Good morning, Chicago.
Homeowner Maha Amin moved three dozen sandbags from the trunk of her car to her driveway Thursday, bracing for more flooding in Des Plaines. After 16 years in her home without flooding incidents, she watched as a couple feet of stormwater poured into her basement during Sunday’s storm, destroying her clothes, furniture and TV.
After days of hauling out waterlogged belongings, Amin had to take a week off work to fortify her home with sandbags as flood risks linger into the weekend.
“It is really, really bad,” she said. “I need all those bags and, still, I don’t know if it will be enough or not.”
Amin lives with her dog, Jojo, and cat, Katyosha, who haven’t ventured back into the basement since the flooding began.
“They stay up with me,” Amin said. “They don’t go down anymore since the first time the water came. They don’t want to go down.”
Des Plaines was among the Chicago suburbs in Cook and Lake counties along the Des Plaines River experiencing flooding due to recent rainfall. Areas near the river from just east of O’Hare International Airport north to the Wisconsin border were under a flood warning due to the river’s rising levels, according to the National Weather Service. Agency officials expected the river to crest — when it reaches its highest peak before receding — over the weekend.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Madeline King and Christiana Freitag.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: what fundraising reports for Chicago mayoral hopefuls say, why Cook County tax bills will be late this summer and a look back from Vintage Chicago Tribune at how the city welcomed home American astronauts.
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Illinois bill would force one-year expulsions for students who commit sexual assault
Families of victims from across Illinois are pushing lawmakers to pass a bill mandating that students who commit sexual assault or attempt to do so at school, school-sponsored events or events with a “reasonable relationship to school” receive a minimum one-year expulsion.
Alexi Giannoulias dominates mayoral hopeful fundraising with $12 million haul
In the crowded field of candidates committed to or flirting with a run for mayor of Chicago, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias again dominated fundraising to start the year. Giannoulias raised more than $12 million in the first quarter of 2026, according to state campaign finance records, a sum far larger than the combined total for seven other likely candidates. The money, much of it from trade labor unions and some of Chicago’s wealthiest residents, would give Giannoulias an instant advantage if he enters the race.
Five other candidates running or weighing campaigns as less progressive counterparts to Mayor Brandon Johnson raised more than $100,000, evidence that February 2027’s election will likely again feature a crowded field.
‘R-rated Groundhog Day’: Cook County tax bills will be late this summer, officials predict
Cook County property tax bills will be late again this year, the treasurer’s office bluntly affirmed this week, as various offices continue to try to catch up from last year’s troubles and address lingering ones.
At a hearing of the county’s technology committee, department leaders briefed the county board on the bad news, plus progress of the ongoing property tax upgrade. Commissioners’ key concerns were what to tell homeowners about bill timing or long-delayed refunds and local libraries and schools about detailed revenue projections.
City reaches deal to shut down Ford City Mall over safety concerns, but remaining retail tenants want more time
Chicago’s historic Ford City Mall, a shopping destination for generations of local residents ever since its 1965 opening in a renovated airplane factory, appears headed toward closure.
City officials reached an agreement this week with property owner Namdar Realty Group to shut down the main mall after two years of fruitless attempts to repair a malfunctioning fire suppression system and stop frequent flooding, Assistant Corporation Counsel Greg Janes said Thursday at a hearing in Cook County court.
Mayor Brandon Johnson says ‘May 1 is happening,’ despite pushback from CPS CEO
Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday that “May 1 is happening,” signaling his support for the nationwide day of protest as the Chicago Teachers Union continues to urge the school district to cancel classes so that students and staff can participate.
“We have an opportunity in this moment to push the narrative, not just at the federal level, but for Chicago and the state of Illinois to show up on behalf of working people,” said Johnson, a former CTU organizer and close ally of the union.
Family, friends say farewell to Hyde Park student killed at bus stop: ‘I thought I was gonna get to go to a graduation’
Eric Billops was standing at a bus stop Wednesday afternoon as Hyde Park Academy High School was letting out for the day when witnesses told police another person in a school uniform came up to him, took a gun out of a book bag and started to fire.
Billops, 16, was shot several times and was pronounced dead soon afterward, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune. A 16-year-old girl was shot in the calf, per the report.
On Thursday, about 40 of the boy’s relatives and friends gathered at a balloon release near the scene of the shooting, struggling to make sense of the violent act.
Judge gives 25 years to Chicago man convicted of aiding Islamic State terrorist group
A federal judge Thursday sentenced a former Chicago IT specialist to 25 years in prison for helping the Islamic State terrorist group through a media campaign that encouraged attacks, celebrated beheadings and other gruesome violence and taunted Western culture with memes like a headless Santa delivering a bomb.
Did the Chicago Sky give up shots at JuJu Watkins and Sarah Strong by trading their next 2 1st-round picks?
Without owning their first-round pick in either draft, the Sky don’t have a likely path to landing either star, unless both the Sky and Mystics miss the playoffs this year. The Sky do own the Atlanta Dream’s next two first-rounders from the Angel Reese trade, but the Dream are projected to be title contenders with their picks likely falling well outside the lottery.
‘Ted Lasso’s’ Brendan Hunt talks about his roots in Chicago improv — and the show he’s debuting here
Brendan Hunt is premiering a new autobiographical solo show, “The Movement You Need,” at the Steppenwolf Theatre, with preview performances beginning this next week ahead of an April 26 opening. Hunt, 53, grew up in Chicago’s West Lakeview neighborhood and began his career in Chicago storefront theater, performing with such companies as City Lit and ComedySportz.
Vintage Chicago Tribune: How the city welcomed home American astronauts
Artemis II’s lunar crew discussed their historic mission to the dark side of the moon on Thursday — six days after returning to Earth. They spoke of their difficulties with the Orion capsule’s toilet but also reflected on the feeling of being “small and powerless, but yet powerful together.”
During the 1960s and 1970s, Chicago reunited with beloved space pioneers by welcoming the astronauts home with grand parades, celebratory banquets and even question and answer sessions with local students. Here’s a look back.
