City Cast Chicago
😬 Icequakes and exploding trees?!
January 26, 2026 · — Emmi Mack
Hey Chicago! Hope your (sub-sub-) freezing weekend wasn’t too unpleasant. Luckily, we have heroes like Joe Sass, the Jamieson Elementary crossing guard, who carried children over a flooded street. We all gotta work together in this awful weather!
More on that weather below — specifically, is this a polar vortex? — plus other daily headlines 👇
What's CITY Talking About
Chicagoans Protest Minneapolis ICE Killing
Hundreds of Chicagoans braved snow and frigid temps in demonstrations around the city Saturday and Sunday after an immigration agent fatally shot Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker both called for ICE to be abolished. [Block Club]
- For more on what's happening on the ground in Minneapolis, follow our Twin Cities colleagues. [City Cast Twin Cities]
More Police Are Patrolling the CTA
In order to keep federal funding, the CTA has begun beefing up security measures. Beginning last week, additional groups of six to eight Chicago police officers began patrolling trains and platforms. Looking ahead, a systemwide police force could assemble. [Sun-Times]
- But … What about all those K-9 units? [Hey Chicago 💻]
Why Is Chicago Always Broke?
We’re a few weeks into Chicago’s $16.6 billion spending plan, closing a $1.19 billion gap, but the city is still in major debt. University of Chicago professor and director of the Center for Municipal Finance Justin Marlow explains why that is on today's episode. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]
Umm, What's an 'Icequake'?
When temperatures drop rapidly, as is happening in Chicago, liquid in the soil can flash freeze, expand … and trigger an “icequake.” Icequakes can create a loud popping sound plus minor shaking. [NBC 5]
- Also, umm: What about exploding trees? [WTTW]
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What To Do
Monday, Jan. 26
- 🕺🏻 Free Mondays | Empty Bottle | Ukrainian Village
- 🍽️ Chicago Restaurant Week | Various locations
- 🎭 Chicago International Puppet Theater Fest | Various locations
- 🧪 Free admission | Museum of Science and Industry | Jackson Park
- 🤘 Punk Rock Monday | Delilah’s | Lincoln Park
- 🪐 Free admission | Adler Planetarium | Museum Campus
- 🎵 shame | Thalia Hall | Pilsen
- 📸 “MoCP at Fifty” opens | Museum of Contemporary Photography | Loop
Tuesday, Jan. 27
- 📖 Robert Burns celebration | Martyrs' | North Center
- 🎥 Sarah Maldoror’s “And the Dogs Were Quiet” | Doc Films | Hyde Park
- 🐠 Free admission | Shedd Aquarium | Museum Campus
- 🖼️ “Voices” opening | Gallery 400 | West Loop
- 💸 Free admission | Chicago History Museum | Lincoln Park
- 🍽️ Chicago Restaurant Week | Various locations
- 🎭 Chicago International Puppet Theater Fest | Various locations
- 🎶 One-Day Choir | Artifact Events | Ravenswood
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