Colleges prepare for monkeypox

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Today's Rundown is brought to you by WBEZ members and

by Hunter Clauss

Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and if WBEZ ever trusts me to do a podcast, it’s totally going to be about how Halloween almost annihilated downstate Carbondale. It’ll start with a dramatic voice saying, “Imagine a world where Halloween was so awesome that it nearly wiped a city in Illinois off the map.” Anyway, here’s what you need to know today.

Illinois colleges and universities prepare for monkeypox

Higher ed officials throughout Illinois are racing to craft plans to address potential outbreaks of monkeypox after students return to campuses in the coming weeks, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Experts tell the newspaper college settings could give the virus more opportunities to spread.

“We have to be concerned about monkeypox on college campuses,” Dr. Emily Landon, University of Chicago Medicine’s executive director for infection prevention and control, told the Tribune. “Monkeypox spreads through close, physical contact, and there’s a lot of social and sexual networks in colleges.” [Trib]

Anyone can get monkeypox, but the current outbreak so far has mostly affected men who have sex with other men.

In Chicago, health officials have reported 556 confirmed cases since the outbreak began. Ninety-nine percent of those cases have been identified in people who were assigned male at birth, according to city data. [Chicago Department of Public Health]

A $422 million deal to bring more renewable energy to Chicago

Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration forged a deal aimed at combating climate change by partially powering some of its largest buildings, like Midway and O’Hare airports, with renewable energy starting in 2025, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

In addition to the city’s two airports, the agreement with Constellation New Energy LLC also includes the Harold Washington Library and the Jardine Water Purification Plant.

A healthy chunk of power at these buildings will come from a new solar farm being constructed in Sangamon and Morgan counties.

Lightfoot said the deal is a major step forward in the city’s goal in reducing emissions 62% by 2040. [Sun-Times]

In the aftermath of the Highland Park mass shooting, Chicago police are focused on rooftops along the Bud Billiken Parade

City officials are currently discussing ways to enhance security at this weekend’s Bud Billiken Parade, the largest African American parade in the country.

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said officials are “really focused” on rooftops along the parade’s route after the deadly Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park. The suspect in that shooting is accused of firing from a rooftop, leaving seven people dead and 48 others wounded.

“We make sure that we have a safe and secure parade,” said Myiti Sengstacke-Rice, president and CEO of Chicago Defender Charities, which hosts the parade. “We’re really excited about this year specifically because the communication has grown stronger between our team and the city of Chicago.” [Chicago Sun-Times]

Whatever happened to student debt forgiveness?

This month is shaping up to be a consequential one in the heated debate over forgiving student loan debt.

President Joe Biden has said he will make a decision on the issue by the end of this month. The White House in May signaled the president was looking at canceling $10,000 in student debt per borrower to Americans who made less than $150,000. But Biden is under pressure to announce a decision soon.

“It's Tuesday and today is better than Wednesday to #CancelStudentDebt,” U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García tweeted this morning.

As student loan borrowers wait to see where Biden lands, they are also staring down the expiration of a pause in loan payments that began during the pandemic.

“Financial stress is the No. 1 stressor in people’s lives, and this is adding even more stress and confusion,” Natalia Abrams, the president and founder of the Student Debt Crisis Center, told NBC News.

The network reports that a decision on extending the student loan pause could be announced by the end of the week. [NBC News]

Remembering Nichelle Nichols, who blazed a trail from Illinois to the Starship Enterprise

Nichelle Nichols, who played the beloved Lt. Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek TV series, died last month at the age of 89.

Urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas recently talked to WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz about Nichols — and how the role of Uhura was groundbreaking for Black actors and a historic cultural moment for Black women across the country.

Thomas also explains the significance of Nichols’s birthplace: Robbins, a small town south of Chicago. Incorporated in 1917 with a population of just over 300, Robbins became a bustling city by 1939 with many Black-owned businesses, social clubs and the first Black-owned airfield. [WBEZ]

SPONSORED BY SYNCHRONY BRAIN HEALTH

Brain-based treatment for adolescents and adults.

Synchrony Brain Health offers alternative and innovative approaches to restore health and well-being. Our research-validated technology helps you achieve maximum symptom relief and optimal brain health.

Synchrony Brain Health offers solutions for everything from anxiety to insomnia to Post-COVID brain fog, and our approach is collaborative, non-invasive and science based. Learn more at synchronybh.com.

Call: 866.364.2300 | Email: help@synchronybh.com |

Here's what else is happening

Here’s what we know about why FBI agents searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. [NPR]

Serena Williams, the owner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, said she plans to retire from tennis. [NPR]

A vaccine for Lyme disease is in its final clinical trial. [NPR]

Uh, a summer playlist from Planet Money? OK, I’ll bite. [NPR]

Sasha's Pick

With the two-year student debt moratorium set to expire this month, a personal finance expert gives advice about how to keep payments under control. [WBEZ Reset]

— Sasha-Ann Simons, host of Reset

Oh, and one more thing...

Here’s something that really lifted my spirits: A Chicago nonprofit is offering about 250 back-to-school haircuts in the next four weeks.

The 30-day haircut drive comes from I Am A Gentleman, a nonprofit youth mentorship and leadership program for young people ages 13 to 21 who are from under-resourced communities in the city, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

“I think a haircut really can just reflect who you are as a person, so taking care of your hair is important because that’s a part of you and people look at it a lot,” said 18-year-old Jonathan Evans, who graduated from Lindblom Math and Science Academy and is headed to Bradley University in Peoria later this month. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Tell me something good

The new school year is right around the corner. What’s one of your fondest school memories?

Leslee Carver writes:

“Back in the days (1969/70) when college acceptances arrived by mail, mostly on April 15, the USPS was on strike.

“My excellent political science teacher, Norm Greenspan, incorporated our anxiety into his lesson plan. He asked one of our classmates if the strike was bothering him. The response: ‘Yeah, my dope from Mexico is stuck in the mail.’
All Mr. Greenspan could do was mutter, ‘I can’t believe he actually said that.’ ”

And Lori Wilson-Patterson writes:

“My fondest memory was of my 8th grade English teacher meeting my mother for the first time and telling her I would be the first woman president of the United States. It meant the world to me that he thought I was smart and worthy enough of the title! I still try to locate him from time to time, but have not had any luck.”

Feel free to email or tweet me, and your responses might be shared in the newsletter this week.

therundown@wbez.org | @whuntah

Thanks for reading and have a nice night! I'll see you tomorrow.

— Hunter Clauss