Thursday, December 11, 2025

The city of Chicago says warming centers will be available this weekend as bitterly cold temperatures move in. A commission formed in honor of an unarmed Black woman murdered in her Springfield-area home last year has unveiled their 26 “calls to action.” Red Kettle donations for the Salvation Army are down in the Chicago area. Plus, the new company that provides health care to nearly 30,000 people in Illinois state prisons has a disturbing track record. Centurion Health took over health care for the Illinois Department of Corrections this summer, after a multi-year deal with a different company fell through. Centurion already serves close to a dozen other state correctional systems – where it’s been accused of ignoring and misdiagnosing patients, leading to serious illness or death. Chicago Sun-Times reporter Kaitlin Washburn has been digging into lawsuits filed by incarcerated people. She sat down with Erin Allen - host of our Prisoncast program – to share what she found.