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 rainy with a possible thunderstorm and a high near 71 degrees. Tonight will be cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms and a low near 55. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 76.
Top story
One day after launching re-election bid, Lightfoot hits the campaign trail
One day after launching her battle for a second term, Mayor Lori Lightfoot hit the campaign trail today with a promise to retain Police Superintendent David Brown and keep on fighting against powerful forces who “want their city back.”
“You know what this fight is about. When I got into office, the people who were used to having their way — who were used to dominating our city — they wanted their city back and they’ve been fighting against us every single day,” Lightfoot told the breakfast crowd at Starlight Restaurant, 8300 S. Kedzie Ave. in Ashburn.
During the second of five campaign stops — at Brown Sugar Bakery, 328 E. 75th Street in Greater Grand Crossing — Lightfoot responded to the universal demand from all five of her opponents that Brown be fired for failing to rein in the unrelenting gang violence plaguing Chicago.
“David Brown has my full, thousand-percent faith and here’s why: He is an experienced national leader in law enforcement. … What he has done is made sure that our policing strategy is centered on building better relationships with the community. That’s critically important, because if the police aren’t viewed with legitimacy in the eyes of the people that they serve, they will never be able to be successful,” the mayor said.
Throughout the frenzied first day of campaigning, Lightfoot struck familiar themes she hopes will give her the support she needs among African American voters — even with at least four Black candidates in the race — to overcome the loss of lakefront voters who gave her strong support in 2019, but have grown disappointed with her record on reform and transparency.
“I do not feel like it’s an uphill fight. The fact of the matter is, I’m a Black woman in America. People are betting against us every single day. We know we don’t have it easy. We know we’re viewed by a different lens. But, that doesn’t mean we’re not ready for the fight,” the mayor said.
Fran Spielman has more from the campaign trail here.
More news you need
- A man found with a cord around his neck today near Ford City Mall had been killed in a “gruesome attack,” police said. A witness called police after finding the man, between 40 and 50 years old, unresponsive in a parking lot in the 4300 block of West Ford City Drive, police said.
- A man with half a dozen robbery convictions on his record armed himself with a machete last week and went on a “crime spree, wreaking havoc” across the Northwest Side, county prosecutors said today. The 35-year-old is charged with robbing four people since last Friday and is suspected in seven other attacks.
- Nineteen candidates are vying to fill the vacancy created by Ald. Michael Scott Jr.’s resignation and get a leg up on the next election by winning Mayor Lightfoot’s second City Council appointment. The list of candidates includes Scott’s sister, Monique Scott.
- Chicago Public Schools is setting aside $70 million for a new Near South high school, giving the community a major boost in its yearslong push for a new building in or near Chinatown. The district’s investment is on top of the $50 million the Illinois Legislature allocated to the project two years ago. The funding doesn’t officially green-light a new school, but it’s a step in that direction, our Nader Issa reports.
A bright one
Two Chicago artists recipients of 2022 Joyce Awards
Chicago-based artists Aram Han Sifuentes and Nancy García Loza have been named recipients of this year’s Joyce Foundation Joyce Awards, which support collaborations between BIPOC artists and leading arts organizations around the Great Lakes region. Han Sifuentes and García Loza will work with Korean community organization HANA Center and the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA), respectively.
Artist-arts organization pairings are awarded $75,000, of which $50,000 will fund a new work designed to strengthen the local community and engage residents in the creative process; the remaining $25,000 goes to the artist as a stipend. This year’s grants reflect the largest award totals to date.
Han Sifuentes and García Loza are two of five winners this year. The others come from Indianapolis, Detroit and the Twin Cities. Past winners include musical artists Terrence Blanchard and Heldao Negro; sculptor Nick Cave (whose work is featured in a retrospective currently at the Museum of Contemporary Art); and playwright Lynn Nottage.
Chicago’s winners this year “uplift immigrant voices and experiences and bring past cultural traditions into the present,” said Joyce Foundation Cultural Program Director Mia Khimm. “Across the board, they’re about strengthening community pride.”
Han Sifuentes’ work, “Citizenship for All: Storytelling for Immigrant Justice through NongGi Making,” will afford participants in a series of workshops the opportunity to sew/embroider protest banners, based on traditional NongGis. Han Sifuentes said that the NongGi will tell stories of immigration, and when held together will be an act of collective storytelling. Others, she said, will express political aspirations, like citizenship for all.
García Loza will develop a play titled “Pénjamo: A Pocha Road Trip Story” that will explore bicultural identity and tell a seldom-told side of the immigration experience: that of becoming a citizen and the subsequent visit to one’s original hometown — in this case, Jalisco, Mexico. The story is based on her father’s path to citizenship in 1988 following the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which granted citizenship to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country before 1982. The storyline will also incorporate memories of the trip they took to Mexico as well as family audio recordings and home movies.
Michael Loria has more with Han Sifuentes and Garcia here.
From the press box
- Rick Morrissey goes in on the golf stars bailing on the PGA Tour: “LIV Golf should be a shock to the system, a wakeup call for anyone who holds these golfers in high regard.”
- What does Bears’ OTA bust tell us about Matt Eberflus?
- Akiem Hicks didn’t exactly have complimentary words for his former team’s quarterbacks now that he’s in Tampa Bay.
Your daily question ☕
If you were in charge of your favorite Chicago sports team for a day, what’s the first thing you’d do?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday we asked you: Chicagoans — what’s something you love about your neighborhood?
Here’s what some of you said…
“Since the 60s we’ve stayed connected and usually have an annual picnic for the oldtimers!” — Jeanette Samuels Battle
“My neighborhood is very quiet and family-oriented. We all look out for each other.” — Jenny Morales
“Buena Park. So pretty and safe, considering we are in the heart of the city. Can walk to Wrigley Field, the running trail in the park, nice restaurants and bars with patios — even all the way to the Music Box if you are a good walker. We love it here.” — Rosemary Dolan Lesh
“I can hear at least five different languages being spoken as walk through my neighborhood.” — Rafael Rodriguez
“Tree-lined streets, great neighbors and no litter.” — Kelly Eubank-Berendt
“Diversity, and different restaurants!” — Joyce Jones
“It’s close to everything. Lots of Black-owned businesses.” — Mia Johnson
“The yards and parks and beautiful architecture of the homes.” — Delicia Harrell
“All of the local small businesses that truly make up a neighborhood.” — Nancy Marszewski
“The great variety of restaurants and easy public transportation.” — Roger Amundson
Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
