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City Cast Chicago

Emily Mack

Rat birth control IS working in Wicker Park.

disseminating contraception in local alleyways

, rat-track density is reportedly down by 88%. The city now plans to expand rat birth control further throughout Wicker Park and Bucktown.

Let’s celebrate the humane news with a good, old-fashioned rat quiz!

Rat birth control IS working in Wicker Park. Let’s celebrate the humane news with a good, old-fashioned rat quiz!

The Chicago Rat Quiz

The Rat Quiz

What Chicagoans have been wondering. We break down why things in Chicago are the way they are and how they work.

Chicago, Explained

 than just books!? We’re revisiting a conversation on all the resources available in Chicago’s libraries and 

why they are the city’s “main community hub.”

Whether you want to home in on a research topic for school, search your family history and genealogy records, or look through dozens of global magazines and newspapers, the 

 at your local library are a great resource. Your library card will grant you access to major databases like EBSCO and JSTOR.

If you’re planning a trip, check out the Culture Grams, where you can look up the lifestyles of people around the world. Looking to continue your education? Check Brain Fuse (which is also available for teens.)

 is a great resource to pick up seeds to plant your herbs, flowers, vegetables, and more. Plus, branches will also have books on gardening so you’re fully equipped to create your ideal garden.

 that come pre-programmed with educational materials.

Libraries also put together grab-and-go kits for a variety of interests, such as art or science. At the library’s computers, you can find software for a variety of interests, such as graphic software.

 can do their homework, learn something new, or just hang out. They can play video games on the Nintendo Switch, try out the 3D printing machine, and more. Select locations also provide access to hands-on STEM learning, musical instruments, sewing machines, and a recording studio.

You can access resources from the comfort of your home through the 

, the Chicago Tribune archives, eBooks, magazines, TV shows, movies, and more.

✅ Ready to get your hands on these great resources? 

💉 Plus, the life-saving med at your library

Did you know that your local Chicago Public Library branch offers so much more than just books!?

Free Things to Get With Your Chicago Library Card

Tips and tricks for living your best Chicago life, by locals, for locals.

Chicago Life Hacks

With the state of the world right now, things may feel very overwhelming, and many need extra support. One way to help your neighbors is by getting involved in a local mutual aid group.

Back in November, the City Cast Chicago podcast chatted with Maira Khwaja, a writer, reporter, and co-founder of the mutual aid group Market Box Chicago. 

She explained what mutual aid is and how to get involved

Mutual aid is when people come together to directly help one another when they need it.

Mutual aid comes in many different forms. There are formal networks that do things like package food, but even actions such as letting someone crash on your couch or volunteering to teach a language can be forms of mutual aid.

“Mutual aid is basically the practice of people, community, neighbors getting together to try to address some sort of survival need that's happening,” Khwaja said.

How Is Mutual Aid Different From Charity?

Mutual aid involves building relationships and working directly with the community. In contrast, charity often involves donating without seeing the direct impact of your contribution.

“When in doubt, being like, am I building relationships within a community by participating in this, by donating, by showing up?” Khwaja said. “If you are not, then it's probably charity.”

There’s no shortage of mutual aid organizations in Chicago that help people get food, clothes, and other support throughout the city. Here are some well-known ones:

 have put together other lists of mutual aid groups if you want to find one in your community.

How To Get Involved in a Mutual Aid Group

Reach out to people you're close to in your community. You may not be able to find existing groups or networks online.

Make an effort to know the people in your community and strengthen those bonds. Mutual aid doesn’t always need to be money-related, and it’s best to take advantage of personal skills you possess.

Small contributions can go a long way. “I think the scale thing, trying to scale it up — resist that urge initially. Really try to get to know people and strengthen a genuine community, which takes time and work," Khwaja said.

Learn more about Chicago’s mutual aid groups

With the state of the world right now, things may feel very overwhelming. One way to help is to get involved in a local mutual aid group.

How To Get Involved in Chicago's Mutual Aid Groups

What Is Mutual Aid & How Can You Get Involved?

What will the first month of 2025 bring? We don't know yet. But we are going to quiz you on what's happened in Chicago Januarys past.

