The Latest Breaking News from WBEZ

CNN’s Laura Coates, former Republican Governor of Illinois Jim Edgar and WBEZ’s Dave McKinney joined our hosts At The Table on Feb. 17 for a conversation on Biden’s Supreme Court pick, the gubernatorial primary, key congressional races and Trump’s influence on state and national politics.

The long-unprofitable Chicago Sun-Times, which sold just over four years ago for $1, has been reborn as a nonprofit newspaper with $61 million in backing through a potentially groundbreaking merger with public radio station WBEZ-FM 91.5.

The combination of two storied Chicago news brands has created one of the country’s largest local nonprofit news organizations

Executives said the philanthropy is pledged over five years to help the paper improve its journalism, expand digitally and continue the print edition.

In some schools, vaccination rates are in the teens — or lower — a WBEZ analysis found.

Sun-Times, WBEZ merger a reason to hope.

The Sun-Times combination with WBEZ includes pledges of cash from foundations and a key backer of the deal.

The Chicago Public Media board voted Tuesday evening to move forward with its acquisition of the Chicago Sun-Times, combining the long-struggling daily newspaper with resurgent public radio station WBEZ-FM 91.5 as one nonprofit multimedia newsroom.

The noncash transfer will not be final until contracts are approved, but both media organizations said they hope to close on the deal by the end of the month.

Blacks in Chicago — as well as whites over 60 in the suburbs — are dying from the coronavirus at higher rates, a WBEZ analysis found. Also, the unvaccinated are 22 times more likely to die than those who’ve gotten shots.