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This Thursday, read a story from investigative reporter Blair Paddock on the conditions for incarcerated people in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Plus, more from WTTW news. |
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(txking / iStock) |
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About three years into his incarceration, Calvin Merritte said he saw Menard Correctional Center’s cafeteria for the first time this summer.
Up until then, he’d only received food in his cell. The prison, located along the Mississippi River in southern Illinois, did not run out-of-cell food service from Jan. 1 through mid-July of this year, according to records. Not only that, the general population was provided outside time in the yard just 56 times, law library 40 times and commissary 95 times.
Menard has been on lockdown nearly every day since September 2023, according to data from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Lockdowns, according to officials, are largely the result of short staffing. On average, Menard has only been able to staff 44% of the prison so far this year, according to emails.
Menard, the largest maximum-security prison for men in the state, isn’t the only facility facing heightened lockdowns — Illinois is currently experiencing the highest amount of prison lockdowns in the state since 2020.
More context:
Lockdowns can be indistinguishable from solitary confinement-like conditions, with those incarcerated given little yard time and limited access to educational programming and commissary. The vast majority of the lockdowns are “administrative-based,” a term for more routine disruptions to facility operations, often linked to insufficient staffing levels. “Incident-based” lockdowns are used in the event of a critical incident that impacts facility security, and have shrunk since 2020.
The record high is in large part due to staffing shortages, according to IDOC data. For example, in May, 86% of lockdowns were due to a lack of staff, data shows.
In response to questions around incentivizing and retaining staff, department officials said they have taken “proactive measures” to mitigate the impact of staffing shortages. An IDOC spokesperson pointed to recent agreements to establish additional training academies for staff and expanded recruitment efforts.
To understand the impact of lockdowns, WTTW News sent a list of questions to those incarcerated at three Illinois prisons with particularly high lockdown numbers: Menard, Pinckneyville, a medium-security prison for men, and Logan, a facility for women north of Springfield. Read their responses here.
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Sponsor Message |
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Evanston Folk Festival returns for its second year on the spectacular lakefront at Dawes Park on Chicago’s North Shore. Join us September 6 + 7, 2025, as more than 30 world-class artists take the stage with Lake Michigan as a beautiful backdrop. Listen and learn at in-person interviews and panels with authors and luminaries presented by Chicago Public Media. And keep the music going after the sun sets with intimate evening performances at Cahn Auditorium. |
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Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
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Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates appears on “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” on Aug. 20, 2025. (WTTW News) |
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Chicago Public Schools students are returning to the classroom this week, but a budget cloud is hovering over the district.
CPS is facing a $734 million shortfall with a deadline to pass a balanced budget coming next Friday, but the options facing CPS board members and the interim CEO appear to be narrowing.
On Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker reiterated to reporters that the district should not be relying on more money from Springfield, saying there wasn’t money “just lying around.”
“At the local level every school is going to have to do whatever is required in order to protect those students, and I will stand with them in that endeavor,” Pritzker said. “But there is not extra money lying around in Springfield. What CTU and the mayor are talking about — which is providing another $1 billion or $1.6 billion for Chicago Public Schools — that’s just not gonna happen. And it’s not because we shouldn’t. We should, we should try to find the money, but we don’t have those resources today.”
Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates vehemently rejected that notion Wednesday in an interview on WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices.”
“(President) Donald Trump gave billionaires in Illinois a $5 billion tax break,” Davis Gates said. “The governor, the supermajority in the House and the Senate can figure out how billionaires get to pay more. So there is money lying around.”
CPS leaders crafted a budget proposal to avoid classroom cuts, but it leans heavily on one-time funding, raising questions about long-term stability. But the most controversial part of the plan is the decision to defer a $175 million pension payment unless CPS gets TIF money or adequate state funding.
The Chicago Board of Education is split on whether to approve the plan. |
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The first phase of the mobile vehicle emissions testing pilot began this week at the Chicago South DMV, 9901 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and will run through Sept. 12, 2025, excluding Labor Day. Emissions testing runs Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (WTTW News) |
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Vehicle emissions testing is being offered for four weeks at the Chicago South DMV location in Roseland as part of a pilot to reestablish vehicle emissions testing locations in the city.
