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 sunny with a high near 61 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 49. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 63.
Top story
Mother thanks her ‘angel on Earth’ for staying with wounded son after Lincoln Park shooting
The “boom” of gunfire outside his Lincoln Park home jolted Dave Hussar out of his pre-dawn sleep.
Hussar looked out of his window to see a man standing, gun in hand, over another man.
Then Hussar saw the man with the gun pull the trigger.
“At the time, I thought these two people knew each other because I didn’t think anyone could just shoot someone without some sort of history there. It was just so cold,” Hussar said Monday.
Hussar went outside to help on that May 6 night — and for that, Dakotah Earley’s mother says she is eternally grateful.
Joy Dobbs met her culinary student son’s “angel on Earth” for the first time Monday at City Hall and accompanied by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), who is Hussar’s neighbor.
“I wanted to meet the person who took the time and the courage to not only dial 911 but to come out and be with my son so that he was not alone,” Dobbs said.
Dobbs and Hussar hugged tightly, with Dobbs whispering “thank you.”
Tyshon Brownlee, 19, has been charged in the attack on Earley and in four other armed robberies on the North Side.
Hussar said Monday that he was worried to leave his house — and his wife and two children — because he didn’t know if Earley was armed. He found Earley lying facedown
“‘Hey man, I’m here to help. Hold on,’” Hussar said he told Earley. “I told him help was on the way and not to give up.”
Stefano Esposito has the full story here.
More news you need
- The City Council vote on Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s curfew crackdown will have to wait until Wednesday after a pair of mayoral allies used a parliamentary maneuver to push it back following a barrage of criticism from all sides. Fran Spielman has more from Monday’s City Council meeting.
- One ordinance introduced today appears aimed at preventing a repeat of the tragic oversight that apparently contributed to the deaths of three residents at a senior living facility in Rogers Park during the heat wave earlier this month. The proposal would adjust the city’s mandatory heat requirements, giving building owners more freedom to switch from heat to cool, or vice versa.
- And in our final update from City Hall, dozens of City Council members called today for a special meeting to demand answers from Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown and other top mayoral aides on their plans to prevent the traditional summer surge of violence. Mayoral challenger Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) is leading the call for the city’s top cop to appear before the “Committee of the Whole,” meaning all 50 alderpersons.
- Jon Seidel and Tina Sfondeles report on a federal recording in which former House Speaker Michael Madigan, while discussing a potential appointment to the ComEd board of directors in 2018 with longtime confident Michael McClain, joked that “maybe I’ll take the appointment.” The comment offers “a rare glimpse into the once-powerful — but reclusive — politician’s personality and humor,” Seidel and Sfondeles write.
- Tricia Despres spoke to the SteelDrivers ahead of their shows later this week at the City Winery. The group would not be opposed to Bill Murray making a surprise appearance, as he’s been known to do.
A bright one
What cyclists love — and hate — about biking in Chicago
Chicagoans love their bikes, and they eagerly share their favorite routes to ride in the city.
Local cyclists also are quick to spout their frustrations and concerns, from safety to inadequate infrastructure. Those worries have been underscored this spring by a series of crashes that have killed riders at busy intersections.
WBEZ recently asked Chicagoans their thoughts on biking in the city — the good and the bad — and what questions they had for City Hall transportation officials. Questions and comments from nearly 200 cyclists poured in. (See their questions — and the city’s answers — in our sidebar.)
Among the things they love: the “606 trail” and protected bike lanes.
There’s a whole lot of praise for the roughly 3-mile elevated trail that transformed a former rail line into a popular bike artery between Ridgeway and Ashland avenues.
A Hermosa resident said the 606 is his “favorite Chicago feature” and said “everywhere besides the 606 is frustrating by comparison.”
Other survey respondents said time of day makes a difference when it comes to the 606: Many often opt to get out early and have the car-free passage nearly to themselves or “when it rains and no one is around,” as Belmont Cragin resident and year-round cyclist Laurie Wettstead responded.
From the press box
- The Sky’s Candace Parker has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022.
- Former Bears QB Nick Foles is headed to the Colts.
- Jamere Dismukes, a former basketball star at now-closed Rich East who coached at Hyde Park the last two seasons, appears to be a perfect match to take on the program at Rich in the south suburbs, Joe Henricksen writes.
Your daily question ☕
What’s your favorite day trip out of the city?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
On Friday, we asked you: Where’s the best place to birdwatch in the city? Tell us why. Here’s what some of you said...
“Not Chicago, but in the Riverside/Brookfield area! We have a local eagles nest! Cardinals, blue jays, golden finches, warblers, etc. It’s sometimes unbelievable the birds and animals we get to encounter over here.” — Amber Rizzo
“Sometimes your own backyard.” — Jackie Waldhier
“Lincoln Park.” — Carrie Noble
“There are two top-notch North Side bird sanctuaries that are terrific for watching the comings and goings of migratory birds that hug the lakefront each spring and fall: Bill Jarvis Migratory Bird Sanctuary and Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, still known as the Magic Hedge. The Jarvis has a platform built up so you can watch our winged friends in a closed off area.” — Gene Tenner
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