The Block Club Chicago Podcast

With the Obama Presidential Center set to open next year, Maxwell Evans joins the podcast to discuss the long journey for the center, how neighbors feel as it nears completion, and if people really think it looks kind of ugly.  Host - Jon Hansen Reporter - Maxwell Evans Read More Here [https://blockclubchicago.org/?s=obama] Want to donate to our non-profit newsroom? CLICK HERE [https://secure.everyaction.com/sFhqyTt_q0KeRj0l2NuWIg2] Who we are Block Club Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We believe all neighborhoods deserve to be covered in a meaningful way. We amplify positive stories, cover development and local school council meetings and serve as watchdogs in neighborhoods often ostracized by traditional news media. Ground-level coverage Our neighborhood-based reporters don't parachute in once to cover a story. They are in the neighborhoods they cover every day building relationships over time with neighbors. We believe this  ground-level approach not only builds community but leads to a more accurate portrayal of a  neighborhood. Stories that matter to you — every day Since our launch five years ago, we've published more than 25,000 stories from the neighborhoods, covered hundreds of community meetings and send daily and neighborhood newsletters to more than 130,000 Chicagoans.  We've built this loyalty by proving to folks we are not only covering their neighborhoods, we are a part of them.  Some of us have internalized the national media's narrative of a broken Chicago. We aim to change that by celebrating our neighborhoods and chronicling the resilience of the people who fight every day to make Chicago a better place for all.

When 16-year-old Ofelia Torres’ father called from the Broadview ICE facility to say he had been taken by four masked federal immigration agents, the teen’s mother was at home helping drain the small IV port that keeps Ofelia nourished and alive during Stage 4, while the teenager showed her cousins how the small medical contraption worked. For almost a year, Ofelia Torres, a student at Lake View High School, has been receiving treatment for a rare and aggressive form of cancer. She had been home from the hospital for less than a day when the call came Saturday. Host - Jon Hansen Reporter - Patrick Filbin Read More Here [https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/21/a-chicago-high-schooler-had-just-returned-from-chemotherapy-then-ice-arrested-her-father/] Want to donate to our non-profit newsroom? CLICK HERE [https://secure.everyaction.com/sFhqyTt_q0KeRj0l2NuWIg2] Who we are Block Club Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We believe all neighborhoods deserve to be covered in a meaningful way. We amplify positive stories, cover development and local school council meetings and serve as watchdogs in neighborhoods often ostracized by traditional news media. Ground-level coverage Our neighborhood-based reporters don't parachute in once to cover a story. They are in the neighborhoods they cover every day building relationships over time with neighbors. We believe this  ground-level approach not only builds community but leads to a more accurate portrayal of a  neighborhood. Stories that matter to you — every day Since our launch five years ago, we've published more than 25,000 stories from the neighborhoods, covered hundreds of community meetings and send daily and neighborhood newsletters to more than 130,000 Chicagoans.  We've built this loyalty by proving to folks we are not only covering their neighborhoods, we are a part of them.  Some of us have internalized the national media's narrative of a broken Chicago. We aim to change that by celebrating our neighborhoods and chronicling the resilience of the people who fight every day to make Chicago a better place for all.

