WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Oct. 16, 2026

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

Hotel workers are still on the sidewalks around several downtown hotels picketing and protesting what they're paid.

SPEAKER_2 (0:07)

It's been so rough these months of fighting for our contract, and we don't have anything that we want for any of the departments.

SPEAKER_3 (0:17)

The Vatican says that Pope Leo has lung cancer, and that doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung today in a surgery that lasted roughly 90 minutes.

SPEAKER_4 (0:25)

More than half a dozen lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Chicago.

SPEAKER_5 (0:30)

This is the first time you're going to be able to vote for the Chicago School Board president and all of the members of the board.

Sasha-Ann Simons (0:36)

Hey Chicago, I'm Sasha-Ann Simons, and this is In the Loop.

It's Friday, so it's time to look back and break down the big stories of the week in our Weekly News Recap. Governor JB. Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey faced off in a forum. Chicago hotel workers have been striking. Plus, Congressman Rajakrishnamoorthy and his family were at a Hindu temple when police say a man tried to carry out an attack.

SPEAKER_7 (1:06)

I encourage all in the community, if you see something suspicious, threatening or out of the ordinary, please come forward.

SPEAKER_8 (1:13)

Prosecutors say Paparakis held hateful feelings toward a lot of people.

SPEAKER_9 (1:17)

You've made it difficult, and everybody in the state, and especially our friends in Chicago, are suffering today more than they've ever suffered.

SPEAKER_7 (1:25)

I'm smiling only because, once again, a serious...

SPEAKER_9 (1:27)

Go right ahead and smile and laugh. That's right.

SPEAKER_8 (1:30)

I wish you would stop interrupting.

SPEAKER_10 (1:31)

I do think people ought to hear what we have to say.

SPEAKER_11 (1:33)

You know, it's important for voters to know that there is an alternative to that two-party circus that we watched in the Forum.

SPEAKER_10 (1:40)

That was really hard being a player for Mike Ditka, but it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Sasha-Ann Simons (1:46)

We're going to get into the Weekly News Recap in a few minutes, where we'll bring you the latest in the lead-up to the November election. But first, WBEZ Assistant Managing Editor Kate Grossman joins me to talk about the heated school board races. She's one of our panelists this week. Hey Kate, thanks for stopping by.

Kate Grossman (2:01)

Hey Sasha, sure, glad to be here.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:03)

So aside from the school board president, which we're going to talk about later in the podcast, Chicago voters are also going to be deciding who's going to fill school board seat races. So what should they know there?

Kate Grossman (2:14)

Well, so there are 20 seats up, and they represent, there are 20 districts across the whole city.

And first of all, just want people to know that there's a lot of good candidates out there. If you see ads or hear things, you might think it's all sort of scandal or negative stuff. There are actually a lot of good candidates out there, and they're just regular, a lot of the regular local people that you would know from your local school council or in the neighborhood.

Sasha-Ann Simons (2:42)

Yeah, great disclaimer there.

Kate Grossman (2:43)

Yeah, so yeah, just know that right up at the top. And sort of big picture, the school board races in general kind of the candidates break down sort of roughly into two categories. They're sort of the Chicago Teachers Union endorsed candidates, and then they're candidates who are supported financially by either people who are strongly opposed to the teachers union and people who are sort of pro school choice or pro charter schools. So typically the races break that way. You're either kind of the CTU camp or the kind of backed by the anti-CTU folks.

Sasha-Ann Simons (3:20)

Right, right. Now, are there any school board seat races that are just kind of really standing out to you right now?

Kate Grossman (3:26)

Yeah, I mean, there's most races have two candidates in them. There's, I think, four that only have one candidate. But most have two, and there's a few that have three. And there are a couple that are pretty competitive. So there's one, District 4A, which covers Lakeview and a few other state boards on the north side. And that has three candidates. And that includes an incumbent who's a long time teacher, retired now.

She's one of the CTU candidates. And she's being challenged by a mom who is not a CPS mom, but a mom. Kids go to private school and she's worked in education policy for many years. She's a sort of a teacher recruitment expert. And then a CPS dad, who's a stem cell researcher. And that's a pretty spirited race. A lot of money in that race, relatively speaking, not nearly as much as in the school board president race, but that's a pretty intense race and one to watch.