WBEZ10%
The Rundown: A night of protest songs past and present 9%
By Bianca Cseke12%
7/23/2026, 8:45:00 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Availability Heuristic, Pessimism Bias, and Hasty Generalization, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 8.1% saturation with 114 hits. Analysis detected 707 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,408 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 25.9% and a BS Rank of 9% (19,339 of 21,198 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 91.20% of the article peer group.
Good afternoon!
It’s Thursday, and today I learned some of the actors on “The Bear” are also great home cooks off-set.
Here’s what you need to know today.
1.
An all-star lineup of Chicago musicians will perform a night of protest songs past and present
Public disapproval over federal agents in the streets, the war in Iran, rising grocery and fuel prices and corruption at the highest levels of government led Dave Specter to organize.
For the Chicago blues guitarist, that meant working the phone to invite musicians from throughout the city to stand onstage with him to sing songs of resistance.
“It’s our responsibility as musicians.
This is what America’s about,” he told WBEZ.
“Protest music has always been a part of the need to stand up against injustice and speak out.”
Specter’s efforts resulted in “Songs of Protest, Sounds of Freedom” on Sunday at Space in Evanston.
The evening will feature just what the title promises across a spectrum of Chicago music, from blues artists Billy Branch, Melody Angel and John Katke to jazz singer Lynne Jordan, slam poet Marc Smith and punk songwriter Jason Narducy.
Also on the lineup are rock auteur Nicholas Tremulis, singer-songwriter Steve Dawson, pop singer Phil Angotti and reggae singer Kwame Bediako.
Proceeds from the show benefit the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
Chicago musicians have long played a pivotal role in political and social movements, from the Staple Singers and Curtis Mayfield providing the soundtrack to Civil Rights activism to folk-rock songwriter Michael McDermott releasing a song to commemorate the first “No Kings” march last year.
In more recent years, musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Dessa, Dropkick Murphys and Billy Bragg have used songs to express a range of emotions, from anguish to defiance.
[ WBEZ ]
2.
Canadian belugas faced ‘imminent risk’ of death before their emergency flight to Chicago, Marineland’s lawyer said
The 30 beluga whales at Marineland Canada — including four now at Shedd Aquarium — were at “imminent risk” of being euthanized, a longtime adviser and lawyer for the shuttered aquatic park told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Andrew Burns said no more whales are scheduled to leave Marineland this week, but the goal is to remove all of them by Aug.
31.
He also criticized Canadian animal rights advocates, saying their dreams of a future whale sanctuary off the coast of Nova Scotia are “worse than pie-in-the-sky.”
“They have convinced large swaths of the public that that is the answer to whales in captivity, and they have had opportunities for over a decade or more to put in place a functional facility … that could take whales and they have failed unequivocally to do it,” Burns said, adding, “It’s a great idea, but it’s like saying we should go to Mars.
… [Marineland] is not about fanciful ideas.
What we’re about is trying to take care of these animals in a real situation right now.”
Some of those animal welfare advocates have told the Sun-Times they have raised almost half the $15 million they say they need to open the sanctuary.
[ Chicago Sun-Times ]
3.
The Art Institute of Chicago is facing backlash amid its decision to outsource custodial staff
Union workers at the Art Institute of Chicago are demanding the museum reverse its decision to outsource the entire custodial staff to a private contractor, my colleague Erica Thompson reports for the Chicago Sun-Times.
The cultural institution announced on June 29 it will no longer employ 23 custodial workers, according to the union, Art Institute of Chicago Workers United.
The employees’ last day is Aug. 14, but a museum spokesperson said they will have the opportunity to reapply for their positions with the new company, Canada-based GDI Integrated Facility Services.
Because their jobs aren’t guaranteed, the workers are concerned about their livelihood, said Ben Conboy, communications director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31, the union’s bargaining unit.
The staffers, including some who have worked for the museum for 20 years, will also lose benefits such as paid time off, tuition remission and student loan forgiveness.
