Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with scattered rain and snow showers and a high near 39 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with more scattered showers and a low around 34. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 49.
Top story
Chicago police supervisors obstructed probe of sergeant’s suicide, resigned before they could be fired, inspector general says
A police sergeant, a commander and a deputy chief resigned — before the Chicago Police Department could act on the inspector general’s recommendation that they be fired — for allegedly covering up the circumstances of a 2019 police suicide.
The allegations against the former police supervisors were outlined in a quarterly report released Friday by interim Inspector General William Marback.
The report doesn’t include the names of the accused men or the officer who died by suicide. But a separate investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability includes the same narrative about the 2019 suicide of Sgt. Lori Rice.
The 47-year-old sergeant died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 2, 2019. She was with Sgt. Robert Garza, who was driving Rice’s Jeep. They had just pulled into the garage of Rice’s home in the 900 block of South Bell Avenue after returning from a beer festival.
Shortly after the suicide, a police spokesman described Garza as “devastated” by the suicide and “fully cooperative” with the death investigation.
The inspector general’s report paints a dramatically different story.
More news you need
- Tony Ragucci, the former mayor of Oakbrook Terrace, has been accused by federal authorities of taking thousands of dollars in secret payments in exchange for renewing a red-light camera company’s deal with the suburb. Jon Seidel and Robert Herguth have more on the allegations against Ragucci.
- A person of interest was being questioned by police as of this morning after a woman was stabbed to death Saturday in suburban Evanston. No charges have been announced.
- Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled a glitzy $30 million tourism campaign today as part of Illinois’ efforts to bounce back after a huge drop in visitor revenue during the worst of the pandemic. The new “Middle of Everything” campaign will feature actor Jane Lynch, who grew up in Dolton.
- Hollis Resnik, a Chicago actress who made her home on musical theater stages in a host of memorable and critically acclaimed performances, has died at age 66. Resnik, a 12-time winner of the Joseph Jefferson Award, most recently performed as Norma Desmond in Porchlight Music Theatre’s “Sunset Boulevard” in 2019.
- Since his release from federal prison three years ago, South Side native Aaron Smith has dedicated his time to sharing stories of convicts-turned-entrepreneurs in an effort to change the narrative around formerly incarcerated people. Cheyanne M. Daniels spoke with Smith about his efforts to provide a platform for positive stories about people who just needed a second chance.
A bright one
Chicago fitness trainer takes on Julia Child’s mission of making cooking less intimidating
“To be a good cook you have to have a love of the good, a love of hard work, and a love of creating.” — Julia Child
It’s fair to say that Army veteran-turned-home-cook-turned lifestyle/fitness trainer Dustin Hogue lives by Child’s words. He has spent his adult life doing good for the country, serving two deployments to Iraq, and good for family and friends, for whom the home cook creates some pretty fancy dinner parties.
Hard work has been the driving force through all of it, and if you’ve been watching the Food Network series “The Julia Child Challenge,” you’ll immediately see that a love of creating is at the core of his cooking skills.
Those skills have earned the Chicago-based Hogue a spot in the series finale at 8 p.m. tonight, facing off against fellow Chicago resident Bill Borman and Californian-by-way-of-the-Amazon Jaíne Mackievicz.
In the series, which takes place inside a down-to-the-whisk replica of Child’s kitchen, contestants put their spins on the recipes contained in her iconic cookbook (and culinary industry bible) “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” using the techniques Child made famous through the book as well as her groundbreaking PBS cooking show, “The French Chef.”
Each episode features two rounds of competition: The first requires the cooks to create a dish inspired by one of Child’s, the second is a meal served family-style, featuring a second Child-influenced dish from each competitor.
The competition is curated by head judge and celebrity chef Antonia Lofaso and a series of guest judges. One cook is sent home each week.
Read more from Miriam Di Nunzio’s conversation with Hogue ahead of tonight’s final episode.
From the press box
- Steve Greenberg breaks down the Bulls’ Game 1 loss to the Bucks to see where the team goes from here in the seven-game series.
- There won’t be a White Sox-Guardians game today due to weather. The game will instead be played as part of a split doubleheader on July 12.
- The Bears have signed free agent tight end James O’Shaughnessy to a one-year contract. O’Shaughnessy, a graduate of Naperville North High School, last played for the Jaguars.
- Details in a report by the NHL Players Association on the union’s handling of Kyle Beach’s 2010 sexual assault allegations “raise far more questions than they answer,” Ben Pope writes.
Your daily question ☕
Illinois’ new tourism slogan is “Middle of Everything.” What would be your tourism slogan for the state?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
On Friday, we asked you: What do you believe was former Chicago mayor Harold Washington’s greatest political accomplishment? Why?
“The ‘Council Wars.’ [Edward] Vrydolyak and Washington matching wits and knowledge and humor. Don’t call it an accomplishment as much as great political theatre.” — Christine Erengis-Morley
“He tried to do what he could for all.” — Jackie Waldhier
“Standing up for blacks and the working class regardless of what the special interest wanted him to do.” — Aaron Rich
“He gave recognition to the Hispanic community, including positions in government.” — Bob Feb
“[Washington] played by the rules and persevered as a stronger force than his opponents. It is difficult for those outside politics to understand this enduring political lesson. How you do something in the public sector is often more important than what you do. [Washington’s] greatest accomplishment was playing by the rules, which is the political process that he embraced in overcoming his opponents.” — Don Haider
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