Paul Eisenberg: Lincoln Oasis is more than just a rest stop

Featured on WGN Radio’s Home Sweet Home Chicago on 01/282023:BluSky’s Senior Restoration Manager Cory Ambrose joins the program to talk about the impact of the frozen pipes in Chicago this year. To learn more about what BluSky Restoration can do for you go to goblusky.com or call them at 1-800-266-5677.

Celebrating National Pizza Day with the fascinating story of how a mom and pop tavern morphed into a frozen pizza behemoth. What started as an experiment to see whether a Little Village tavern’s patrons would like small squares of pizza instead of popcorn and pretzels turned into a nationwide frozen pizza company. With 750 employees at its Woodridge, Illinois, facility, Home Run Inn Pizza makes more than 100,000 pizzas a day! The company is still family-owned and still uses the original recipe and thin-crust, square-cut style. Marketing director Gina Bolger, great-granddaughter of co-founder Mary Grittani, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander the fascinating origin story in the audio clip below. And wait till you hear how the tavern — now with nine locations, including the original — got its name.

Chicago's Brach's Candies partners with "Friends" to create unusual candy heart messages. Chicago’s very own Brach’s conversation hearts have added iconic lines from the “Friends” TV show to the typical messages of “I love you,” “Be mine,” etc. This year, the Valentine’s Day staple features 28 messages such as, “We were on a break!,” “Unagi,” “She’s your lobster,” “How u doin?,” and “Pivot!,” as well as names of the series’ main characters — including Gunther. Chad Womack, Brach’s Director of Seasonal Marketing at Ferrara Candy Company, tells WGN’s Steve Alexander about the thinking behind the partnership with a TV series that ended its original run nearly 20 years ago, as well as how the tiny hearts are made. And the packages you see in stores? They’re filled in Forest Park, right there off the Ike.

Anna Davlantes, WGN Radio’s investigative correspondent, joins Bob Sirott to share what happened this week in Chicago history. Stories include the death of Harry Caray, Ramsay Lewis’ breakout hit, the disappearance of Helen Brach, and more.

Featured on WGN Radio’s Home Sweet Home Chicago on 01/282023: Direct Fitness Solution’s Mike Munson joins the program to talk about the process of installing home gyms for customers. To learn more about what Direct Fitness Solutions can do for you go to directfitnesssolutions.com or call them at 847-691-3559.

Chicago Way w/John Kass (1/20/23): With only a few weeks until election day in Chicago, retired CPD sergeant Mike Cummings is here to discuss why the 19th Ward is ready for a change and Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Police Superintendent David Brown, and Alderman Matt O’Shea have to go. Plus, Kasso takes a crack at monologue for the first time since heart surgery. Check out more Kasso at JohnKassNews.com.

Eric Zorn, Publisher of The Picayune Sentinel, joins John Williams to talk about how the winners of the snow plow naming contest show that Chicagoans are stuck in the past. Also, Eric shares his thoughts on the Chicago mayoral race and why he thinks Paul Vallas will make the runoff election.

Mike Stephen discusses the decrease in public school students in Illinois with Chalkbeat Chicago’s Samantha Smylie, learns about Black organizing pre-Civil War in Illinois with Northwestern University history professor Kate Masur, and discovers the Secret History of local saxman J.T. Brown. To subscribe to the OTL podcast, please visit...

Steve Grzanich has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute. A Chicago tech startup is about to roll out a hardware-software kit that will make most modern tractors fully autonomous. Crain’s reports Sabanto will roll out the self-driving retrofit in the coming months, beating big companies like Deere to the punch. The other companies have been using self-driving tech, but it still requires a driver to take control at the end of each row of corn or soybeans. Sabanto’s system automates that tractor turnaround. The expected price for the kit will be $50,000 and up per unit. Its release comes at a time when American farms are dealing with big labor shortages. By the way, Sabanto means “servant” in Japanese.

Steve Grzanich has the business news of the day with the Wintrust Business Minute. The redevelopment of the former AT&T campus in Hoffman Estates is moving forward. Village trustees have approved the next phase of the project that calls for construction of new residential units on the property. The plan includes construction of 164 townhouses and 300 apartments, according to Crain’s. The developer’s goal is to transform the 150-acre abandoned office park into a pedestrian-friendly working, dining and living space. A similar project by the same developer in New Jersey is almost complete and nearly sold out.

The lynching of Emmett Till in Mississippi ignited the civil rights movement across the country in the 1950s, but it was Till’s mother who shined a spotlight on the injustice. Chicago native Mamie Elizabeth Till-Mobley decided to leave the casket open at Emmett Till’s funeral for the world to...

CHICAGO (AP)Erik Reynolds II’s 24 points helped Saint Joseph’s defeat Loyola Chicago 83-71 on Wednesday night. Reynolds shot 8 for 17, with four 3-pointers for the Hawks (12-12, 6-6 Atlantic 10 Conference). Cameron Brown added 22 points with five 3-pointers and five rebounds. Lynn Greer III added 17 points.