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  "path": "/wbez-newsletter/2026/04/08/the-rundown-iranian-americans-react-to-ceasefire",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-08T20:45:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.wbez.org",
  "textContent": "<p><i>Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and my WBEZ colleagues have launched a </i><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/things-to-do/2026/04/08/wbezs-theater-club-returns-2026-lookingglass-steppenwolf-and-a-red-orchid\" target=\"_blank\" ><i><u>Theater Club</u></i></a><i> for those looking to socialize over the arts. Here’s what else you need to know today.</i></p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/nation-world/2026/04/07/ceasefire-brings-little-relief-from-psychological-warfare-for-iranian-americans-in-chicago\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>1. The ceasefire brings little relief from ‘psychological warfare’ for Iranian Americans in Chicago</u></b></a></p><p>As President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iran gave way to a ceasefire last night, Chicagoans with ties to the country told my colleagues they felt little relief.</p><p>Many details remain unclear, though the ceasefire was supposed to open the crucial waterway where about a fifth of the world’s oil is transported under Iranian supervision. Mehrnoush Soroush, a University of Chicago professor from Iran, has gotten used to Trump walking back threats to her home country. Still, those threats are their own form of violence, she said.</p><p>“It’s psychological warfare because you’re doing this to millions of people worldwide, it’s not just Iranians,” said Soroush, whose research focuses on anthropology in the region. “Everywhere in the Middle East, they’re all freaking out ... it’s part of the war scene.”</p><p>Just before Trump’s self-imposed deadline, Negar Zadh gathered with a handful of protesters in the Loop to decry the war in Iran. The 32-year-old Chicago resident left Iran about a decade ago, and she hasn’t been able to speak to her father in three weeks.</p><p>“As an Iranian, I consider myself privileged if the only suffering of this war for me is gas prices going up or not being able to focus at work,” Zadh said. “I don’t know if my loved ones are alive. I have not lived a normal life in months. … I’m functioning as a paralyzed person.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/nation-world/2026/04/07/ceasefire-brings-little-relief-from-psychological-warfare-for-iranian-americans-in-chicago\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p>Here’s where things stand with the tentative agreement. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://apnews.com/live/iran-war-israel-trump-04-08-2026\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>AP</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2026/04/08/chicagos-migrants-face-scams-sky-high-rents-and-squalor-in-search-for-housing\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>2. Chicago migrants face scams, sky-high rents and squalor in their search for housing</u></b></a></p><p>Changing federal immigration policies, sky-high rents and a new Illinois housing law have increased challenges for migrants looking for safe and suitable places to live, Esther Yoon-Ji Kang and Adriana Cardona-Maguigad report for WBEZ.</p><p>One family my colleagues spoke with ignored several red flags when offered an apartment, because they could no longer afford their spacious home after a temporary rent assistance voucher expired. A man who claimed to be the building manager never gave his full name. The family never received a lease or receipts when they paid rent in cash. Meanwhile, the apartment was riddled with hazards, including a front door that didn’t lock, no central heat and peeling paint.</p><p>Housing advocates told WBEZ the family’s search for a place to live reflects that of thousands of migrants in the area.</p><p>A lawyer for Atlas Asset Management, the property management arm of the company that owns the building where the family was living, said in a statement to WBEZ that upon taking over the building, “our team discovered complex and challenging conditions at the site” and vacated the units in order to “ensure the safety of residents. This included working to identify all authorized tenants with valid leases.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/immigration/2026/04/08/chicagos-migrants-face-scams-sky-high-rents-and-squalor-in-search-for-housing\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>WBEZ</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026/04/08/brandon-johnson-appointments-garien-gatewood-replacement-emmanuel-andre-new-cdot-commissioner-william-cheaks\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>3. Mayor Johnson picked a new deputy mayor of community safety, transportation commissioner and seven more new hires</u></b></a></p><p>Mayor Brandon Johnson announced a big round of new personnel this morning, including a replacement for Garien Gatewood, who was fired last month from his post as deputy mayor for community safety.</p><p>Emmanuel Andre will serve in that role. He is an attorney who most recently served as a senior member of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office.</p><p>Meanwhile, William Cheaks Jr. was selected commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, an appointment that requires City Council approval. Craig Turner has been serving as acting commissioner since last summer.</p><p>The rest of the new hires are positions in the mayor’s office. