Statewide: Targeting Gun Traffickers; Studying Bees Behind Bars

On this episode, gun violence in Chicago and many other cities has led to more efforts to go after gun traffickers. Officials say many of the weapons in Illinois come from other states, where laws are less strict.

Also, a mother whose son was shot and wounded by police while having a mental health episode opens up about the incident.

And it's not uncommon for prisoners to learn new skills while serving sentences. We'll tell you about some who are becoming beekeepers. Hear more reports and conversations from in and around Illinois on Statewide.

Our lineup:

* Patrick Smith of WBEZ finds out why some courts are looking to drop more minor cases amid a huge backlog brought on by the pandemic.

* Cheryl Corley examines the problem of gun violence in Chicago and why slowing down the trafficking guns is seen as key.

* Mary Hansen talks with the mother of a man wounded by police in Sangamon County while having a mental health episode.

* WCBU's Tim Shelley interviews the authors of a new book called "A Backyard Prairie."

* Harvest Public Media's Katie Peikes details how some prison inmates are learning to work with bees.

* Some Northern Illinois University professors talk about the physics behind the Olympics, which might give you a new way to appreciate the games.

* Eric Schmid visits with cadets in the newly formed Space Force, who are stationed in Illinois.

* Susie An speaks with Jenny Shi, director of the award winning documentary "Finding Yingying." It takes an intimate look at the life and death of Chinese student Yingying Zhang, who was abducted from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus in 2017. A former student confessed to her murder.