Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
And happy Friday.
After some overcast skies this week, we’re in for a beautiful weekend, with sunny skies in the forecast and temps in the low 80s.
Of course, that means there’s no shortage of ways to get out and enjoy the weather the next few days. I know that if I’m not outside chilling in a park, I’ll probably be searching for cider this weekend at Lincoln Square’s Apple Fest — or greeting the full moon at Chinatown’s Moon Festival Saturday.
Below, I’ve got a few other weekend plans listed for your consideration. 👇
Plus, we’ve got the community news you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
How much have volunteers been spending to help ease the migrant crisis at police stations?
Filling a void: While thousands of migrants await permanent housing, Chicagoans have made serving families at police stations their mission, cooking food and bringing clothing and bedding — even offering legal aid. While the city has opened some shelters, the number of migrants at police stations continues to increase as the pace of arrivals has accelerated. As of Thursday, with over 15,000 total arrivals, 2,300 were sleeping at police stations.
Who’s stepping up?: Much of the care for the city’s newest arrivals is falling on regular Chicagoans, and it’s costing them millions, according to a budget estimate from Annie Gomberg, a volunteer with the Police Station Response Team. Other aid groups include Todo Para Todos, which ran an independent shelter for months in Pilsen, and the Mobile Migrant Health Team, a group of volunteer medical students and health care professionals providing care at stations.
Groups need funding: The groups all quickly set up fundraising pages to recoup what they were paying out of pocket, but they also hoped the city would eventually step in. “Yet, we’re still not getting the resources,” said Britt Hodgdon, another volunteer. While the volunteer network caring for migrants at police stations is showing signs of strain, migrants like Winter Navas wonder where they would be without it. Knowing his background in graphic design, volunteers asked him to design a logo for the group as part of a fundraising campaign. He riffed on the Chicago flag, replacing the stars with butterflies, a creature which he views as a metaphor for migrants.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
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Chicago Ford plant pickets: The United Auto Workers strike that began two weeks ago at limited locations for the Detroit Three automakers spread to Chicago Friday as the union sent workers at the Ford assembly plant to the picket lines. About 25,000 of UAW’s 150,000 members are now involved in job actions against the automakers, union officials said.
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Probe clears cops: An investigation into explosive allegations that Chicago cops engaged in sexual misconduct with migrants has been closed without finding any wrongdoing, the city’s police oversight agency announced today, saying investigators were unable to find any victims of the alleged abuse.
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Fraud charges for former ComEd CEO: The Securities and Exchange Commission Thursday charged Exelon, ComEd and former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore with fraud in the bribery scandal involving former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan that led to Pramaggiore’s criminal conviction this year.
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Parents, activists implore CPS: During a Board of Education meeting Thursday night, community activists criticized Chicago Public Schools leaders for not doing more to examine and address an educational achievement gap between Black students and other racial groups.
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Trump Tower breaking rules, attorney general says: Chicago’s Trump International Hotel and Tower has continued to skirt laws and regulations related to its intake and discharge of water in the Chicago River, the Illinois attorney general’s office alleges.
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Trailblazing DJ remembered: Teri Bristol was something of a novelty — a woman in the DJ booth — when she started spinning records in the 1980s at clubs in Chicago. But her music eventually was heard all over the city, country and world — helping to pave the way for other women in the field. She died Monday at age 66.
- All-Chicago baseball team: The Cubs might miss the playoffs, and the White Sox might lose 100 games, but things haven’t been all bad. These are our sports reporters’ picks for the city’s best lineup, starting pitcher and three-man bullpen based on this season.
WEEKEND PLANS 🎉
🛼 Nature Skate
Friday, 6-8 p.m.
📍Beaubien Woods, West Doty, southeast of East 130th and South Ellis
Roll along to some good music with good people at this fun outdoor event, where nonmotorized wheels are welcome.
Admission: Free
🍎 Lincoln Square Ravenswood Apple Fest
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.
📍Lincoln Avenue between Lawrence and Sunnyside
The beloved tradition returns this weekend, featuring dozens of vendors selling apples, cider and apple-themed food. Plus there’s music and children’s activities.
Admission: $5 suggested donation
🌕 Chinatown Mid-Autumn Moon Festival
Saturday, noon-10 p.m.
📍Chinatown Square, 2130 S. Archer
Chicagoans are invited to gaze at a movie and the moon during Saturday’s celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, in Chinatown.
Admission: Free
🍻 Beer in the Woods
Saturday, 2-6 p.m.
📍LaBagh Woods, 5275 N. Cicero Ave, Grove 2
An all-ages fest for drinkers and nondrinkers, this fest features local craft beer and beverages. Plus — such activities as a guided nature walk and creating art. All proceeds support forest preserves causes.
Admission: $55+
🎶 Tank and the Bangas + Chicago Philharmonic
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
📍Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Ida B. Wells
The Grammy-winning, New Orleans-based band joins forces with the Chicago Philharmonic for an orchestral concert experience.
Admission: $39+
🎭 Destino: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival
Through Nov. 12
📍Theaters throughout the city
Presented by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, the sixth-annual edition of this series showcases productions ranging from new solo shows to large-scale pieces.
Admission: Prices vary by production.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Director Matthew A. Cherry’s ‘Young Love’ is a celebration of Black families in Chicago
Reporting by Erin Allen and Mendy Kong | WBEZ
Before Matthew Cherry was a director, or even an NFL football player, he was a kid growing up on the Northwest Side of Chicago, traveling an hour each way to attend Loyola Academy in Wilmette.
Now, his new animated show on Max, “Young Love,” features a Black family living on the West Side.
The show is a continuation of Cherry’s Oscar award-winning short film, “Hair Love,” which was widely celebrated for its genuine look into Black families and hair.
The new series centers on 7-year-old Zuri Young Love (Brooke Monroe Conaway) and her parents Angela Young (Issa Rae) and Stephen Love (Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescodi).
For Cherry, it was a priority to set the show in Chicago and really celebrate the people that make this city great.
“Chicago is everything. Chicago is hardworking. People that work 9-5s, they’re trying to survive, they’re trying to live, but they also have bigger dreams that they’re trying to work toward,” he says. “They’re also present for their families, and that’s what we’re representing.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s one Chicago restaurant or bar that feels like home to you? Tell us why.
Email us (please include your first and last name and where you live). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
