WGN Radio 720 - Chicago's Very Own

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tests positive for COVID-19

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 09:09 AM PDT

CHICAGO - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced Tuesday.

Pritzker was recently notified of several close contacts who tested positive for COVID-19, then tested positive for the virus. The governor's office says he is experiencing mild symptoms and has been prescribed the anti-viral medication, Paxlovid.

Pritzker will work from home, per CDC guidance. He is fully vaccinated and double boosted against COVID-19. It's not yet clear how soon he will return to in-person work.

The governor urges all Illinoisans to continue following CDC guidance, utilize anti-viral treatments, and get all available boosters.

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Billy Corgan on his benefit for the Highland Park shooting victims

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 09:12 AM PDT

Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan joins Bob Sirott to talk about the livestream benefit for Highland Park that he'll be hosting on The Smashing Pumpkins' YouTube page on Wednesday, July 27th. He also discusses who will be joining him, how the foundation will help the Highland Park shooting victims, and what he loves the most about his community.

To watch the benefit and make a donation, click the link to the trailer for Together and Together Again.

ComEd delivering $434 million in refunds to customers

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 08:53 AM PDT

Jon Hansen is joined by Chicago Tribune reporter Robert Channick to discuss his article detailing how ComEd plans to deliver $434 million in refunds to customers over the course of 3 years due to a reduction in the company's tax rate. They talked about why this is happening in the first place, about how much an individual may receive, and more!

When could the Fed start to cut interest rates?

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 09:10 AM PDT

Paul Nolte, Senior VP at Kingsview Wealth Management, joined Bob Sirott to talk about some companies slowing down their hiring process and the decrease in stocks. He also discussed the decline in commodity prices and when the Fed could start to cut interest rates.

AL vs. NL: Who wins tonight's MLB All-Star Game?

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 08:29 AM PDT

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Wintrust Business Minute: Carvana suspended in Illinois again

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 08:53 AM PDT

Dave Schwan has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute.

Carvana has been suspended from selling cars in Illinois again. The Secretary of State's office says they are failing to properly process car titles and registrations, and giving Illinois car-buyers temporary out-of-state license plates.

Also, Cleo opens a new office space in Chicago and Toys R' Us will have a new home in Macy's department stores. Listen for more below:

Report: Illinois property law fails to end redlining impact

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 04:42 AM PDT

A nearly 80-year-old law intended to put distressed and tax-delinquent Chicago-area properties back to productive use has done little to improve or solve racial inequities in the city's Black and Latino neighborhoods, according to a study.

A report released Tuesday by the Cook County treasurer's office proposes scrapping or modifying Illinois' Scavenger Sale law in favor of tax-cutting and other programs that may allow homeowners of color to accumulate generational wealth.

Other recommendations include making lists of available property open to the public, pushing for legislation lowering the interest rate applied by Cook County to delinquent property tax payments and allowing property owners to make partial payments to satisfy tax liens.

"The biggest problems are the liens on the property," said Hal Dardick, the study's author. "By the time (properties) get to the sale, many are delinquent, decaying. You have to pay the taxes when you don't even own the home."

Treasurer Maria Pappas expects the study to be filed in the coming weeks with the county board and shared with the state Assembly and Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The study lays blame for the deterioration of many neighborhoods of color and the exodus of Blacks from Chicago on federal and banking policies called redlining, the practice of banks discriminating against racial minorities or certain neighborhoods.

Last October, the Justice Department announced a cross-government effort to investigate and prosecute redlining.

The Scavenger Sale law was meant to be "a solution to redlining, but it didn't work because it didn't solve redlining and the underlying lack of generational wealth" among Black families, Pappas said.

After home foreclosures spiked during the Great Depression, the federal government revamped mortgage lending laws in an effort to prevent future economic crises.

The now-defunct federal Home Owners' Loan Corp. drew up "security maps" between 1935 and 1940 that graded the prospects — from best to worst — of mortgage lending in 239 cities across the United States. Areas deemed high lending risks were drawn in red and most often were majority Black neighborhoods.

"Vast numbers of vacant lots, abandoned homes and boarded-up businesses in minority neighborhoods lie in areas where the U.S. government had discouraged mortgages," the Cook County study says.

Under the Illinois' Scavenger Sale, which was started in 1943 by the Illinois General Assembly, properties with three or more years of unpaid taxes over a 20-year span land on the auction list.

Of the 27,358 houses and vacant lots offered at the county's 2022 Scavenger Sale, 14,085 fell within the boundaries of a security map of the Chicago area. Most of those 14,085 properties were redlined, the study's data shows.

More than 72% of the 27,358 properties were in predominantly Black wards and suburbs. Only 7,636 received bids.

The Scavenger Sale has proved inadequate in restoring distressed properties in communities that have long suffered from housing discrimination, from redlining to scant mortgage lending and below-value mortgage appraisals in minority communities, according to Pappas, who called it frustrating for residents.

"You end up giving up because there is no easy route to success," she said. "You're exasperated, and for African Americans who are already discouraged by what's happened in their neighborhood it's doubly defeating. It becomes generationally defeating. There is nothing to pass on to the grandkids."

The study also looks at similar patterns in Detroit, Philadelphia and other cities.

In Philadelphia, about 82% of 6,167 publicly available properties within the boundaries of that city's federal lending map and held by the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp. were redlined.

Of the more than 75,500 distressed properties held as of April by the Detroit Land Bank Authority, nearly 71,500 were in federal Home Owners' Loan Corp. mapped areas. The Cook County study found that 23,967 — about 33.5% — of those properties were redlined.

"The impact (of redlining) is what you can still see today," said Anika Goss, president and chief executive of Detroit Future City, a nonprofit tasked with implementing a 50-year framework for the city.

"It's not just housing and commercial redevelopment, but also infrastructure redevelopment," Goss said. "These are places that have been blighted for many, many years — where the infrastructure is extraordinarily poor. You can see vulnerable lighting, poor streetscapes, poor sidewalks — all the things that make up a neighborhood of value."

Detroit has demolished more than 20,000 houses and other structures since 2014 and, along with its Land Bank Authority, has been aggressive in making homes and land available to people wanting to move into the city or already living there.

About 21,000 side lots have been sold to residents, putting the land back on Detroit's tax rolls, according to John Roach, spokesman for Mayor Mike Duggan.

Nearly 16,000 structures have been auctioned or sold through programs. There's also a buyback program that allows people living in a house going through foreclosure to receive the deed for $1,000 and remain in the home.

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Williams reported from Detroit. He is a member of AP's Race and Ethnicity team.

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Getting ready for a summer of sales

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 09:01 AM PDT

Senior Editor for Economy at Insider, Bartie Scott, called in to address a summer of sales despite rising prices due to inflation. She addressed how big retailers, and even some luxury brands, are getting desperate to get rid of their products as their inventory continues to grow.

Dean Richards' Entertainment Report: Emilia Clarke, The Weeknd, and Stephen Colbert

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 09:09 AM PDT

Dean Richards, entertainment reporter for WGN, joined Bob Sirott to provide the latest news in entertainment. Dean and Bob talked about Emilia Clarke's health condition, The Weeknd's good deed, and Stephen Colbert's show staff. They also discussed the wedding reception of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, Millennium Park's movie night, and Dean's interview with Javier Muñoz.

Why you should be familiar with your social media's privacy settings

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 09:11 AM PDT

Social media strategist Scott Kleinberg joined Bob Sirott to explain how to use settings on social media and why you should be familiar with your privacy and ad settings. He also talked about what menus are most important and answered this week's genius bar question.