{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreib7i4n5rxgcynzh3k2drrkajtfvxl4pu3tftfa7lgw25h4ewp4jbm",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:fcdmaxq5qly33pzgxlwm6ub4/app.bsky.feed.post/3miuupbavc5j2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreice7wvhwo5cuhtlbd2jdaskfi2jixc6uharizdljjyzy3cpt5pq5y"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 430090
  },
  "path": "/wbez-newsletter/2026/04/06/the-rundown-why-farmers-markets-are-getting-pricier",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-06T20:45:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.wbez.org",
  "textContent": "<p><i>Good afternoon! It’s Monday, and I’m still thinking about Chicago police </i><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/04/04/rescue-mission-successful-after-truffles-a-teddy-bear-stolen-from-downtown-store-is-recovered\" target=\"_blank\" ><i><u>using a helicopter</u></i></a><i> to track down a stolen teddy bear over the weekend. Here’s what else you need to know today.</i></p><h3><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/business/2026/04/06/chicago-farmers-market-season-rising-costs-inflation\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>1. Vendors burdened by rising costs as Chicago farmers market season ramps up</u></a></h3><p>Despite the rainy Saturday, Green City Market Lincoln Park saw dozens of loyal customers — and some James Beard-nominated chefs — trudge through wet grass and muddy puddles on the market’s opening day, my Sun-Times colleague Erica Thompson reports. They came to purchase eggs, apples, baked goods and the most coveted item of the day: ramps, or wild leeks, which are only in season for a few weeks.</p><p>That community support comes at a crucial time, as vendors are navigating financial burdens under the Trump administration, which on Friday proposed nearly $5 billion in cuts to the Agriculture Department for fiscal year 2027. Both farmers and retail owners say they not only have been impacted by federal funding cuts, but rising gas prices amid the Iran war.</p><p>One Indiana farmer was awarded a $90,000 contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to nearby schools. When the agreement was terminated, she had already purchased $20,000 worth of seeds. Sandy Eich of Kankakee Valley Homestead said vending at farmers markets helped her get out of debt.</p><p>“It’s the people of Chicago who are coming here, stopping at this little blue tent and saying, ‘Hey, what do you have today?’” she said. “That truly is our support.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/business/2026/04/06/chicago-farmers-market-season-rising-costs-inflation\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><h3><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/health-medicine/2026/04/06/illinois-abortion-safe-haven-out-of-state-patients-2025-report\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>2. Illinois remains abortion ‘safe haven’ for out-of-state patients, report shows</u></a></h3><p>Illinois-based providers performed nearly 1 out of 4 four abortions for patients seeking the procedure outside their home state, often as a result of outright abortion bans or prohibitive restrictions where they live, my colleague Isabela Nieto reports from Springfield.</p><p>Data from the Guttmacher Institute shows no other state came close to Illinois in terms of volume last year, with providers here performing the procedure at a rate nearly double the state with the next highest number of abortions on out-of-state patients, North Carolina.</p><p>“They come from Indiana, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky and Iowa,” said Adrienne White-Faines, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois. “These are neighboring states that also tend to have some limitations and restrictions on abortion care.”</p><p>Anti-abortion advocates, who have had little success with their agenda at the Democratic-led statehouse, said the new data underscores the need to regulate and license abortion providers, something they say now does not occur under Illinois law. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/health-medicine/2026/04/06/illinois-abortion-safe-haven-out-of-state-patients-2025-report\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>WBEZ</u></a>]</p><h3><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/religion/2026/04/05/overflowing-holy-name-cathedral-chicago-pope-both-reflect-on-peace-for-easter\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>3. Parishioners at an overflowing Holy Name Cathedral, Pope Leo reflect on peace for Easter</u></a></h3><p>Chicago’s own Pope Leo XIV celebrated his first Easter Mass as pontiff with a call to lay down arms and seek peace to global conflicts through dialogue, though he departed from tradition in not listing the world’s woes by name in the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.</p><p>“Let us allow our hearts to be transformed by his immense love for us!” the pope implored. “Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!”</p><p>Andy Matijevic, associate pastor and director of worship at Holy Name Cathedral, told my Sun-Times colleague Violet Miller he felt the pontiff’s words were connected to those being preached in Chicago. After helming one of the overflow areas, Matijevic said there was no better time to reflect on living in harmony.</p><p>“Easter is a time of peace,” he said. “With the dark world we’re living in, with all the wars, divisions and hatred in our city, our nation and our world, the resurrected presence of Christ is so tangible about being the peacemaker the world needs.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/religion/2026/04/05/overflowing-holy-name-cathedral-chicago-pope-both-reflect-on-peace-for-easter\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p>On the West Side, parishioners at Harvest Worship Center Ministries spread out thousands of candy-filled eggs on Saturday for their annual “Easter Eggstravaganza” at Altgeld Park Hope Field, where children dressed in their Easter best set off on the hunt. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/04/04/easter-egg-hunt-chicago-harvest-worship\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><h3><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/lgbtq/2026/04/06/illinois-conversion-therapy-ban-intact-after-supreme-court-ruling-advocates-wary-future-challenges\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>4. Illinois conversion therapy ban intact after Supreme Court ruling, though advocates wary of future challenges</u></a></h3><p>Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a Colorado law banning “conversion therapy” for LGBTQ+ kids. Twenty-three states, including Illinois, prohibit the discredited practice, while four others restrict it. The 8-1 high court majority sided with a Christian counselor who argued the law banning talk therapy violates the First Amendment.