today at the Beverly Arts Center.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Chicago once had the second highest population of Polish people in the world outside of Warsaw, and many called Jackowo, which is the Northwest Side neighborhood Avondale, home. Back in March, we talked to Mary Wisniewski and Joanna Marszalek, who have both lived in Jackowo and shared their stories of family, migration, and Polish bakeries. They wrote “The Death (and Possible Rebirth) of Jackowo,” for Chicago magazine, which recently won the Chicago Journalists Association’s Boyden Award for best feature. Host Jacoby Cochran sat down with Wisniewski and Marszalek in March to talk about how the neighborhood has changed from Polish to Latino in recent decades.This conversation was originally published on March 10, 2022.The Avondale Neighborhood Association is hosting a series of public meetings to talk about a neighborhood community plan, including tonight at 6 p.m.Some news: Comment on the Chicago Police Department’s draft policy for its Criminal Enterprise Information System (aka the new gang database). The Chicago Elite Classic high school basketball tournament is back this weekend.Remember to nominate City Cast Chicago as Best Podcast and Hey Chicago as Best Newsletter in the Reader’s 2022 Best of Chicago under the City Life category.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Chef Charlie Trotter opened his eponymous restaurant in Lincoln Park in 1987, pushing Chicago to a new culinary level. Some of today’s best chefs trained under the groundbreaking — and mercurial — chef. The documentary “Love Charlie: The Rise and Fall of Chef Charlie Trotter” talks to friends, family, and Trotter-trained chefs about what it was like to learn from him and how things started to change. Host Jacoby Cochran talks to filmmaker Rebecca Halpern about the doc, which is available to rent or purchase on Apple TV and Amazon Prime. Nominate City Cast Chicago for Best Podcast and Hey Chicago as Best Newsletter in the Reader’s Best of Chicago 2022 under the City Life category.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Mexico and Poland faced off Tuesday as part of the World Cup. Both countries have large populations in the Chicago area, prompting speculation on social media that it could be the “Battle of Archer Ave.” So how did it play out? City Cast headed to a bar in Pilsen and one in Niles to watch the game with fans. Some News: In honor of Indigenous Peoples Heritage Month, The Chicago Public Library put together reading lists for adults, teens, and kids.Remember to nominate City Cast Chicago as Best Podcast and Hey Chicago as Best Newsletter in the Reader's 2022 Best of Chicago under the City Life category!Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

In addition to mayor and alders, Chicago voters in February’s municipal election will elect civilian police district councils. Those are representatives of the public tasked with providing some sort of oversight of police. Each district elects 3 members, which means a total of 66 councilors the city. Chicago Reader editor Jim Daley breaks down what the councils will do. Plus, Isaac Troncoso from the Chicago Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, explains how the commission will work with the councils.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

The City Cast Chicago team is ringing in the holiday week with another round of Re: VIEWS where we break down films that really star Chicago. Today, re-watching “Planes Trains and Automobiles,” by the late, great Chicago filmmaker John Hughes. Chicago is always a consistent presence in Hughes’ films.What’s your favorite movie starring or featuring Chicago? Send us your pick and we might Re: VIEW it next. Email us: chicago@citycast.fmMore about city's vacant lot program and our episode about it.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Host Jacoby Cochran is back behind the mic for the latest edition of our weekly news rewind. Today, we’ve got some great friends of the show in the building: WTTW’s politics reporter Amanda Vinicky, and Axios Chicago’s Justin Kaufmann. They discuss everything from property taxes and weed dispensaries, to GOP leadership changes and constitutional amendments. Plus, the trio offers some advice for people new to Chicago. Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Humboldt Park is the center of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community. But that pride extends to other neighborhoods, like Hermosa, a little northwest of Humboldt. City Cast Chicago lead producer Carrie Shepherd takes a tour of both neighborhoods with Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, host Paseo Podcast, which highlights stories by, from and about the Puerto Rican community.Good News:Hike Your Way Through Fall: Our Top PicksHermosa:-Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center-Rica Arepa-Salty Sweet Chicago-Hermosa Park-Walt Disney’s Home -The Bungalow Belt Humboldt Park:-Borinquen-Esmeralda's Tiki Bar-Nellie's -Paseo Boricua Mural Tour-National Museum of Puerto Rican Arts and CultureFollow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

Animal shelters have struggled to find enough homes for all the dogs and cats that people got during the pandemic but then had to give up. But what about other pets, like birds, lizards, and snakes? That’s where Jessica Katz comes in. She runs the Chicagoland Exotic Animal Rescue out of her apartment in Andersonville. Producer Simone Alicea got to meet some of the animals Katz is helping find homes for.Follow us on Twitter: @CityCastChicagoSign up for our newsletter: chicago.citycast.fmCall or Text Us: (773) 780-0246

City Cast Chicago is bringing you a preview of another podcast, "Some of My Best Friends Are," from Pushkin Industries. Harvard professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad and journalist Ben Austen are friends, one Black and one white, who grew up together on the South Side of Chicago. On the podcast, Khalil and Ben, along with their guests, have critical conversations that are at once personal, political, and playful, about the absurdities and intricacies of race in America. In this preview, Khalil and Ben revisit the origins of their friendship during a live conversation at the 2022 Chicago Humanities Festival. Ben shares memories of his first job delivering bagels around Chicago, and Khalil speaks to when he first realized he had a Chicago accent. Above all, they connect with a hometown audience and discuss the hard work of studying and admiring a city that can be tough to love at times.