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 partly sunny with a chance of showers and a high near 82 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low near 60. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 80.
Top story
Black-owned company wants to reopen Gresham Save A Lot
Two years after a Save A Lot closed in Gresham, plans are in the works to reopen the grocery store under new ownership.
Ohio-based Yellow Banana wants to run the replacement store under the Save A Lot name through a licensing agreement — something it already is doing at six other former Save A Lot locations in the Chicago area.
Ald. David Moore (17th) updated residents on plans for the empty building, 7908 S. Halsted St., during a July 7 Auburn Gresham community roundtable.
The Black-owned company hasn’t made an offer yet, but its plans have Moore’s backing. The company hopes to move in by year’s end.
Yellow Banana now has 38 grocery stores it operates as locally-owned Save A Lot locations, including those Chicago-area stores.
Most locations of the Yellow Banana stores are in economically disadvantaged areas, Michael Nance, one of Yellow Banana’s owners, said during the community meeting.
“I know in Chicago, the Save A Lot banner has really overstayed its welcome in many respects,” Nance said. “I know … they left with virtually no heads up to the community. But me and my business partners, we looked at this as an opportunity.”
With the help of local grant funding and private investors, Yellow Banana hopes to renovate the shuttered Save A Lot store in Gresham. They have an “ambitious” timeline of opening before the end of the year — if they get the building, that is.
Mariah Rush has more on the plan here.
More news you need
- Jeremiah Moore, 7, was asleep in his family’s van early yesterday morning when he was shot to death by someone in another car, just blocks from his home in East Chicago, Ind., according to his relatives. The vehicle drove away and police said no one was arrested.
- Police and organizers of the North Coast Music Festival, scheduled for Labor Day weekend in Bridgeview, said they are monitoring threats made to individuals and artists associated with the festival. The festival’s account tweeted a statement in response to a warning of a shooting at the festival, saying organizers have contacted law enforcement and “are handling it with the utmost seriousness.”
- Patrick Doherty, a once high-ranking Cook County official, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting to a wide-ranging set of corruption schemes totaling $148,000. The case against Doherty is tied to several individuals who have already been charged as a result of the feds’ aggressive public corruption investigations — most have already pleaded guilty.
- Longtime WXRT-FM (93.1) host Lin Brehmer said yesterday that he’ll take an extended leave of absence for chemotherapy to fight prostate cancer. Brehmer, 67, has been with ‘XRT for more than three decades, most of them as a morning man until he slid to middays in 2020.
- In his latest review, Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper covers the new Hulu documentary series, “Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons.” The well-crafted doc explores the brand’s boom years and its dark side — which included models being mistreated and a connection to Jeffrey Epstein.
A bright one
Whitney Young High School’s tennis courts get facelift, new name
Bella Mendez-Robles, an incoming junior at Whitney Young Magnet High School on the Near West Side, was happy to see her school’s newly renovated tennis courts open for play.
“I’m on the tennis team and it’s great that I’m able to play tennis with everyone at these home courts, practice my skills and make new friendships here,” the 16-year-old said.
Whitney Young’s tennis courts, now named in honor of 1985 alum and former professional tennis player Katrina Adams, opened for community use yesterday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony where Adams herself was present.
The renovations, which cost $240,000, began in March and took three months to complete. The courts got a complete resurfacing and new lines, among other improvements.
The courts, located at 110 S. Laflin St., can be booked online by community members for a fee of $15 per hour, which will be used to pay for continued upkeep.
After the ribbon-cutting, members of the community and Whitney Young students took to the courts and started playing. Adams even joined in and participated in a few games with the players.
Jordan Perkins has more on the new court here.
From the press box
- The Sky are in preliminary talks with Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts about investing in the franchise.
- The Blackhawks have signed forwards Max Domi and Andreas Athanasiou to flesh out the team’s roster.
- The Cubs’ Willson Contreras will play in next week’s All-Star Game with his brother William. They’re both lined up to start together on for the National League team.
- For this week’s high school football notebook, Mike Clark covers Naperville North’s David Olano and his commitment to Illinois and Notre Dame grabbing the state’s top prospect.
- The Bears acquired wide receiver N’Keal Harry from the Patriots.
- Dylan Cease pitched like an All-Star in the White Sox’ 7-0 win over Guardians, Daryl Van Schouwen writes in his coverage of last night’s game.
Your daily question ☕
In honor of National French Fry day, where can you find the best fries in Chicago? Explain.
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: What Chicago-set TV show gets it right when it comes to depicting our city?
Here’s what some of you said…
“None of them. All of them exaggerate what happens here. It’s almost comical. ‘The Chi’ is close, but at times it goes too far off reality.” — Brian Althimer
“‘The Bear.’ OMG — so Chicago in every way. The food, sights, sounds and people of Chicago. It’s such an excellent backdrop for this great show. Multicultural and totally Midwest so easy to identify with and watch.” — Amelia Marie
“Well you have to be writing about ‘The Shining Girls’ — Chicago is so prominently featured, including the old Sun-Times building! And ‘The Bear’ has great Chicago scenery, plus lots of spot-on Chicago references.” — Kathryn Pritscher
“Two shows that oddly enough share an actor — ‘Shameless’ and ‘The Bear.’ Both brought back soo many childhood memories.” — Heather Bynum
“The answer is easy. No, literally, the answer is ‘Easy,’ a Netflix series by Joe Swanberg.” — Chris Geatz
“I lived in the projects when I was a kid, and ‘Good Times’ did a decent job of showing what life was like in those Chicago areas.” — Hillari Hunter
“‘The Bob Newhart Show’ did a great job of 70s Chicago.” — Michael Molloy
“‘Boss’ with Kelsey Grammer is hugely underrated.” — Carter O’Brien
“I’m really fond of all of the Chicago scenes from ‘Sense8.’ You can tell that the filmmakers have actually lived in the city.” — Danielle Rue
“Of all these shows about Chicago that I turn a side eye to because it doesn’t seem authentic, ‘South Side’ on Comedy central and now on HBO Max gives the true essence of Chicago, from a South Side perspective!” — Damien Parker
“‘Early Edition.’ It revolved around stories found in the Chicago Sun-Times.” — John Noyes
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