</p><p>The justices agreed the Colorado law raises free speech concerns and sent it back to a lower court to decide if it meets a legal standard that few laws pass. It’s the latest in a line of recent cases in which the justices have backed claims of religious discrimination while taking a skeptical view of LGBTQ+ rights.</p><p>State Rep. Kelly Cassidy was one of the lead sponsors of Illinois’ now 11-year-old ban on conversion therapy, signed into law by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. “While the timing of the decision being released on Transgender Day of Visibility is a cruel one, this decision is a technical one, essentially instructing the Colorado courts to reexamine the case under a more intense legal analysis,” Cassidy said in a statement.</p><p>Kara Ingelhart, clinical assistant professor of law and director of Northwestern’s LGBTQI+ Rights Clinic, warned the decision will still overall “make it harder for states to protect LGBTQ+ children from harmful practices outside the standards of care.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/lgbtq/2026/04/06/illinois-conversion-therapy-ban-intact-after-supreme-court-ruling-advocates-wary-future-challenges\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><h3><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/architecture/2026/04/04/obama-presidential-center-replica-oval-office-michael-smith\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>5. The Obama Presidential Center’s replica Oval Office is nearly complete</u></a></h3><p>Interior designer Michael S. Smith redesigned the White House’s Oval Office for then-President Barack Obama in 2010. He’s brought his eye again to the detailed, full-scale replica that will live on the South Side in the museum tower of the $850 million Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park. The Oval Office is on the fourth floor of the museum, Sun-Times architecture critic Lee Bey writes.</p><p>Virtually everything Smith put in the Obama-era Oval Office — furniture, books, carpet, artwork down to the smallest detail — will be created in the new space. “The mandate that came from the president was to just make sure it was an exact replica,” said Valerie Jarrett, the Obama Foundation’s chief executive officer.</p><p>During a recent visit to the replica, Obama spotted a framed reproduction of the 1963 March on Washington program. The original — a gift from a friend — was displayed in the Oval Office during his presidency.</p><p>“And he noted that it didn’t have some of the water stains on it that the original program did,” Jarrett said. “But short of that, it is an absolute replica.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/architecture/2026/04/04/obama-presidential-center-replica-oval-office-michael-smith\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p>Tickets to visit the Obama Presidential Center go on sale May 6. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/museums-zoos/2026/04/06/dates-for-ticket-sales-announced-for-the-obama-presidential-center\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><h3>Here’s what else is happening</h3><p></p><ul class=\"rte2-style-ul\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;\" id=\"rte-e419aec4-31eb-11f1-85d9-b3ba2afe3d87\"><li>Tax refunds are trending a bit higher this year. Here's how people are spending them. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/04/04/nx-s1-5759680/tax-refunds-trending-higher\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>NPR</u></a>]</li><li>WNBA star Angel Reese was traded from the Chicago Sky to the Atlanta Dream. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago-sky/2026/04/06/sky-trade-angel-reese-to-atlanta-dream-for-2027-2028-draft-picks\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</li><li>President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iranian power plants as both parties reject potential ceasefire and truce terms. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-04-06-2026\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>AP</u></a>]</li><li>Chicago Public Media CEO Melissa Bell explained what changes — and what doesn’t — after last week’s Supreme Court ruling against federal funding recissions for NPR and PBS. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/pressroom/2026/04/04/letter-from-the-ceo-a-meaningful-ruling-and-what-it-means-for-chicago-public-media\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Public Media</u></a>]</li></ul><h3>Oh, and one more thing …</h3><p>In 1981, a group of survivors came together to form the Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois. They opened an education center in a small storefront on Main Street in Skokie dedicated to teaching the public about the horrors of the Holocaust.</p><p>Around the year 2000, insurance executive Sam Harris walked in and introduced himself as a Holocaust survivor. He seemed too young and was greeted with some skepticism by the staff, but Harris was 4 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland. His family was forced into a ghetto and later sent to concentration camps. Harris, the youngest of seven siblings, survived the war with his sisters Sara and Rosa; their parents and four siblings did not.</p><p>Harris became deeply involved in efforts to build the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, which opened in April 2009 with former President Bill Clinton and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel in attendance. Nearly 200,000 people visit the museum annually. Harris died in Naples, Florida, on April 1 from natural causes. He was 90.</p><p>“You could not say ‘no’ to Sam,” said Kelly Szany, the museum’s senior vice president of education and exhibitions. “He really made you feel like the museum was a moral imperative and a responsibility not only for the present but for the future.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/obituaries/2026/04/04/sam-harris-holocaust-survivor-illinois-dies\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><h3>Tell me something good …</h3><p>I’ve just finished moving, hopefully for the last time for a while. Having all my things in boxes makes me think more strategically (and emotionally!) about what I need in my living space and where. So I’m wondering, what’s an essential item or area you need in your home?</p><p>For instance, I’m trying to plan a nook for enjoying tea and books — especially if I can work in a stained glass ornament nearby. I’m also thinking about installing a <a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.reddit.com/r/BarBattlestations/comments/wlv4kl/we_added_a_glass_rinser_to_our_home_bar/\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>glass rinser</u></a> in my kitchen sink. I’d love to hear about your favorite feature, large or small, in your condo, apartment, bungalow, mansion, van-life van or other arrangement.</p><p>Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.</p>",
  "title": "The Rundown: Why farmers markets are getting pricier",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-06T20:45:01.203Z"
}