Chicago's Afternoon News with Steve Bertrand

Mila Koumpilova, Senior Reporter, Chalkbeat Chicago, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the agreement that Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union made concerning the proposed day off of school on May 1st. School will stay in session, but buses are available for students to go to the MAYDAY protest.

Ilyce Glink, ThinkGlink.com and the Love, Money + Real Estate newsletter, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the housing market.

Pat Brady, SVP of Mercury Public Affairs and former Chairman for the Illinois Republican Party, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the latest political news surrounding the new Bears stadium, gas prices, Iran and Lebanon, and more.

Dominic Bartolini, co-owner of Bartolini's, joins Lisa Dent to talk about their pizza, meatballs, and how they deliver their award winning pizza across the country.

Sandy T. Williams, CEO of the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center (ZCenter), joins Lisa Dent to discuss Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Williams shares statistics that demonstrate how prevalent sexual assault is. She shares how the ZCenter helps victims of sexual assault and how people can support the ZCenter to continue their mission.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Ron Brown, news anchor for WGN Radio, joins Lisa Dent to dish out some Brownie Points. This week he reviews two video game movies: Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Exit 8. Come back next week for his review of The Mummy!

Alexi Giannoulias, Illinois Secretary of State, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the legislation that the Illinois Senate passed 54-0, sending it to the House, concerning e-bike and e-scooter safety. Giannoulias expresses concern around the severity of injuries related to crashes involving e-bikes and e-scooters. “They're here to stay,” said Giannoulias, “but the technology has evolved […]

Charlie Roumeliotis, Blackhawks pre and post-game host on WGN Radio, joins Lisa Dent to break down what Blackhawks General Manager Kyle Davidson had to say following the conclusion of the 2025-2026 season.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories including official announcements at a movie theater owners convention of upcoming sequels “Spaceballs: The New One” and a third film in the “Top Gun” series.

Lou Manfredini joins Lisa Dent in his weekly segment, Lou's To Do List. Lou answers any questions you have about projects on your to-do lists.

Jerry Mickelson, President of Jam Productions, joins Lisa Dent talk about being an independent production company. A jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally monopolized concert ticketing. Mickelson describes how Live Nation squeezed others production companies out of the competition. He shares how many independent production companies went out of business by getting out […]

Dr. Sterling Elliott, clinical pharmacist at Northwestern Medicine and assistant professor of orthopaedics at Feinberg School of Medicine, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the recall of Xanax, the popular anxiety medication.

Deborah Witzburg, Chicago Inspector General, joins Lisa Dent for her exit interview. Witzburg leaves the inspector general position next week. “I will be ready for this adventure to be over,” she explains, “but it’s been a tremendous privilege to this job.” The office of the inspector general is an independent, non-partisan watchdog agency in city […]

Chad Mesbergen, Director of Events & Operations of Tulip Time, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the annual Tulip Time Festival (from May 1st to May 10th, 2026). Hosted in Holland, Michigan, millions of tulips in full bloom offer beautiful scenery alongside live music, family-friendly experiences, and more. Learn more at TulipTime.com!

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

Dr. Missy Cummings, the director of George Mason University's Autonomy and Robotics Center, joins Lisa Dent to discuss Waymo’s driverless taxis operating in Chicago. Dr. Cummings shares that Chicago offers unique challenges to Waymo’s technology. Potholes, one-way streets, and other traffic features that appear in Chicago are hurdles to the company’s self driving software.

Ald. William Hall, 6th Ward, joins Lisa Dent to discuss Chicago leaders working with Meta to try and combat teen trends. Ald. Hall and other Chicago leaders are attempting to work with Meta directly to stop these gatherings before they happen. While there is no current cooperation, Ald. Hall says there will be meetings with […]

Terry Savage, Nationally Syndicated Money Columnist, joins Lisa Dent to share her warning about putting money into private equity. And, as always, she answers questions from listeners.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories.

HOWARD TULLMAN – American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, educator, writer, lecturer, and art collector, joins Lisa Dent to talk about Selfie, a new AI social media platform.

