The Democratic Party of Illinois today hosted candidate interview sessions at five locations – in Chicago, Springfield, Bolingbrook, Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg. Out of the roughly 260-265 applicants still in the running, according to party spokesman Steve Brown, about a third have RSVPed to speak today before some of the 38 Democratic State Central Committeemen and Committeewomen (or their proxies).

State Senator Iris Martinez, herself a member of the State Central Committee, asks to be considered for the nomination. (WBEZ/Sam Hudzik)

I dropped by the event at the Chicago Hilton, where – due to high demand – the party was holding interviews simultaneously in two rooms. Read the rest of this entry →

Andrew Gill and Althea Legaspi continue the SXSW Pool Sessions in Austin, TX. They are holed up at the La Quinta Inn and have invited bands over to the pool for interviews and live performances. This installment? Chicago (and Australian) artist Via Tania.

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. . . we provide you the Davy Crockett theme-song, with Burl Ives. (We don’t find it annoying–but as current as today’s headlines.)

Adios Amigo!

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We’re down to the wire and I think folks are getting antsy.

My sister apparently takes our surname seriously, and she decided to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day – despite the fast. Megan said she gave herself a $20 spending limit. (I found this out via Facebook.) I bet her friend and fellow faster Amber was in cahoots with this breach!

In New York, Chana said she wanted to take a cab after chemo because she felt crappy. But she got on the train “because I’m trying to follow the dog-on rules.” Oh, great. Now I sound like the jerk who makes her sick friend take the subway. Not to worry folks, she’s still a superhero who thinks this exchange was pretty funny.

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This morning we wrapped up our second week of stories and conversations about the juvenile justice system in Illinois. We’re calling the series Inside and Out.

As our reporting during the series has shown, this is a hot issue with a lot of passion on all sides. No one is opposed to making the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice work better. It’s just about how the state goes about it. And that brings us to an example from earlier this week of how – at times – it seems like the pitch of this debate has gotten so tense that no one can hear each other.

On Tuesday late afternoon – and into the evening – a state Senate Appropriations Committee met in Springfield, and it ended with quite a bang. I was a couple hundred miles away in Chicago when this hearing took place. But the following is what I’ve been able to confirm from multiple sources (several on the understanding that they would not be named). Read the rest of this entry →

Andrew Gill and Althea Legaspi continue their SXSW coverage with another installment of The SXSW Pool Sessions. This one features two songs from the Oregon based Horse Feathers.

and…

We are starting a new series featuring live music performances poolside the La Quinta Inn in Austin, TX.  Bands are coming over to Eight Forty-Eight contributor Althea Legaspi’s hotel for quick chats and live performances during this year’s SXSW festival. Our producer Andrew Gill brought the fancy camera down to Austin this week and is putting together these great performances for the series. Check back today, this weekend and all of this week for more SXSW pool sessions!

Here’s the first installment with Chicago band Pretty Good Dance Moves.

Jesse tells the surprising story of the two roughest days of his life. Interview by Bea Bosco.

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The Factory is the curatorial and production wing of Vocalo.org, the only radio station to fill most of its airtime with listener-created audio.

I headed over to Michele Clark Academic Prep Magnet School to see if there were more issues at the school which may have lead up to Monday’s tasing of student.

Jennifer Matthew, mother of Keaira Matthews, said she and a few community organizers and members of her church would be at the school protesting school administration’s handling of her daughter’s incident. About 2:30 p.m. Mark Carter, a member of VOTE (Voice of the Ex-Offender) arrived with several protesters. But Matthews never came. As students were dismissed at 2:45 p.m., Paul Johnson, another member of VOTE, spoke to released students on a bullhorn. Johnson singled out Officer Brown who is reportedly stationed at the school. He asked the students to stage a walkout on Friday to protest Keaira’s tasing.

In front of the school, an unnamed protester began to taunt the police and school security as he videotaped them. Read the rest of this entry →