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/city-hall/2026/04/08/brandon-johnson-appointments-garien-gatewood-replacement-emmanuel-andre-new-cdot-commissioner-william-cheaks\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/education/2026/04/07/cps-students-can-now-access-books-tutoring-other-library-services-with-just-a-student-id\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>4. CPS students can now access books, tutoring and other library services with just a student ID</u></b></a></p><p>It’s the latest effort by Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Public Library to expand access to library materials through The 81 Club. As my colleague Emmanuel Camarillo reports, the initiative makes it easier for students to get books and other resources at all 81 public library branches.</p><p>All CPS students are automatically enrolled in The 81 Club, which launched in 2022, and they can now use their ID to check out library materials in person or online “with no application, paperwork or additional steps,” according to CPS and CPL. Students previously had to pick up 81 Club cards in person at a library. Still, some students may want to apply for a traditional library card, as that allows them to check out more than five physical items at a time.</p><p>Officials with the two agencies said this expansion is meant to help young people take advantage of what the library system has to offer, even if they lack stable housing or legal immigration status in the U.S. — barriers that could make it hard to get to the library in person or provide additional paperwork. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/education/2026/04/07/cps-students-can-now-access-books-tutoring-other-library-services-with-just-a-student-id\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/food-drink/2026/04/08/sourdough-bakeries-chicago-instagram\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>5. Chicago bakers are stepping up their sourdough game by branching out beyond the boule</u></b></a></p><p>While some people who got into sourdough during the pandemic have long abandoned their projects, others have continued to feed their starters, using sourdough as a vehicle for flavor experimentation and self-expression.</p><p>For Mirela Hukic, baking has been a form of therapy since her family came to the United States as refugees in the ’90s during the Balkans War. Hukic would often bake bread alongside her mother and even briefly had a small bread-baking business as a tween. That was a distant memory when she became a mother and began a career in finance.</p><p>Everything changed when Hukic got laid off a year and a half ago. That same day, she told her husband she was going to make some sourdough, her family’s favorite bread.</p><p>Word of mouth among the friends who were gifted Hukic’s bread led to the creation of Bread Cult, an organic sourdough business with pickups available at small businesses around the Chicago area. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/food-drink/2026/04/08/sourdough-bakeries-chicago-instagram\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><b>Here’s what else is happening</b></p><ul class=\"rte2-style-ul\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;\" id=\"rte-c20cacb5-338a-11f1-94ea-0964f521da93\"><li>Democrats keep doing better in elections since Trump returned to office. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/04/08/nx-s1-5770114/democrats-wisconsin-georgia-election-shift-overperformance-trump\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>NPR</u></a>]</li><li>Artemis II astronauts made a long-distance call to the space station as they head home from the moon. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://apnews.com/article/artemis-moon-astronauts-space-station-ee54471e830fee1e3e95e9891116f3d7\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>AP</u></a>]</li><li>Here are some TV shows to watch for this spring. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/04/07/nx-s1-5773313/a-look-at-the-best-tv-shows-coming-this-week\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>NPR</u></a>]</li><li>Two hotels aimed at the LGBTQ+ community are in development in Chicago’s Northalsted neighborhood. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/architecture/2026/04/08/whats-that-building-two-lgbtq-hotels-planned-on-halsted-street\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>WBEZ</u></a>]</li></ul><p><b>Oh, and one more thing …</b></p><p>Nationwide, a little more than half the 1,500 lighthouses originally constructed remain, according to Jeff Gales of the nonprofit United States Lighthouse Society.</p><p>“For a very long time, the Coast Guard was lessening the role of human beings at lighthouses because modern technology was taking over,” he said. “And, you know, they don’t want to waste money.”</p><p>Though keepers were historically needed to illuminate lighthouses, automation had largely spread across the country by the 1960s and ‘70s. As stations became unmanned, physical conditions often deteriorated and some were decommissioned.</p><p>The Waukegan Harbor Lighthouse just north of Chicago, for example, is still an active aid to navigation. But all that remains is an unadorned 35-foot cast-iron cylinder with a green flash atop, WBEZ’s Curious City reports. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/curious-city/2026/04/08/what-are-chicago-area-lighthouses-used-for\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>WBEZ</u></a>]</p><p><b>Tell me something good …</b></p><p>My colleague just finished moving. What’s an essential item or area you need in your home?</p><p>Jonathan writes:</p><p>“Our coffee maker. My wife needs two cups before she is ready to face the world.”</p><p>Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.</p>",
  "title": "Iranian Americans react to ceasefire: The Rundown",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-08T20:45:01.937Z"
}