[ Chicago Sun-Times ]
4.
Blagojevich wants Trump’s clemency for a former Indiana politician convicted in a vote-buying scheme
Trump in February 2025 issued a full and unconditional pardon to former Illinois Gov.
Rod Blagojevich after commuting his 14-year sentence for political corruption charges.
Now, according to a federal lobbying disclosure form first reported by NBC News, Blagojevich is reporting a $50,000 income tied to lobbying activities for Frank Kollintzas, a former Indiana city councilman who allegedly fled to Greece after being convicted in a vote-buying scheme.
According to the form, Blagojevich is seeking presidential clemency on behalf of Kollintzas.
As my colleague Tina Sfondeles reports, this isn’t the first time Blagojevich’s firm, RRB Strategies LLC, has filed disclosure forms seeking clemency.
Last year, he tried to seek presidential clemency for former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore.
The form says she was “wrongly prosecuted, wrongly convicted, and wrongly incarcerated.”
A federal appeals court ordered the release from prison of Pramaggiore and longtime lobbyist Michael McClain.
It later formally wiped out the pair’s convictions, setting up the possibility of a new trial.
[ Chicago Sun-Times ]
5.
The Goodman Theatre leads the 2026 Equity Jeff Award nominations with 24 nods across 6 productions
As WBEZ theater reporter Mike Davis writes, the Goodman’s nominations include six for its world premiere English stage adaptation “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” and five for “Covenant,” the spooky religious play penned by Chicago native York Walker.
Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Paramount Theatre also landed at the top of the list, with each company garnering 20 nominations.
Chicago Shakespeare received five of its honors in partnership with other companies, including last year’s jumpscare-inducing Halloween hit “Paranormal Activity,” up for five awards.
Aurora’s Paramount Theatre’s production of holiday classic “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” is up for seven awards, tied with A Red Orchid’s scathing two-hander “Birds of North America” (which will be remounted this fall) for the most nominations for an individual show.
The 58th annual award show celebrates excellence in Chicago theater, with its equity awards focusing on the largest playhouses in the city.
[ WBEZ ]
Here’s what else is happening
President Donald Trump said a nuclear agreement already signed with Saudi Arabia now requires the kingdom to establish diplomatic relations with Israel, which could put the deal at risk.
[ New York Times ]
A slate of experimental peptide therapies are under scrutiny in a two-day meeting to help determine whether the compounds will become available from specialized pharmacies.
[ NPR ]
The average 30-year US mortgage rate climbed to 6.58%, the highest level in almost a year.
[ AP ]
The Chicago Blackhawks reunited with longtime hockey great Patrick Kane, signing him to a two-year contract.
[ Chicago Sun-Times ]
Oh, and one more thing …
Just one week after its splashy residency debut inside Pilsen’s The Latina Sweat Project, popular Greek frozen yogurt startup Mikono is pausing to shore up operations as its founders manage staggering demand for their product.
As WBEZ food contributor Maggie Hennessy reports, last week’s opening brought lines stretching down the block.
Cofounders Nathalie Del Valle and Maya Matta, both of whom work full time in tech sales to fund their froyo pursuit, hope to open a permanent storefront later this year at 2300 N.
Clark St. in Lincoln Park.
“We made the tough call to step back from our residency at the Latina Sweat Project because demand simply outgrew the space,” Del Valle said in an email.
“Between our lines and the studio’s own classes, it became difficult for both operations to thrive side by side.”
The indie brand’s rise has been meteoric.
Citing a lack of healthy grab-and-go froyo options, the best friends started Mikono early this year after perfecting their recipe for high-quality frozen Greek yogurt topped with fresh tropical fruit shipped to Chicago from a Miami farm.
They say theirs is the city’s first Latina-owned Greek frozen yogurt shop.
[ WBEZ ]
Tell me something good …
What are you still hoping to check off your summer bucket list before the season ends?
“I’d like to ride the Ferris wheel at Navy Pier before summer’s end!
Maybe with a group of friends!”
Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.
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