Good morning, Chicago.
A business formerly tied to a small funeral parlor on the Northwest Side was improperly awarded a city contract last year worth millions of dollars to transport bodies for the Chicago Police Department, a newly filed lawsuit alleges.
Wallace-Harrison Funeral Home Inc., which formerly operated inside Rago Brothers Funeral Home at 7751 W. Irving Park Road, was awarded the $4.4 million contract in 2025 to transport deceased remains to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The contract was previously held by Allied Services Group, which filed the lawsuit this week in Cook County Circuit Court.
The lawsuit alleges the city terminated its contract with Allied more than a month before it was set to expire. Further, Allied claims the city awarded the contract to Wallace-Harrison despite “obvious” failings in its bid, including a skeleton crew staff, a failure to hold insurance and noncompliance with city rules governing women- and minority-owned businesses.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sam Charles.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including an interview with Mayor Brandon Johnson ahead of his three-year mark in office, a closer look at the Bears’ 2026 schedule and inside the new TimeLine Theatre.
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Supreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill while lawsuit plays out
The Supreme Court yesterday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.
The court’s order allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the drug, mifepristone, at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Access is likely to remain uninterrupted at least until into next year as the case plays out, including a potential appeal to the high court.
Rescinded dinner invitation is at the center of a suit filed against the Union League Club of Chicago
The Union League Club of Chicago, a storied private institution founded nearly 150 years ago in the wake of the Civil War, is facing its own internecine battle — and a lawsuit — over a rescinded dinner party invitation.
Steven Goodwin, 63, a Chicago-based investment adviser who has been a Union League member since 2009 and formerly served on its board, is suing the club after he was suspended for refusing to disinvite his date to an annual dinner.
Mayor Brandon Johnson decries further cuts to CPS in district’s budget plan
During an interview with the Tribune ahead of his three-year mark in office, the mayor responded to questions on planned cuts to teaching positions in the next school year by saying the nation’s fourth-largest school district needs to spend more, not less.
$13 million proposed settlement latest in police torture case tied to ex-Cmdr. Burge
City attorneys are recommending aldermen approve a $13 million taxpayer-funded settlement for a man allegedly tortured by Chicago police into a false confession that landed him in prison for 26 years.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Law Department plans to urge the City Council Finance Committee to advance the deal Monday for Arnold Day, who confessed to two separate 1991 slayings.
All 22 linked to ‘Greek’ Northwest Indiana gambling ring plead not guilty
All 22 people linked to an alleged Northwest Indiana gambling ring pleaded guilty yesterday at the U.S. District Courthouse in Hammond.
Prosecutors named James “Jimmy the Greek” Gerodemos, of Schererville, and Dean “Dean Gem” Gialamas, of Naperville, as leaders of Gerodemos Gambling Organization, which they ran out of the Paragon in Hobart and Gino’s Steak House in Merrillville.
Frustrated teens and parents say Humboldt Park designer failed to fulfill prom dresses
Scores of people gathered outside Makeda E. Designs design shop Wednesday evening after being told their dresses and suits would be complete, according to a police report obtained by the Tribune.
Each of them said they had already paid for their outfits in full, according to the report. Some of them have proms as soon as this weekend to attend. When they arrived, witnesses said the doors were locked and designer Makeda Evans stopped answering her phone.
Chicago Bears 2026 schedule: A closer look at each game — and our writers’ predictions
The Bears are ready for the national spotlight — at least in the NFL schedule-makers’ minds.
Here’s a breakdown of the full schedule, along with our Bears writers’ takes on what it all means for the Bears.
Chicago baseball report: Cubs and White Sox anticipating electric atmosphere for Round 1 of City Series
The Cubs return to Chicago looking to regroup after a challenging trip while the Sox head into the City Series playing their best baseball of the young season.
- White Sox ride Randal Grichuk’s big night to sweep of Kansas City Royals — and they move above .500
- Ben Brown delivers another stellar start, tossing 4 shutout innings in Cubs’ 2-0 win to snap skid
CYSO goes big for its 80th, including a commission from a Grammy winner
The organization is looking ahead to 80. The CYSO’s premier ensemble will return to Lollapalooza this summer after becoming the first orchestra in the festival’s history to headline its own set. Though full season programming is still under wraps, more premieres are on the docket.
Inside the new TimeLine Theatre
Timeline’s new theater complex is at 5035 N. Broadway in Uptown, in the stretch north of Lawrence and south of Foster Avenue. The Argyle stop on the CTA Red Line is a block away.
It’s a $46 million project built within the shell of a historic storage warehouse that was built by the W.C. Reebie and Brother Company in the 1910s, and the big vertical sign is easily visible to anyone traveling past.
