Accessory dwelling units are (mostly) legal. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen learns about Chicago’s new ordinance allowing accessory dwelling units in certain areas from Illinois Answers Project reporter Alex Nitkin, discusses the federal funding cuts to Chicago Public Schools with Chalkbeat Chicago bureau chief Becky Vevea, and gets the lowdown on how TaskForce works to promote inclusion on the city’s West Side from communications director Hannah Pewee. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

Mike Stephen learns about the important work of Chicago’s Urban Growers Collective from herbalism conductor Rev. Kim Crutcher, gets a preview of the Edgewater Music Fest from Garrett Karp, executive director of the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce, and discovers the Secret History of Chicago blues guitarist Jimmy Rogers. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

We talk to the author of two Chicagoland-focused books. (Photo credit: Mike Stephen/WGN Radio)

Mike Stephen talks to Roger Day Bain, the author of a new book about growing up in suburban Clarendon Hills called Clarendon Hills Kid and a book about a very non-linear career path entitled Hardly Working: How I Found a Career and Kept My Soul.  Then, we learn about the continuing great work of Chicago’s Share Our Spare and its quest to find new funding partnerships from executive director Alex Goodfellow. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.

Mike Stephen discusses the importance of a healthy local nonprofit arts community with Vickie Lakes-Battle of IFF and Vanessa Sanchez of Villapalooza and then chats with Danita Patterson, founder of Destiny Outreach, about a new program aimed at guiding Chicago’s youth towards careers in the entertainment industry. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit our Apple Podcasts Page, Spotify, or our RSS feed.