What will the first month of 2025 bring? We don't know yet. So let's take a January-themed history quiz about Chicago.

Take This History Quiz About January in Chicago

How Well Do You Know Chicago's January History?

What do you do when a loved one goes missing?

That’s what the Invisible Institute’s Trina Reynolds-Tyler and City Bureau’s Sarah Conway are helping Chicagoans learn in their 

 this month built on their investigation into how Chicago police handle missing persons cases. 

They shared their findings with the City Cast Chicago podcast

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Conway: “Black people in Chicago make up about two-thirds of all missing persons cases over the past two decades. And in particular, Black girls and women between the ages of 10 and 20 make up about 30% of all the missing persons cases in the city, despite comprising only 2% of the city's population as of 2020.”

What could be done to improve how police handle missing persons cases?

Reynolds-Tyler: “Missing persons is one of the last incidents that is on paper form. You can imagine it takes a lot of time for it to go from a beat cop who is writing a report for them to phone in to the missing persons section, who will then notify the leads and National Crime Information Center folks, for that paper to make its way to the detectives. … Digitizing the system could be an improvement.”

“One former law enforcement official Patricia Casey told us how there must be some screening for missing people when they return as it is very likely that while they were gone, they experienced some form of exploitation.”

Reynolds-Tylor: “I'd like to point folks to the resource that lives on 

. It’s a know-your-rights resource that just equips folks with the language — word by word — what to say to police. … Within that guide is some advice that we were able to gather from people who had experienced missing loved ones before — things like bringing an advocate with you when you are attempting to report your loved one missing, creating flyers, and actually canvassing.”

👀 Plus, more on the investigation

What to Do When a Chicagoan Goes Missing 

What Chicago celebrities, public figures and key citizens have to say about living here.

3 Questions With Chicago Public Figures

3 Questions With

Who hasn’t lost hours waiting in line at the DMV? Starting Friday, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is requiring appointments for some services at more facilities to keep lines moving.

What Do You Have to Make an Appointment For?

Illinoisans will have to make appointments for:

But you can still just walk in for other vehicle-related services like title and registration or license plate sticker renewal.

Appointments are required at 44 of the busiest DMVs

 — including at Chicago and suburban locations.

The Loop facility is the only Chicago DMV to continue to accept walk-ins.

While you can’t make appointments at every Illinois DMV, facilities across the state will have longer hours, and 16 will be open six days a week.

 to select a facility, date, and time. Need more help? 

Starting Friday, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is requiring appointments for some services to keep lines moving.

Will Chicago DMV Wait Times Actually Get Better?

With city budget season around the corner, we're diving into one of Chicago's thorniest financial issues: how to fund pensions for city workers.

DePaul University’s Amanda Kass studies the city’s pensions and broke it down on the City Cast Chicago podcast.

What are the four major pensions? How are they funded? 

The city of Chicago is only responsible for four pension systems for police officers, firefighters, municipal employees, and laborers. There’s somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 current employees. But then there's also retirees that are members of the pension system. 

At a basic level, the way that you fund a pension system is through three sources of revenue. A portion of employees’ salaries and money from your employer gets pulled together and invested. A combination of employee and employer contributions and investment returns is supposed to create a pot of money.

Chicago's combined four systems are only about 24% funded. A true crisis happens if the pension system completely runs out of assets. We're not in that situation right now.

When pension systems are underfunded, it requires more money from the employer, which is the city of Chicago. That creates a budget crunch for the city's overall finances.

Why should everyday Chicagoans care about pensions?

The pension systems pay for the benefits for city employees. So we should view this as part of the overall cost of city services. 

There’s a huge social cost to not funding retirement benefits. There’s a moral question to that: Have we just created an impoverished elderly population in our city?

🎧 So what are the city's options?

With city budget season around the corner, we're diving into one of Chicago's thorniest financial issues.

