The 21st Show
WILL-AM
WILL AM 580 Live Stream
The 21st Show
We interviewed all three candidates for U.S. Senate in Illinois — hear the highlights
Election Day is less than a week away, and one of the biggest choices before Illinois voters is who will succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is facing Republican Don Tracy, a former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, and Whitfield Harrington Jr., a Chicago pastor running with the American Center Party. Our conversations covered the war in Iran, America's relationship with Israel, immigration enforcement and the Senate filibuster.
We've spoken with all three candidates on our show, and today we listen back to some of the highlights from those interviews.
The 21st Show
We interviewed all three candidates for Illinois governor — hear the highlights
Among the choices before voters in this year's election — which is less than a week away — is who should be the governor of Illinois.
Incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker is seeking a third term. He’s once again being challenged by Republican Darren Bailey, representing his party for the second election in a row. And there’s also an independent campaign from Collin Corbett, a former Republican political consultant hoping to build a political movement from the center of Illinois politics.
We’ve spoken with all three men on our show, and will listen to some of the highlights from those interviews today.
The 21st Show
Congresswoman Lauren Underwood: ‘I’m not asking for people to make politics their hobby’
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood has represented Illinois' 14th Congressional District since 2019. Today the 14th encompasses a large triangle in north-central Illinois, bounded by Joliet, DeKalb, and LaSalle-Peru.
The Democrat joined us live ahead of next week’s midterm elections, in which she’s facing a challenge from Republican Jim Marter (with whom we spoke on Sept. 21, 2026).
We talked with Underwood about a wide range of issues, including the war in Iran, tariffs, health care, government regulation of AI, abortion law, ICE accountability, generation gaps in Congress, and why so many people are disconnected from politics.
Weather Realness
What happens when flooding monitors shut down?
Two Stream gages have shut down in St. Joseph. We learn how this will affect how scientists and communities monitor flooding data.
The 21st Show
When calling 9-1-1 brings more harm than help
Americans have spent years arguing about how police, paramedics, and other emergency personnel respond when dispatched to help people in crisis. But UChicago researcher Rebecca Neusteter says that conversation overlooks an important part of our public safety system: the 9-1-1 call center.
She says too often, emergency call centers default to sending police, when a different type of response would be more appropriate. Neusteter's new book is called, “911, What’s Your Emergency? The Promise and Peril of Crisis Response.”
Weather Realness
How do we know how strong tornadoes are?
After a tornado’s destruction, scientists determine how strong a tornado was. How do scientists measure the strength of a tornado and why is it important?
Weather Realness
Why did we have a slow Atlantic hurricane season in September?
September is typically the most active time for hurricanes in the Atlantic. So why did it take so long for a hurricane to develop in the Atlantic?
These programs are partially sponsored by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
