CHICAGO WORKS WITH GEOFFREY BAER Tuesday, December 9 at 7:00 pm on WTTW

Chicago is known, famously, as “the city that works.” But who keeps it working? In a new 60-minute special, CHICAGO WORKS, Geoffrey Baer meets (and helps) the industrious workers across the city and suburbs who operate the Chicago’s moveable bridges, deliver millions of packages, care for the city’s animals, process recycling, operate the Wrigley Field scoreboard, and more. Along the way, he learns why the 2.6 million residents of “the city of the big shoulders,” as Carl Sandburg described it, are regarded as hard-working, tenacious, and resilient with a well-deserved reputation for Midwestern realness and approachability.

CHICAGO WORKS with Geoffrey Baer premieres on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 at 7:00 pm on WTTW, the PBS app, and wttw.com/chicagoworks. Watch the trailer >>

Highlights of the show:

• Veteran operators demonstrate how they raise and lower Chicago’s famous downtown river bridges and share their passion for the job;
• Geoffrey rides in a Metra locomotive and then visits the Metra Control Center in the South Loop where dispatchers at computer consoles remotely operate thousands of switches and signals to steer and guide trains on a typical day;
• Geoffrey visits America’s largest UPS ground sorting facility in suburban Hodgkins, where he watches packages zip through the shipper’s intricate system of scanners, conveyor belts, and chutes to reach their ultimate destination – your doorstep;
• Geoffrey meets the crew inside the iconic and manually operated scoreboard at Wrigley Field to see what it takes to update the score during games, and then helps trim the famous ivy on the outfield wall;
• Geoffrey helps animal trainers at the Shedd Aquarium serve up a hearty (and fragrant!) seafood breakfast to the institution’s hungry beluga whales;
• In the wee hours of the night, a vendor at Pilsen’s sprawling wholesale International Produce Market invites Geoffrey to explore and sample a cornucopia of familiar and exotic fruits and veggies that go to local grocery stores and restaurants;
• A recycling expert at a Back-of-the-Yards plant shows Geoffrey the amazing high- and low-tech machinery that separates our paper, plastic, and metal recyclables at lightning speed;
• Geoffrey helps workers at Chicago’s United Center transform the massive sports arena from a basketball court to a hockey rink, and hitches a ride on the Zamboni machine;
• Backstage at Lyric Opera of Chicago, wigmakers show how they build wigs one hair at a time as Geoffrey tries on a few, then gets a private orchestra-conducting lesson from acclaimed Maestro Enrique Mazzola;
• Two young gold leaf sign painters demonstrate the delicate process of the nearly lost art they are keeping alive;
• Geoffrey joins a crew from Chicago’s Department of Streets and Sanitation on an early-morning rat patrol in a local alley, where they share some cringeworthy facts about these crafty rodents and show how they outsmart them with lethal results;
• Special effects wizards show Geoffrey how they set fire to the scenery in a soundstage on the West Side for the television series Chicago Fire.

“Chicago Works captures what we love most about this city – the people, neighborhoods, and unshakable spirit that defines Chicago,” said Sandra Cordova Micek, WTTW President and CEO. “Through Geoffrey Baer’s unbridled curiosity, we see that every bridge operator, train engineer, and package sorter is part of a larger story about resilience and pride.”

“I’ve always been so curious about the work behind the scenes of our daily lives,” said Geoffrey Baer. “It was fascinating to see firsthand what happens to the recyclables we throw in the bin, for example, or the packages we ship. From bridge tenders and animal trainers to produce purveyors and train dispatchers, these are the folks who keep the city running – often in ways we never see. And I love that Chicago Works not only celebrates their work today but also looks back at jobs Chicagoans did generations ago.”

Visit the companion website (wttw.com/chicagoworks) on December 9 to follow WTTW host, writer, and producer Geoffrey Baer during a typical day when he’s at work and meet a Chicago snowplow driver who reveals what it takes to do his job during Chicago’s famously tough winters. Explore a pair of unique Chicago roles – a wildlife biologist banding birds for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, and the small but dedicated team that keeps Graceland Cemetery running. And, watch videos that take you behind the scenes of the Chicago Fire television set, into the projection room at the historic Music Box Theatre, and onto a West Side rooftop to meet a local beekeeper.

Geoffrey Baer is an Emmy Award-winning writer, producer, and host for WTTW. Known for programs about the architecture and history of Chicago including Touring Chicago’s Lakefront, Chicago Mysteries, The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago, Chicago by ‘L’ and The Chicago River Tour, Geoffrey also hosted the PBS series 10 that Changed America and the PBS special Weekend in Havana. Geoffrey has been a docent for the Chicago Architecture Center since 1987 and has been honored by the American Institute of Architects Chicago, the Society of Architectural Historians, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the Chicago Headline Club.

CHICAGO WORKS with GEOFFREY BAER is hosted, written, and executive-produced by Geoffrey Baer, and produced by Tim Ferrin.

Lead support for CHICAGO WORKS with GEOFFREY BAER is provided by The Negaunee Foundation. Lead corporate support is provided by BMO. (as of 10/14/25)

WTTW is the PBS member station in Chicago, committed to creating and presenting unique media content across distinct television and digital channels – WTTW, WTTW Prime, WTTW Create, WTTW PBS Kids 24/7, wttw.com, and the PBS/WTTW video app. Recognized for award-winning journalism and local productions – such as Chicago Stories, Chicago Tonight, Firsthand, The Most Beautiful Places in Chicago, and Chicago By ‘L’ – WTTW presents the very best in public affairs, arts and culture, nature and science, history and documentary, and children’s public media content. Connect with WTTW on Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.