Good morning, Chicago.
Of all the players swirling in the bribery scandal involving former House Speaker Michael Madigan, from precinct captains and political directors to legislators and lobbyists, one man held the ultimate catbird seat: Michael Francis McClain.
As a longtime lobbyist for utility giant Commonwealth Edison who doubled as Madigan’s closest confidant, McClain toiled for years in relative obscurity, known mostly by Springfield insiders and political reporters as the former legislator from downstate Quincy with the thick prescription glasses who always seemed to be hanging around Madigan’s office suite in the Capitol.
But it was through his close relationship with Illinois’ most powerful and reticent politician, prosecutors say, that McClain was able to leverage knowledge of the speaker’s thinking to induce ComEd executives to lavish money on Madigan’s cronies and scramble to meet his myriad other demands.
Now, more than two years after McClain’s conviction in the historic “ComEd Four” bribery case, McClain is scheduled to learn his fate today at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where he faces sentencing in what has become one of the biggest bribery scandals in state history.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including the $40 million investment to upgrade Chicago’s homeless shelters, where NASCAR will race next year and why chocolate prices remain near record highs.
Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
Attorney General Pam Bondi told Trump his name appeared in Epstein files
Attorney General Pam Bondi informed President Donald Trump in the spring that his name appeared in the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to three people with knowledge of the exchange.
University of Chicago considers restructuring arts and humanities division to cut costs
The University of Chicago is considering a substantial restructuring of the school’s Division of the Arts and Humanities to cut costs, citing historic financial strain under the Trump administration.
Chicago’s quantum campus gets another tenant
Quantum company Infleqtion will become a tenant of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park at the former U.S. Steel South Works plant, Gov. JB Pritzker announced yesterday.
Mayor Brandon Johnson announces $40 million to upgrade Chicago’s homeless shelters
Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Family & Support Services announced yesterday a $40 million investment to “modernize” homeless shelters throughout the city, calling it the “largest local shelter capital investment in Chicago’s history.”
Aurora City Council delays consideration of grocery tax extension
The Aurora City Council pushed back a vote to extend a 1% grocery tax that has been in place statewide for decades but is set to expire at the end of this year.
Illinois first put in place the grocery tax in 1990 to help fund local governments, but it was repealed by a state bill passed last year. However, that bill allowed cities and villages to set their own tax to replace the statewide one, which Aurora is considering doing.
Today in Chicago History: 844 people drowned aboard the Eastland in the Chicago River
On this day in 1915: The SS Eastland — packed with Western Electric Co. employees and their families for a day trip to Michigan City, Indiana — rolled to its side in the Chicago River between LaSalle Drive and Clark Street. More than 840 people of the 2,500 aboard died, many of them trapped inside the vessel as water poured in when the ship tipped over only a few feet from the riverbank.
After hitting pause in Chicago, NASCAR announces San Diego street race for 2026
With Chicago on hold, NASCAR announced yesterday that it is headed to San Diego next summer to host a new street race weekend on an active naval base.
The three-day event, dubbed the NASCAR San Diego Weekend, will take place in June 2026, filling the void on the schedule left by the Chicago Street Race, which last week was paused after three years.
Chicago baseball report: Final City Series of 2025 between the Cubs and White Sox begins Friday at Rate Field
The City Series returns with Part 2 beginning Friday at Rate Field. The Cubs swept the three-game series May 16-18 at Wrigley Field, outscoring the Sox 26-8.
This round arrives as the July 31 trade deadline nears. The Cubs are in a position to buy while the Sox will be looking to sell.
- As Cubs drop Kansas City Royals series, improving the pitching staff remains trade deadline priority
- White Sox rally twice to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays 11-9 and complete a 5-1 road trip
‘Washington Black’ review: Escaping enslavement becomes a rip-roaring adventure
Tribune film and TV critic Nina Metz writes: What does “somewhere safe” mean when a bounty hunter is on your trail? In the Hulu adventure series “Washington Black,” that location has been Halifax, Nova Scotia — at least temporarily — for the title character who, as a boy, escaped enslavement on a sugar plantation in early 19th century Barbados.
Hershey and other chocolate makers hike prices as cocoa remains near record highs
Here’s the good news: The Hershey Co. says it’s not raising prices for Halloween candy this year.
But here’s the bad news: Hershey and other chocolate makers are continuing to hike prices, saying a volatile cocoa market gives them no choice.
