A CPM board member said they just updated their open meeting policy to meet standard practices. Do other nonprofit boards also start their meetings in closed session for two hours then move to 'open session' without an opportunity for public comment?

Chicago Public Media's board is holding its first board-wide meeting since voting unanimously to cut our podcast unit, decimate Vocalo & layoff 14 people. The board has gone to great lengths to limit access to this meeting, including: moving it from in-person to Zoom...

📢 Today, SAG-AFTRA filed an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge against Chicago Public Media (the parent organization of WBEZ, Vocalo and the Chicago Sun-Times) for refusing to provide information necessary for us to represent our members and enforce the union contract.

How much cash is being raised by Chicago school board candidates? Check out a new tracker from @wbez and Chicago Sun-Times launching today chicago.suntimes.com/graphics/educa…

UPDATE: More details via me & Tessa Weinberg WBEZ about Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's mental health expansion.
* Phasing out police from responding to crisis calls.
* Interestingly, acknowledging the solution is not always to reopen clinics.

tinyurl.com/mr3h8nr4

Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled long-awaited plans to expand public access to mental health care in Chicago and reopen a shuttered city clinic, a promise he campaigned on. wbez.org/health-wellnes… w/ Kristen Schorsch

An update from us 🔔

I'm getting a good dose of hope today as I watch the best colleagues I could ask for We Make WBEZ + Vocalo flood the inboxes of our board members with letters expressing how deeply we care about @WBEZ and the audio journalism we produce and why they need to step in to save it.

Ald. Matt Martin, chair of the City Council’s ethics committee, wants department officials to testify on the city’s do-not-hire list after the placement of former staffers of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office “raised a lot of real questions and concerns.” wbez.org/stories/ethics…

The Chicago City Council is pushing to keep ShotSpotter technology despite Mayor Brandon Johnson’s effort to get rid of it
wbez.org/stories/shotsp… Mariah Woelfel Tessa Weinberg WBEZ

Analysis by WBEZ: While the Chicago mayor has placed experienced city workers in charge of agencies, senior leaders in his inner circle lack government experience.
wbez.org/stories/whos-i…

This is a really insightful look at Mayor Johnson’s administration from Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg WBEZ with some incredible behind the scenes looks
wbez.org/stories/whos-i…

It's challenging times for public media but NPR member stations continue to rack up far more than our fair share of the Murrow Awards - including 3 Regional Murrows today for Chicago Public Media! rtdna.org/news/rtdna-ann…

A WBEZ analysis shows most of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s department heads have extensive city government experience, but that diminishes the closer you get to the mayor’s inner circle. W/Tessa Weinberg
wbez.org/stories/whos-i…

In one case, staffers pitched a 60-sec video to recap the week’s events, citing the success the strategy had under Lightfoot. The idea was a no-go

“As a general rule, anything following ‘under MLL…’ isn’t going to be a good idea for this administration.”
wbez.org/stories/whos-i…

Couldn't be more proud of or angry for the courageous journalists who agreed to join this suit. Not only are they going public, they are standing up for all of the other women and reporters of color in our newsroom that Alden refuses to make whole.

Chicago Tribune journalists file discrimination suit against paper
chicago.suntimes.com/news/2024/05/1…

The Chicago Board of Ethics wants a law on the books that allows it to fine and even temporarily suspend lobbyists if they contribute to a mayor’s campaign in violation of a decade-old ethics rule. chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2024/…

ICYMI: Mayor Brandon Johnson's rollercoaster first year.

“There has been sort of an unfettered access of a handful of powerful people having access to the fifth floor … Maybe they’re not used to sharing. And that’s going to take them some adjustment.” wbez.org/stories/mayor-…

The Chicago Board of Ethics wants a law that allows it to fine and even temporarily suspend lobbyists if they contribute to a mayor’s campaign in violation of a decade-old ethics rule.

The penalties would extend to donations made to mayoral candidates.
wbez.org/stories/chicag…