Good morning, Chicago.
The Chicago Police Department’s bolstered training in the execution of search warrants will soon mean an increase in residential searches by CPD officers, Superintendent Larry Snelling told a federal judge yesterday.
“Once we get all our officers trained up, we can now go back to doing some of those residential search warrants that we were doing in the past, but we will be doing them in the most professional way possible,” Snelling told U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer during a status hearing in the city’s consent decree.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sam Charles.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a new patrol plan for the CTA, what to know about the Big East Tournament and a love story in letters set in roaring 1920s Chicago.
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Tornado, large hail sweep through Kankakee Tuesday amid severe thunderstorm warnings
Ashlyn Villarreal was driving home from work selling cars in Kankakee last night when she saw a flash of lightning and “gumball”-size hail. Suddenly, the gumballs turned into softballs and the glass on her Mustang’s windshield cracked, cutting her hands.
“I could just feel the glass shatter all around me,” recalled Villarreal, 31, who said the hail came “out of nowhere.”
She took cover at a gas station near her home in West Kankakee with several other people, who, like her, were stunned by the severe weather that day in Kankakee and much of Illinois, as a tornado and large hail hit the area.
Retirement of US Rep Danny Davis sparks scramble — and flood of PAC dollars — for seat
A crowded race in one of America’s bluest congressional districts has grown increasingly hostile, as candidates to succeed longtime U.S. Rep. Danny Davis battle to prove their anti-President Donald Trump bona fides while navigating national divisions within the Democratic Party that are driving the Chicago primary contest.
Cook County Board president race hinges on whether voters want steady hand or new course
Toni Preckwinkle is chasing history, trying to match the record tenure as leader of the Cook County Board. Her opponent in the Democratic primary is trying to make that longevity her biggest weakness.
In overwhelmingly blue Cook County, Preckwinkle or Ald. Brendan Reilly will be the prohibitive favorite to win in the November general election, too, overseeing the budgets of the county’s sprawling criminal justice system and property tax offices, plus the its hospitals and clinics, land bank and forest preserves. The winner will lead the 17-member board but also take on the unofficial role as convener and sometimes referee of the county’s fractious elected officials.
CTA brings in Cook County sheriff’s police to patrol trains as it looks to appease feds
Police from the Cook County sheriff’s office will patrol the CTA as the mass transit agency tries to head off threats from the Trump administration that it must shape up on crime or risk losing millions in federal funding.
Nominee to lead Chicago animal control draws critics and defenders ahead of confirmation vote
A week ahead of a vote to determine the leadership of Chicago Animal Care and Control, officials and advocates are tangled in a heated battle over the current nominee.
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder sentenced to 3 years on probation for federal IRS charge
U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana Chief Judge Holly Brady read the sentencing and said she reached the decision based on many factors, including former Portage Mayor James Snyder being “embroiled in this case” for nearly 10 years.
‘Most stupid fraud in history’: Suburban man gets 10 years in prison for $14M fraud tied to COVID-19 loans
A south suburban man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison in a massive, $14 million fraud scheme where he collected kickbacks for filing more than 1,500 bogus loan applications at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Big East Tournament preview: No. 6 seed DePaul looks to keep moving in ‘positive direction’
DePaul’s 16-15 overall record this season improved upon last year’s 14-20, 4-16 finish in coach Chris Holtmann’s first season. The Blue Demons swept conference series against Marquette, Creighton and Seton Hall.
They’ll look to keep moving in a positive direction starting today, when they face No. 11 seed Georgetown in the first round at 8 p.m. on Peacock. The teams split two regular-season meetings.
- Nick Martinelli, feeling ‘senior urgency,’ drives Northwestern to a win over Penn State in Big Ten Tournament
- Illinois’ Keaton Wagler selected as Big Ten Freshman of the Year by coaches and media
Column: Hall of Fame cap saga finally ends for Chicago Cubs great Andre Dawson
It took longer than he anticipated, but Andre Dawson finally came to an agreement with the Baseball Hall of Fame regarding his plaque in Cooperstown, writes Paul Sullivan.
Artists warn gentrification is pushing them out of Pilsen, a hub for Mexican mural art. Some are fighting to stay.
In the past decade, at least 12 Pilsen cultural spaces that frequently hosted art and music events have closed, according to Jackie Rodriguez and Gina Pacheco-Gamboa. The two founded 18th Street Casa de Cultura, where they organize cultural gatherings, concerts and art events.
Column: ‘Dear Rhoda’ is a love story in letters set in roaring 1920s Chicago
Rick Kogan asks: When was the last time you wrote a letter? Not a text. Not a tweet. But a real, ink on paper letter?
It’s becoming a vanishing art. But a pack of letters written between 1924 and 1928 form the foundation of a delightfully clever play, “Dear Rhoda,” which gives you a pair of letter-writing lovers set against a roaring Chicago era with a pack of characters and places that include ill-fated Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Carl Sandburg, Ben Hecht, Fanny Brice, the bohemian neighborhood of Tower Town, Clarence Darrow, Sophie Tucker, and a hangout called the Dill (often spelled Dil) Pickle Club.
