Good morning, Chicago.
On a stretch of Halsted Street in Bridgeport, bicyclists and cars travel alongside each other, separated only by paint on the street.
There is no protective infrastructure like concrete blocks, or even plastic posts, and bicyclists often travel in a narrow strip of street between lines of parked cars and traffic.
It’s on that stretch of Halsted where city transportation planner Riley O’Neil died in a traffic crash on June 5.
O’Neil was biking south that Friday afternoon when someone opened a car door into his path, according to a witness and police source who spoke to the Tribune that day. O’Neil swerved to avoid the door, but still made contact with it and was thrown to the street, sources said, where the driver of a semitruck ran him over.
Police issued citations to a man on the scene, but no one was taken into custody. Court documents reviewed by the Tribune show the man who allegedly opened the door into O’Neil’s path has a history of traffic infractions.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Talia Soglin and Madeline Buckley.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: a look at what’s driving Chicago “teen takeovers,” how the Obama Center rethinks what a presidential library can be and our five ways to celebrate Juneteenth.
Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
Iran and US reach a tentative deal to end war as Israel rules out withdrawing from seized land
The United States and Iran reached an initial agreement early today that would extend their shaky ceasefire and lead to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but challenges immediately loomed, including Israel insisting it would hold onto land seized in Lebanon as it battles Hezbollah.
As summer heats up, what’s driving Chicago ‘teen takeovers’?
Gatherings known as “teen takeovers” or “teen trends” have become increasingly common in Chicago over the last decade, especially during the warmer months. They are sporadic, organized quickly on social media, and can sometimes end in violence or even fatal gunfire.
29 tornadoes and a derecho confirmed so far in storms that tore through Illinois, northwest Indiana
At least 29 tornadoes ripped across Illinois and northwest Indiana last week, according to preliminary reports from the National Weather Service. As residents of parts of these states were recovering and surveying the damage from a destructive derecho that swept through Wednesday night with up to 80 mph winds, they were hit again less than 24 hours later with another round of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes.
Puerto Rican People’s Parade marks 60 years since Division Street Riots
Thousands of people stood packed onto the sidewalks of West Division Street Saturday afternoon, draped in Puerto Rican flags, vying to catch a glimpse of the 48th Annual Puerto Rican People’s Parade, part of the Fiestas Patronales Puertorriqueñas.
Parade floats and performers were met with cheers and applause from the massive crowd as they ushered in vibrant color, music and Puerto Rican culture along a half-mile stretch from Campbell Avenue to North Sacramento Avenue.
Kendall County teen who faced a felony for allegedly joking about a senior prank files federal lawsuit
An October 2024 conversation — which Jackson Leggett intended as a joke — completely upended his senior year, according to a lawsuit Leggett filed last month in federal court against the school district, the superintendent, his teacher, Kendall County and a sheriff’s deputy.
The radical hope of the Obama Center: Rethinking what a presidential library can be
The Obama Presidential Center, which opens to the public on Friday, on Juneteenth, hugs the north end of Jackson Park, runs alongside a lagoon, rises 225 feet at its highest, and rolls backward down Stony Island Avenue, settling into 58,000 square feet of brilliantly green sloping lawn.
Everything about the Obama Presidential Center feels inviting, packed with meaning, deliberate, more than you expect of what is ostensibly an $850 million community center.
- Edward Keegan: Barack Obama was the shadow architect of a Chicago-style treasure box museum
- Obama Center announces public festivities for grand opening weekend
How did Jeff Blashill grade out in his 1st season as Chicago Blackhawks coach? A look at the pros and cons.
The Blackhawks needed plenty after a discouraging 2024-25 season. Included on that lengthy to-do list was a patient coach who could form art from the scraps within the United Center locker room.
Insert Jeff Blashill.
Illinois 250: Sports teams and individuals that have achieved greatness — or infamy
For the fourth installment of our Illinois 250 series, we look at teams and people in sports that have achieved greatness — or infamy.
Our list goes beyond Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, Ernie Banks and Red Grange — legends we’ll give their due later in the series.
The state’s sports history runs deep, which means this list can’t cover every accomplishment. But we highlight achievements that have left an imprint on the world.
- Illinois 250: Celebrating the state’s fabulous firsts
- Illinois 250: Art, culture, food and music made here — and then shared with the world
Having a ball: The art of voguing, born in New York, thrives in Chicago’s queer community
In 1989, at a dance club on Clark Street, a man struck a pose that changed Aaron Pierre Brown’s life.
“Casually scanning the sparse, early-evening crowd, a figure suddenly transformed from an unassuming club patron to an exaggerated mannequin, frozen in an asymmetrically, statuesque silhouette, centerstage on the dance floor!” Brown later wrote.
The venue was The Rage, a short-lived nightclub on Clark Street. The man was Wardell Ford, aka Father Wardell Avant-Garde of the House of Avant Garde, one of the earliest competitive “houses” bringing the then-new art of voguing from New York to Chicago.