Hundreds of people showed up Tuesday night at events across the Northwest and West sides to assemble whistle kits that Chicagoans can use to alert neighbors when immigration enforcement agents are nearby. The events came as Chicagoans are increasingly looking for ways to peacefully resist federal operations Midway Blitz and At Large, immigration enforcement programs that kicked off in September. Host - Jon Hansen Reporter - Francia Garcia Hernandez Block Club Chicago's ICE Coverage [https://blockclubchicago.org/tag/operation-midway-blitz/] Block Club’s team knows how confusing and fast immigration news is hitting Chicago as Operation Midway Blitz [https://blockclubchicago.org/tag/operation-midway-blitz/] continues. So, in the hopes of simplifying the news for our readers, we’ve launched a WhatsApp channel to share Block Club’s daily recaps of ICE news and other breaking immigration news directly to your phone.  On weekdays, newsletter intern Jake Cox, Newsletter Editor Hannah Boufford and other Block Club staff members will send daily updates and alerts to the channel as news breaks. You can also text us on WhatsApp at 312-860-0020 with questions, tips and feedback.  You can follow the channel here [https://blockclubchicago.org/whatsapp].    Want to donate to our non-profit newsroom? CLICK HERE [https://secure.everyaction.com/sFhqyTt_q0KeRj0l2NuWIg2] Who we are Block Club Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We believe all neighborhoods deserve to be covered in a meaningful way. We amplify positive stories, cover development and local school council meetings and serve as watchdogs in neighborhoods often ostracized by traditional news media. Ground-level coverage Our neighborhood-based reporters don't parachute in once to cover a story. They are in the neighborhoods they cover every day building relationships over time with neighbors. We believe this  ground-level approach not only builds community but leads to a more accurate portrayal of a  neighborhood. Stories that matter to you — every day Since our launch five years ago, we've published more than 25,000 stories from the neighborhoods, covered hundreds of community meetings and send daily and neighborhood newsletters to more than 130,000 Chicagoans.  We've built this loyalty by proving to folks we are not only covering their neighborhoods, we are a part of them.  Some of us have internalized the national media's narrative of a broken Chicago. We aim to change that by celebrating our neighborhoods and chronicling the resilience of the people who fight every day to make Chicago a better place for all.

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday against National Guard Troops mobilized this week in Illinois against the will of state and local officials. Host - Jon Hansen Guest - Mike Leonard, Federal Defense Attorney JUDGE PARTIALLY BLOCKS TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD MOBILIZATION TO CHICAGO [https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-partially-blocks-trumps-national-guard-deployment-to-chicago/]   JUDGE RULES FEDS CAN’T PEPPER-SPRAY, TEAR-GAS JOURNALISTS AFTER BLOCK CLUB CHICAGO AND OTHERS SUE [https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/10/09/judge-rules-feds-cant-pepper-spray-tear-gas-journalists-after-block-club-chicago-and-others-sue/] Want to donate to our non-profit newsroom? CLICK HERE [https://secure.everyaction.com/sFhqyTt_q0KeRj0l2NuWIg2] Who we are Block Club Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We believe all neighborhoods deserve to be covered in a meaningful way. We amplify positive stories, cover development and local school council meetings and serve as watchdogs in neighborhoods often ostracized by traditional news media. Ground-level coverage Our neighborhood-based reporters don't parachute in once to cover a story. They are in the neighborhoods they cover every day building relationships over time with neighbors. We believe this  ground-level approach not only builds community but leads to a more accurate portrayal of a  neighborhood. Stories that matter to you — every day Since our launch five years ago, we've published more than 25,000 stories from the neighborhoods, covered hundreds of community meetings and send daily and neighborhood newsletters to more than 130,000 Chicagoans.  We've built this loyalty by proving to folks we are not only covering their neighborhoods, we are a part of them.  Some of us have internalized the national media's narrative of a broken Chicago. We aim to change that by celebrating our neighborhoods and chronicling the resilience of the people who fight every day to make Chicago a better place for all.

Live from Saturday's Block Club Chicago Block Party at Half Acre, we wanted to know the most Chicago thing that's ever happened to you! Thank you all for coming to the event! Hosts - Jon Hansen, Iridian Fierro Want to donate to our non-profit newsroom? CLICK HERE [https://secure.everyaction.com/sFhqyTt_q0KeRj0l2NuWIg2] Who we are Block Club Chicago is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit news organization dedicated to delivering reliable, relevant and nonpartisan coverage of Chicago's diverse neighborhoods. We believe all neighborhoods deserve to be covered in a meaningful way. We amplify positive stories, cover development and local school council meetings and serve as watchdogs in neighborhoods often ostracized by traditional news media. Ground-level coverage Our neighborhood-based reporters don't parachute in once to cover a story. They are in the neighborhoods they cover every day building relationships over time with neighbors. We believe this  ground-level approach not only builds community but leads to a more accurate portrayal of a  neighborhood. Stories that matter to you — every day Since our launch five years ago, we've published more than 25,000 stories from the neighborhoods, covered hundreds of community meetings and send daily and neighborhood newsletters to more than 130,000 Chicagoans.  We've built this loyalty by proving to folks we are not only covering their neighborhoods, we are a part of them.  Some of us have internalized the national media's narrative of a broken Chicago. We aim to change that by celebrating our neighborhoods and chronicling the resilience of the people who fight every day to make Chicago a better place for all.