Pat Tomasulo, WGN Morning News Sports Anchor, joins Lisa Dent to discuss his Laugh Your Face Off comedy fundraiser. The fundraiser is to benefit The Facial Pain Research Foundation. Tomasulo’s wife, Amy, was diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia in 2001. Tomasulo has hosted this fundraiser since 2015.

Stacy Davis Gates, President of the Chicago Teachers Union, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the CTU’s push to allow students and teachers stay home on May 1st. This is in effort to join schools across the country in the MAYDAY protest. The day off was granted in the latest contract signed by the CTU. […]

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories including Coca-Cola releasing cans with ‘local symbols' for all 50 states (including Illinois) plus DC and Puerto Rico.

Nathan Proctor, Senior Director of Campaign for the Right to Repair at the Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), joins Lisa Dent to talk about which tech companies are highly rated for repairability.

Rep. Robyn Gabel, Co-Sponsor of the POWER Act, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the POWER Act, legislation to hold data centers accountable for their water and energy usage.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories including the third season premiere of “Euphoria” on HBO Max.

Rich Ross (bass, backing vocal) and Marty Lloyd (lead vocals, guitar) of Freddy Jones Band joins Lisa Dent to discuss one of their songs being played for the Artemis II crew during their trip around the moon, and how they felt having their song played in space.

Ron Brown, news anchor for WGN Radio, joins Lisa Dent to dish out some Brownie Points. This week he reviews Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, and They Will Kill You.

Lou Manfredini joins Lisa Dent in his weekly segment, Lou's To Do List. Lou answers any questions you have about projects on your to-do lists.

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories including gnome collectibles on sale at the Masters golf tournament and the popular migrating bird known as the American woodcock.

Xavier Walton, National Correspondent for NewsNation, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the process the astronauts of Artemis II will take in their return to Earth following their trip around the moon. Walton details the danger of reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere and the steps they will need to take to reach Earth safely.

Patti Sorich Parker joins Lisa Dent to talk about Parker’s family home being sold after being in the family in 116 years. She shares how her family came to the United States, how the house came into the family, and how important it was to her family.

Monica Eng, reporter with Axios Chicago, joins Lisa Dent to discuss Illinois lawmakers discussing human composting. Human composting is a process of turning human remains into soil. The body is placed in a specially designed vessel and surrounded with natural materials. The process yields about a cubic yard of soil, including composted plant matter.

Clint Hull, Mayor of St. Charles, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the city of St. Charles raising utility rates by nearly 50 percent. Mayor Hull shares that the rate increase is to fund the lead water line replacement project that affects the entire municipality.

Dr. Kyle Marden, Sports Neurologist at Northwestern Medicine, joins Lisa Dent to talk about Steve McMichael’s CTE diagnosis following his death last year after a long battle with ALS.

Pat Brady, SVP of Mercury Public Affairs, Former Chairman for the Illinois Republican Party, joins Lisa Dent to discuss the two-week ceasefire that President Trump agreed to on Tuesday.

Rollye James, WGN Radio late night host Mondays through Thursdays 10pm-1am CT, joins Lisa Dent to talk about what makes her show so unique and how her listeners keep her on her toes. Listen in while Rollye talks about the birth of ‘Bumper Stumpers,’ her career as a whole, the most memorable interaction she had […]

Lisa Dent checks in with the newsroom to hear their stories including the 2-foot-long hot dog on sale for $45 at Colorado Rockies games.

State Rep. Rick Ryan joins Lisa Dent to discuss House Bill 4669. The bill would make the Italian Beef Sandwich the state sandwich, dethroning the Horseshoe.

Kathy Papcke, Chair of the Women's Weekend Committee for the Geneva Lake Women's Association (GLWA) & Anne Guye-Kordus, Long-Time GLWA Member, joins Lisa Dent to talk about the Women’s Weekend coming up this month, April 24th to 26th. The Geneva Lake Women’s Association is sponsoring this fundraising event. All proceeds from Women's Weekend go to […]

Annette Prince, Director of Chicago Bird Collision Monitors group, joins Lisa Dent to talk about birds getting caught up in fishing line. Fishing season is in its spring peak. Prince shares how birds are being affected by the pollution of improperly disposed fishing gear.