Ari Soglin

YouTube video by WBEZ Chicago Famous Chicagoans read Carl Sandburg's iconic poem

Happy birthday, Chicago! 🎂https://youtube.com/shorts/hgB6ps-h-m0?si=rWPhlTJAFSD7cNvT

DHS head Noem claims she doesn't know about Marimar Martinez, Chicago woman shot 5 times by federal agent Martinez released a statement on Tuesday saying Kristi Noem's claims of not knowing her case comes as "the evidence we released in my case demonstrates otherwise." She said text messages prove the age...

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem testified today that she didn't know about Marimar Martinez, the Chicago woman shot 5 times by a Border Patrol agent.

It's a claim Martinez doesn't believe: “The evidence we released in my case demonstrates otherwise.”

chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

What is Pulaski Day? Here's what's closed and the history of this Chicago holiday Pulaski Day will be observed on Monday, March 2. Chicago and Cook County government offices and courts will be closed. Chicago Public Schools, local banks and post offices will be open.

Here’s why Monday is a holiday in Chicago and Cook County. chicago.suntimes.com/chicago/pula...

Time to think about the IllinoisMarch17 primary election ballot. Check out the @chicago.suntimes.com / @wbez.org voter guide or pick up today's special print edition. chicago.suntimes.com/elections/20...

Illinois prisons were ordered to improve health care for inmates. They've spent seven years failing. Even though the Illinois Department of Corrections has been under a consent decree since 2019, the state continues to fail to provide adequate medical and dental care to incarcerated people, according...

Johnnie Flournoy is 74 years old. He's been incarcerated since the early 1990s, and he's been going blind for much of that time. And Illinois prisons have just been letting it happen. chicago.suntimes.com/health/2026/...

Ramova Theatre mural features South Side artists' work on beer garden wall

Bridgeport artist and chef Won Kim and Pilsen muralist Caesar Perez gathered some friends and completed the mural during a painting party one night last summer.

I know it was 60° Friday but it's not even March and it's going to be below freezing Saturday. Is this youthful innocence or just bad parenting?

Even when their cases are dismissed, people arrested during Operation Midway Blitz pay a price. The effect can be chilling. @jonseidel.bsky.social reports in this @chicago.suntimes.com investigation.

The History of the Hyperbolic Paraboloid Edens Theater in Northbrook, Illinois. (1963-1994) The History of the Hyperbolic Paraboloid Edens Theater in Northbrook, Illinois. (1963-1994)

Here's what the Edens looked like. drloihjournal.blogspot.com/2018/02/hist...

And now, I know what a "hyperbolic paraboloid" roof is. Reminds me of the long-gone Edens Theater.

Highland Park gun control activists keep score on weapon producers and their business partners

The Highland Park Peace Project's database now includes more than 180 companies — law firms, retailers, shipping carriers and more — with documented ties to weapon manufacturers.

Hundreds pay their respects to Rev. Jesse Jackson at lying-in-repose services The civil rights icon, who died on Feb. 17 at age 84, lied in repose at Rainbow PUSH's Kenwood headquarters Thursday and Friday.

Hundreds of Chicagoans were lined up this morning, the first of two days that Jesse Jackson is lying in repose. Our reporters are talking to them. chicago.suntimes.com/chicago/2026...

'Abolish ICE' among winners in Chicago's 'You Name a Snowplow' contest

Snowplows named "Abolish ICE," "Caleb Chilliams" and "Pope Frío XIV" are coming to the Chicago streets after winning city's "You Name a Snowplow" contest.

Black artists express complicated relationship with U.S. flag in show honoring nation's 250th anniversary

Pigment International's “Glory! Glory!” exhibit features depictions of the American flag by artists who say they are telling the full, complex story of the nation. The show runs through March 20 at Zhou B Art Center.

The front page of today’s Chicago Sun-Times, showing a collage of images of people interviewed.

A Sunday read: Chicagoans talk about their new normal three months after Trump ended Operation Midway Blitz. chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/...

Are the Bears using Hammond and other places as a bluff to get a better deal in Chicago?

"Is this just a ploy? A bluff? Are the Bears just using this process to better leverage the situation for them to possibly stay in Chicago?" Scoop Jackson writes.

What we know about Rev. Jesse Jackson's death and plans to honor his life in Chicago Jackson's family amended funeral services Thursday to include celebration of life services in South Carolina and Washington, D.C. A "People's Celebration" in Chicago to honor the civil rights icon wil...

And here's everything we know about the plans for services. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/chicago/2026...

Speaker Johnson denies Rev. Jackson family request to lie in honor at U.S. Capitol There is still a push for a viewing — possibly in another part of the U.S. Capitol — and the Congressional Black Caucus is actively pursuing options.

In death, controversy continued to follow Jackson, as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson denied a request that Jackson's body lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol, as reported by @tinasfon.bsky.social and Fran Spielman. 🧵 chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...

