Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a five-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 72 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low near 53. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 77. Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high near 76.
Top story
Cardinal Blase Cupich is still keeping secrets on child sex abuse by order priests
Several years after Cardinal Blase Cupich began cracking down on religious orders to report their sexually abusive clergy members who preyed on minors, the Archdiocese of Chicago has added dozens of order priests to its online posting of predatory clergy.
But Cupich is still keeping secrets on clergy sex abuse of minors, a Chicago Sun-Times investigation has found. Even though the archdiocese instantly nearly doubled the size of its list of clergy deemed to have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children, there are significant gaps in what’s been added.
Those include the omissions of some clergy members whose orders deemed them to have molested children or who were the subject of lawsuits over predatory sexual acts that church officials settled. Among them:
The Rev. John Baptist Ormechea, a priest from the Passionists order who was deemed by church authorities to have molested children while assigned to Immaculate Conception Church on the Far Northwest Side between the late 1970s and the late 1980s. The order and the archdiocese were both sued over his misconduct and settled cases.
The Rev. Terence Fitzmaurice, a now-dead Benedictine priest who was accused in lawsuits — including one that the archdiocese settled — of having sexually assaulted children while assigned to St. Procopius Church in Pilsen, including a girl he was accused of impregnating.
And the Rev. Donald McGuire, a now-deceased Jesuit priest who worked at Loyola Academy in Wilmette whose order says the “range of his abuse spanned multiple incidents over multiple years at multiple locations.”
Robert Herguth has more on the Archdiocese’s omissions here.
More news you need
- Charges have been filed in the beating death of an 87-year-old woman in a senior living apartment building on the South Side last weekend. A 69-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday and charged with the murder of Mae Brown, Chicago police said.
- A police officer now faces dismissal in the fatal shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo after a single Chicago Police Board member ruled against the objection of Chicago’s top cop during a meeting last night. The board will now hold a disciplinary hearing where all eight members will decide officer Eric Stillman’s fate.
- Reports of hate crimes are surging in Chicago, particularly crimes targeting Jewish and African Americans, a top mayoral aide disclosed yesterday. The news comes amid fears it will only get worse as the 2024 presidential election gets closer, our Fran Spielman reports.
- A waste-hauling business the FBI said nearly 20 years ago was secretly controlled by mob figures has been hired to provide “refuse and debris removal services” on two projects at O’Hare Airport. Our Robert Herguth has more on the allegedly Chicago Outfit-tied business here.
- A group of Afghan refugees in Chicago is calling on Congress to pass the Afghan Adjustment Act, which would create a pathway for Afghans to gain permanent residency. During a news conference yesterday, group members urged Congress to provide long-term immigration protections.
- The U.S. Postal Service must “restore confidence” in its leadership after failing to address a rise in armed robberies of letter carriers, Chicago-area lawmakers say. In a letter sent to the USPS Board of Governors, the lawmakers blasted the agency’s “inadequate response” to address the rise in robberies of letter carriers.
- Shortly after she left her state job as a senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Nikki Budzinski collected more than $500,000 in consulting and other fees in 10 months, including more than $80,000 from a Springfield lobbyist. That lobbyist is one Budzinski had helped while working for the governor, a Better Government Association investigation has found. Budzinski is now running for Congress.
- Former President Barack Obama has endorsed Gov. Pritzker for reelection. In a statewide ad released today, Obama credits Pritzker for making Illinois a national leader on Democratic issues like abortion and voting rights.
A bright one
Pilsen artists to open studio doors to the public
A bevy of artists on the Lower West Side will open their studios to the public this weekend for the 20th annual Pilsen Open Studios event.
The event includes 31 home studios and gallery spaces this year. It runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. No registration is necessary. Free mural tours leave the Pilsen Arts and Community House, 1637 W. 18th St., at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday.
The home studio remains integral to the event while the number of participating galleries has increased since 2003.
“When you go into an artist studio you see all the stuff you’re not really supposed to see, all the unfinished thoughts,” said Denise Trujillo, a surrealist mixed-media painter and five-time participant.
The event received $5,000 from the city to pay for activities such as mural tours and live music.
A map of the event can be found on the Pilsen Arts and Community House website.
Michael Loria has more on Pilsen Open Studios here.
From the press box
- Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on the failed Justin Fields pass attempt to a wide-open Ryan Griffin against Washington: “It’s simple. The guys did a good job. We just missed the throw.”
- Ahead of the Blackhawks’ jersey retirement for Marian Hossa’s No. 81, Ben Pope looks at the franchise’s search for the right approach to honoring other dynasty era players like Patrick Sharp and Niklas Hjalmarsson.
- What’s Christopher Morel’s long-term role in Chicago? Here’s why one Cubs insider compared the talented hitter to Kris Bryant.
- As an NBA play-by-play announcer, Chuck Swirsky doesn’t have the time to share much about himself with his listeners. But his new book, “Always a Pleasure,” will give fans a chance. Swirsky spoke with our Jeff Agrest about the book and why he wrote it.
Your daily question☕
What four local icons would you put on a Chicago Mt. Rushmore?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: Growing up, where was the best place in Chicago to go trick-or-treating?
Here’s what some of you said ...
“Mid-80s, we would trick-or-treat down Broadway starting around Belmont and hit all the stores on one side of the street. Once at Diversey, we’d ride the glass elevator to the top of the Century Mall, work our way down the ramps stopping at the shops for candy, then back down Broadway on the opposite side of the street.” — Altair de la O
“Harper Ave in Hyde Park! Between 59th - 57th street especially. Best candy, best Halloween decorations and the best memories. For years they did it up on that street and it was the best place to trick or treat.” — Monica Chapman
“I grew up in the Back of the Yards neighborhood through the 1960s and 1980s. It was the best neighborhood. The playground near my house put on a haunted house, carnival and lantern walk around the blocks surrounding the playground. Homeowners sat on their porches waiting for us to walk by with our handmade lanterns. When the events were over, we went trick-or-treating on the way home. It was awesome.” — Nancy Marszewski
“Commercial Ave back in the 1960s in South Chicago. We had stores from 83 to 92st. Then we’d hit all the houses on the way back home.” — Dave Martinez
“Oh my goodness Beverly! They gave away bags of candy, big candy bars or had the scout’s honor giveaways — take one or two pieces from a pumpkin at the front door!” — Jeanette Samuels Battle
“Lived in Villa Park, my dad would take us to Elmhurst the night before Halloween to get 5-cent candy bars in the rich neighborhoods. I believe Halloween night was the parties at the schools.” — Kathy Albertson Barnes
“I am a 1950s girl. Our neighborhood was so wonderful. We lived near O’Hare and our neighborhood was spooky. Very little street lighting. No sidewalks. Houses far apart. We loved it.” — Pat Fitzmaurice
“Near North Side, the Gold Coast area, they gave money.” — Joyce Jones
“Just walked my neighborhood, West Lawn, back in the 1970s & 1980s.” — Jennifer Reyes
“In the 1970s, 26th street in Little Village. The bakeries would give out cookies and the rest of the stores gave out candy. Everyone in the neighborhood hit 26th street. (Kostner to Kedzie).” — Anna Antillon
“Michael Jordan’s house, he handed out full-size bars, and or gift certificates to McDonald’s or something. If he was home and not working.” — Dan LaBuda
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