A crushing heat wave with poor air quality, rising cases of intestinal illness, plummeting literacy rates, Citywide approval polls, and more than the average person can keep track of all in today’s episode with Mike and Zoe.

Special Community Highlights:

• Congratulations to Ariel Kimbrough, a first-grade teacher at St. Angela Catholic School in Austin who was named Big Shoulders Educator of the Year. Per Austin Weekly News, Kimbrough earned the award from the Big Shoulders Fund, which manages St. Angela’s and 37 other high-need schools. She was one of three Chicago-area teachers so awarded in the Big Shoulders Plus network, and received $5,000, plus $500 to dedicate to her classroom.

• Dr. Louverta Hurt celebrated her 90th birthday over the weekend. Hurt is a highly respected retired educator and a community advocate well known on the West Side. She’s the president of the Phi Delta Kappa Northeastern Illinois University  Chapter and has also chaired Congressman Danny K. Davis’s Congressional District Education Task Force. 

Resource Index

Books & Articles Mentioned

1. Sun-Times: 216 Cases of intestinal infection Cyclosporiasis causing explosive diarrhea
2. Fox 32: Heat wave continues through Thursday before slight cooldown
3. Block Club Chicago : Ex-Loretto Exec Gets Deal That Could Keep Her Out Of Jail
4. Sun-Times: Patients are finding longer travel times and packed ERs since West Suburban Medical Center closed in March. Doctors worry which hospital could shutter next
5. Austin Berg: Just 13.6% of Chicagoans say they would like to see Mayor Brandon Johnson run for re-election (57% would not)
6. Your Local Epidemiologist: easy-to-digest public health information newsletter