What You Need to Know About Chicago’s ‘Pension Crisis’

The 2023-2024 school year is here, and along with new experiences and lessons, new educational laws will also be impacting Chicago students and families in and out of the classroom. Here are some of the new laws and what they mean:

Illinois is the first state to outlaw book bans. Gov. JB Pritzker signed a law in June that says public libraries can lose funding if a book is removed from shelves for political or religious reasons. The law will take effect in 2024.

In the past, schools had to inform parents and guardians about bullying “promptly.” But a new law replaces that vague language with a requirement to inform families of students involved in alleged bullying within 24 hours of school administrators learning of incidents. The law also expands on what constitutes bullying.

A new law took effect in July requiring schools to include contact information for the Safe2Help Illinois helpline on student IDs. Students can share personal safety issues on the 24/7 hotline via a free app, through text, phone, or on their website.

Gov. Pritzker is expected to sign a bill requiring all public and private schools to keep emergency medicine to prevent opioid overdoses.

To tackle learning loss during the pandemic, many school districts are participating in high-dosage tutoring. This state-funded program provides students with consistent one-on-one or small-group tutors.

➕ Those are just a few laws you can expect in the next school year. 

Check out the Sun-Times for more details.

Here are some of the new laws that will impact Chicago students and families in the 2023-2024 school year.

Illinois’ New Education Laws

What are Illinois’ New Education Laws?

Almost 12,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last summer, 

staying in more than a dozen temporary shelters

 — colleges, hotels, schools, and churches — to the opposition of some alders and residents. Today, we’re looking at the latest city-run sites.

Park programming is affected at the Broadway Armory in Edgewater after a shelter opened Tuesday. The senior center is staying open.

Families of migrants with young kids are being prioritized at the Super 8 Motel in Rogers Park.

The American Islamic College in Uptown is able to house hundreds of migrants who relocated from two City College gyms ahead of the school year. 

Near South Health Center in Douglas opened last month and has capacity for 150 single men.

Why Are Some Residents and Alders Opposed?

Neighbors across the city have expressed frustrations about lack of notice and effects on park programming along with concerns over noise and safety. Alders say they also feel left out of the loop and want a more comprehensive long-term plan.

Immigration committee chair and 40th Ward Ald. Andre Vasquez told the City Cast Chicago podcast that 

Nonprofits will soon be able to apply to take over city-run shelters

After allegations that police officers sexually abused migrants — and impregnated a teenager — staying at a station, 

the mayor’s office said they hoped to stop using police stations as shelters

But hundreds of people are still at police districts and O’Hare airport, waiting for temporary housing.

👋 How to help migrants

Almost 12,000 migrants have arrived in Chicago since last summer, staying in more than a dozen temporary shelters across the city.

Where Are Migrants Staying in Chicago?

What's being decided in Chicago City Hall and why it matters. We monitor local elections, political news, and Chicago City Council. 

Chicago Election and City Hall News

Local Civics

 are live: Property owners can get their sidewalks repaired at a lower price tag by teaming up with the city.

Here’s what to know and why you should apply *checks watch* 

 Sidewalks within the public right-of-way: main walk, sidewalk through a driveway, and existing courtesy walk and land steps. (See some 

 About $600 to $1,500 for the average mid-block property owner, “significantly below” what a private contractor charges, according to the city.


. But you should apply ASAP: The program is uber popular and applications have even closed within 

 Owners who are seniors or who have disabilities could get 50% off.

public services

The Rat Quiz

Free Things to Get With Your Chicago Library Card

What Is Mutual Aid & How Can You Get Involved?

Latest articles

The Rat Quiz

Free Things to Get With Your Chicago Library Card

What Is Mutual Aid & How Can You Get Involved?

How Well Do You Know Chicago's January History?

What to Do When a Chicagoan Goes Missing

Will Chicago DMV Wait Times Actually Get Better?

What You Need to Know About Chicago’s ‘Pension Crisis’

Latest articles

How Well Do You Know Chicago's January History?

What to Do When a Chicagoan Goes Missing

Will Chicago DMV Wait Times Actually Get Better?

What You Need to Know About Chicago’s ‘Pension Crisis’

What are Illinois’ New Education Laws?

Where Are Migrants Staying in Chicago?

How to Share Sidewalk Costs