“For too long, Chicagoans have been forced to travel long distances for routine vehicle emissions testing,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said in a Wednesday news release. “Bringing services to people where they need them, reducing the hassle and sparing a trip to the suburbs will go a long way toward improving the lives of Chicago area drivers and vehicle owners.”
The pilot is a partnership between Giannoulias and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Motorists are expected to test vehicle emissions every two years for cars older than four years.
The first phase of the mobile vehicle emissions testing pilot began this week at the Chicago South DMV, 9901 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, and will run through Sept. 12, excluding Labor Day. Emissions testing runs Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
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NASCAR won’t be taking over Chicago’s downtown streets next summer, but racing enthusiasts can still get their fix nearby as the Chicagoland Speedway will host a pair of races over the Fourth of July weekend in 2026. For the first time in seven years, NASCAR will return to the 1.5-mile speedway in Joliet with an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly known as the Xfinity Series) race on July 4 and a Cup Series race scheduled for July 5.
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Back in the Day: August 21, 2020 - Bid By Chicago Alderpeople Requesting National Guard Deployment Fails
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Earlier this month, President Donald Trump controversially deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C. He has suggested he would eventually send the National Guard to cities like Chicago and Oakland in an alleged effort to combat crime. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker have both dismissed his threat to send the National Guard to Chicago, but this hasn't been the only time calls to deploy troops in this city have been ignored. On this day five years ago, in an effort to quell the George Floyd protests and looting that hit the city during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic, a bid by several alderpeople demanding Pritzker deploy the Illinois National Guard to Chicago failed at a special meeting of the Chicago City Council. Mayor Lori Lightfoot dismissed the effort by Alds. Leslie Hairston (5th Ward), Anthony Beale (9th Ward), Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) and Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward) to force the special City Council meeting as “grandstanding." Ald. Matt Martin (47th Ward) said in a tweet that Chicago should focus on real solutions to stopping violent crime, not “scare tactics and sensationalism” or the National Guard.
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
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Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the city’s must-see cultural events.
Marc Vitali: The fortune-teller told me: “I see a week full of art and culture.” I said, “What if I want to experience Hitchcock on the big screen, see a play torn from the headlines or just stay home and watch a local choir on national TV?” The fortune-teller said: “Yep, or you can see an Obama musical, visit a historic museum or — look, this is Chicago, pal. You got options. That’ll be $40 plus a convenience fee.”
Living Newspaper Festival – Broadway Armory
Five short plays inspired by recent headlines. This annual mini-fest from Jackalope Theatre evokes the Federal Theatre Project of the 1930s, which presented stories based on timely events. Each show is 10 minutes long. They are presented in unison, and they all find inspiration in current media stories — one play, “Signal Down,” covers the federal funding cuts to public media. Aug. 21-25.
Technicolor Weekend – Siskel Film Center
The saturated colors of the Technicolor printing process are in full bloom in a curated line-up of great-looking movies. Among the seven films are classics like “The Birds” and “Mary Poppins.” There’s also the Jim Kelly action flick “Black Belt Jones” — and who doesn’t want to see a Technicolor Jerry Lewis in “The Disorderly Orderly?” All prints are 35mm and come from private collections. Programmed by the Chicago Film Society. Aug. 22-24.
“44 – The Musical” – Studebaker Theater
The musical satire about President Obama returns to Chicago for its second term. If you long for those bygone days when the Rose Garden was intact and the White House wasn’t a gilded glitter-bomb, this might be the show for you. Joe Biden narrates, remembering what he can, and there are deft characterizations of beloved statesmen such as Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz. Aug. 23-Sept. 21.
Leo High School Choir – “America’s Got Talent!”/NBC
This Chicago youth choir recently moved forward on the long-running talent show with their rendition of The Score’s “Born for This.” On Tuesday, these 22 young men are sure to turn heads again as they perform live, raising their voices and challenging stereotypes. The choir hails from Leo Catholic High School in Auburn Gresham — and if you like what they do, you can vote and help send them to the semi-finals. Tuesday, Aug. 26.
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Where's your favorite place to watch a movie in Chicago? Tell us why.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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A new report shows massive "hyperscale" data centers are endangering the Great Lakes. We dig into how.
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Chuck D, rapper and frontman of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, is in town. He joins us to talk about his latest venture.
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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