WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: Sept. 18, 2026

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Comedian Taylor Tomlinson is coming to the Atheneum Center, taking us on a tour of her brain and through her new book, Actually Never Mind. That's Thursday, September 24th. Tickets at wbez.org/events.

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District 210 school leaders in Frankfurt moved to accept the voluntary withdrawal of five Lincoln Way East high school students.

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President Donald Trump jumps in with an unexpected endorsement of Darren Bailey.

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This new endorsement might end up hurting Bailey as he tries to win over Chicago area Democrats.

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Me personally, I heard compassion. I heard from a president who said twice the tragedy that my family went through.

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He's a Trump acolyte. He's a mega Republican. He's trying to run away from it because he's hoping people will forget.

Michael Puente (0:49)

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

We're breaking down the biggest stories of the week in our Weekly News Recap. Chicago City Hall heats up with dueling measures regarding renters. Storm rains down chaos and headaches for travelers at O'Hare and Midway. And despite previously playing coy, a major contender for the city's leader has finally announced he's ready to join the fray.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson kicking off his re-election campaign for real this time.

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Yeah, I think everyone knew.

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We also have to help our people identify the difference between real progressives and pollsters.

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Kansas City, New Orleans, the whole state of Washington, Nebraska, this is being done in Toledo, Ohio for god's sake. This is not a controversial idea.

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To protect renters or pro-ordinates would abolish any application or rental fees typically charged by landlords.

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We can't make housing more affordable by making it more expensive to provide housing.

Michael Puente (1:59)

We'll get into the full recap you just clicked on shortly. But first, one of our panelists this week, Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mitch Armentrout is here. Hey Mitch.

So Mitch, lawmakers in Springfield have a new ethics watchdog. Mitch, tell us a little bit about this new legislative inspector general and exactly what this person is tasked with.

Mitchell Armentrout (2:20)

Yeah, there's a new sheriff coming to Springfield, which has been sort of an issue of contention for the last few months.

David Risley, he's been named the acting legislative inspector general, who will take over October 1st for the current LIG, Michael McCusky, who has kind of gotten into some hot water for the way he handled an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against a former state lawmaker who stepped down over the summer. And really, this just kind of gets back to this persistent culture of harassment that Springfield just can't seem to shake off.

Michael Puente (2:56)

Yeah, I was going to ask you what led to the previous inspector general's resignation, but you just mentioned it, but give us a little more details on that.

Mitchell Armentrout (3:04)

Right. So this investigation into the allegations against former Plainfield state rep, Harry Benton, that's what Mr. McCusky, the current LIG, was looking into.

McCusky determined that Benton did commit sexual harassment in violation of state law. But after McCusky's report came out, one of the complainants actually complained against McCusky himself, saying that he didn't record their conversation, didn't take any notes during their interview, and got a number of facts wrong in his final report. McCusky stood by his report, but it raised enough questions more than among house leadership that really led to some pressure against him to tender his resignation.

Michael Puente (3:50)

Well, that's great reporting in your part, Mitch. So what stories are you watching for next week?

Mitchell Armentrout (3:55)

Mike, I'm going to be watching our beloved White Sox and see if they can make this final push to the playoffs. It's going to be a tight one. The playoffs have already started for them, essentially.

Michael Puente (4:03)

Absolutely. Every game is important, right?

Mitchell Armentrout (4:06)

It's going to be a fun couple weeks here.

Michael Puente (4:08)

That's right. Well, thanks for the breakdown, Mitch.

Now, let's dive into the Weekly News Recap. We also talk with freelance journalist, Leigh Giangreco and Brandon Pope, new political reporter at Fox 32 We started with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's announcement that he will be running for reelection. He is the incumbent, but he also faces a crowded field. So how competitive will this race be? Mitch kicked things off for us.

Mitchell Armentrout (4:42)

It's going to be a dogfight like it always is in any mayoral race. It's been an interesting holding pattern waiting for Brandon to announce his reelection, but he's signaled it for the last couple of months.