After covering Jesse Jackson for 50 years, I'm going to miss his fierce activism The civil rights activist, politician and ordained Baptist minister was camera-ready, omnipresent and immanently quotable.

Former columnist Monroe Anderson wrote about what it was like to cover Jackson. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...

Chicagoans mourn Rev. Jesse Jackson: 'He had enough heart to challenge wrong' Jackson's supporters, from those who picketed with him against unfair hiring practices, to churchgoers and those who saw him as family, said he will be missed — but his legacy will continue.

The day of Jackson's death, reporters Mohammad Samra, @cindylu7.bsky.social, @vimiller.bsky.social, Elleiana Green and Mary Norkol blanketed the city to talk with everyday Chicagoans. Here's what they heard. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/02...

Jesse Jackson’s vision for America embraced environmental justice Jackson connected conservation, clean air and safe drinking water to civil rights.

Jackson presidential campaigns embraced environmental justice, though he was pragmatic about projects like a natural gas pipeline when he thought it would be economically beneficial to Black communities, writes @juanpab.bsky.social. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/environment/...

Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader and Chicago icon, dead at 84 Jackson was a Chicago institution who left footprints on the world stage, an ardent advocate for civil rights whose attempts to wield political power himself were thwarted, and channeled into the powe...

The first story we published after Jackson's death, an obituary by @neilsteinberg.bsky.social. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2...

Rev. Jesse Jackson, a symbol of Black politics and Black America, dies at 84 Jackson may have been the most recognizable civil rights icon the past half century, but his journey always led him right back to the South Side of Chicago.

Former WBEZ race, class and communities reporter Natalie Moore writes about Jackson's leadership and how he rose to become a symbol of Black politics, praised for his leadership and his rainbow coalition while at times drawing criticism for seeking celebrity status. 🧵 www.wbez.org/obituary/202...

Friends and family say Chicago embraced and nurtured civil rights icon Jesse Jackson from the start “We were never alone,” his daughter Santita Jackson said. The community surrounded the young leader in every way, helping him and his family thrive.

Reporters @estheryjkang.bsky.social and Nicole Jeanine Johnson tell how Chicago embraced and nurtured Jackson when he arrived from North Carolina in 1964 with his wife and 1-year-old baby. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/02...

Making Jesse Jackson Before there was Barack Obama on the ballot, there was Jesse Jackson. Preacher, civil rights soldier and activist, Jackson ran two memorable campaigns for the American presidency. “Our time has come,”...

In a 2022 WBEZ "Making" piece, biographer Barbara Ann Reynolds, long-time friend and collaborator Frank Watkins and Jackson’s son, Jonathan Jackson, talked with host @bpopetv.bsky.social about what it takes to create a civil rights legend. 🧵 www.wbez.org/making/2022/...

Timeline of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s decades of civil rights activism, political efforts Jackson's decades of activism have left an indelible mark. Here are some key highlights from his career.

Here's a timeline tracing Jackson's 84-year life by @kwashburn.bsky.social. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2023/7/...

Lights, camera, Jackson: Civil Rights leader also became a pop culture presence Jackson's decades of civil rights efforts and running for president in 1984 and 1988 are his most important and lasting work. But that he did this while also forging a position in the nation's pop cul...

Jackson appeared on Sesame Street, narrated "Green Eggs and Ham" on SNL, produced a 1972 benefit concert on the seventh anniversary of the Watts riots in LA. @leebey1.bsky.social reports on Jackson's pop culture presence. 🧵 chicago.suntimes.com/columnists/2...

Rev. Jesse Jackson paved the way for generations of Democrats in Chicago, top Illinois Democrats say Jackson's electoral successes during his presidential runs helped pave the way for Barack Obama's 2008 nomination as well as Kamala Harris’ in 2024. But Jackson also paved the way for generations of D...

How Jackson's presidential runs paved the way for generations of Democrats, including Barack Obama and Kamal Harris — a piece by Mitch Armentrout and @tinasfon.bsky.social. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/politics/202...

Rev. Jesse Jackson looks back at some of his famous speeches The late Rev. Jackson’s words shaped politics as a leader in the Civil Rights movement. He joined WBEZ’s former program Reset in February 2020 to discuss with host Jen White his many speeches, compile...

Here's a 2020 interview Jackson did with WBEZ on some of his more famous speeches. 🧵 www.wbez.org/wbez-news/20...

20 years before ‘Oscars So White,’ Rev. Jesse Jackson took on the Academy Awards In 1996, Jackson’s calls for more diversity in Hollywood were ignored or criticized. Now "Sinners," a movie by a Black director, has garnered 16 Oscar nominations, the most in the award show's history...

In 1996, when the Oscars' 166 nominees included just one Black person, Jackson called for more diversity in Hollywood, writes @ericathompson.bsky.social. That was 20 years before the #OscarsSoWhite campaign. 🧵
chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-t...