All Episodes

January 18, 2024 55 mins

Tensions flare over the homeless camp in Touhy Park after the Park District decides to shut everything down. The appearance of mysterious flyers claiming the tent city will be relocated to a fancy hotel causes rampant confusion and amps up emotions on all sides. With the election looming, what paths remain for the local alderwoman to get everyone housed before a potentially lethal winter?


Special thanks to Musician Andrew Bird who donated music from his Chicago-inspired, 2013 EP “I Want To See Pulaski At Night” and Block Club Chicago Reporter Joe Ward who broke many of the stories in this episode, also 49th Ward Alderperson Maria Hadden, Erin Ryan, Tom “The Mayor of Uptown” Gordon, and the many encampment residents we interviewed for this story. 


CREDITS:

Reported by Jesse Betend, Suzanne Hanney, A. Allen, Kianna Drummond and Keith Hardiman

Produced by Jesse Betend with help from Jennifer O'Neill

Music by Andrew Bird, Jeremy Blake, AETHER, John Patitucci and Freedom Trail Studios

Editing by Suzanne Hanney, Sheila Solomon, Amanda Jones, Julie Youngquist, Terri Lydon and Cindy Paulauskas


About StreetWise magazine

StreetWise has been part of the fabric of Chicago for 31 years, covering everything Chicago from its people to its social issues, politics, nonprofits, arts, culture, and neighborhoods.

Over the past 31 years more than 14,000 StreetWise vendors have found dignity on street corners in many neighborhoods across the city as they are empowered to earn an income with a hand up and not a handout.


About Rivet360

Rivet360 is a business to business podcast agency. It was founded in Chicago in 2013 with a simple mission: Tell the world’s stories, making them engaging and fun. An obsession with elegant solutions and devotion to editorial integrity have been part of the company from day one—along with a flexible, can-do attitude that customers love.


Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

Stuff You Should Know
Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce

Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.