Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about an eight-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)
Weather ⛈️
Showers and thunderstorms are likely this afternoon with gusts as high as 35 mph and a high near 76. You can expect similar weather tonight with a low near 46. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 62.
Top story
Acting CPD Supt. Eric Carter announces retirement amid nationwide search for next top cop
Interim Chicago Police Supt. Eric Carter announced today that he plans to resign while a newly formed commission continues to search for his predecessor’s permanent replacement.
Carter plans to officially retire on May 15, just two months after he took over the Chicago Police Department from Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s handpicked Supt. David Brown, whose tenure was marked by a historic spike in violent crime, low officer morale and slow progress meeting sweeping court-ordered reforms.
The announcement comes as the newly formed Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability is conducting a nationwide search for candidates to replace Brown, who Carter served under as the department’s second-ranking official.
In an email to department members, Carter said he told Brown that he planned to retire late last year and has since informed Lightfoot and Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson. Carter said he has committed to working with Johnson “to ensure that our department continues to deliver transformational service to our residents and visitors throughout the summer season” as the search for the next top cop continues.
Shortly after the announcement, Lightfoot congratulated Carter on his 30-year career with the department.
Our Tom Schuba has the latest on this developing story.
More news you need
- CPD is investigating accusations that officers drove past a couple being attacked by a large group of people during chaotic downtown gatherings over the weekend that left two teenagers with gunshot wounds and drew national attention. Our Tom Schuba has more on the incident and talks with the good Samaritan who helped the couple.
- An Illinois appellate court has slammed Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s electronic monitoring program for its “ambiguity” on whether apartment-dwelling detainees are allowed in other parts of their building for daily tasks such as getting the mail and washing clothes. WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell explains the ruling.
- Add the Chicago Park District to the list of government agencies with employees accused of defrauding federal COVID-19 relief programs. In a new report, the park district’s internal investigators say they dug into more than two dozen cases in an ongoing probe. Six employees have since resigned, with five other workers also facing discipline.
- Closing arguments are expected to begin Monday in the trial of four political power players accused of conspiring to bribe former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan. This means that the expansive case that shook state politics will soon be in the hands of a jury. Our Jon Seidel catches you up on what you need to know ahead of next week.
- Workers at three Chicago-area Rise marijuana dispensaries walked off the job yesterday for better pay and improved working conditions after months of negotiations failed to bring an agreement on a contract with the company. More than 100 employees at two Rise locations in Joliet and one in Niles are taking part in the open-ended strike. The walkout began at 4:20 p.m., a reference to the cannabis high holiday.
- In Illinois, getting a minor pot case expunged is harder than it’s supposed to be. The system for asking for expungement is underused, and once the requests are in, the office that processes the requests is too understaffed to keep up with the demand. Our Andy Grimm has more on this issue.
- Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson yesterday told Illinois legislators Chicago has its needs — including funding for public schools, mental health clinics and public safety — but “there is more than enough for everybody.” Johnson’s ceremonial trip to Springfield, ahead of his May 15 swearing-in ceremony, also included some closed-door meetings with Democratic leaders and their caucuses.
- Johnson announced today that he has chosen Rich Guidice, a respected City Hall lifer, to be his first chief of staff. Guidice agreed to end his two-week “retirement” from his previous position as the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications head. State Sen. Cristina Pacione-Zayas will be deputy chief of staff.
- Harp manufacturer Lyon & Healy, one of the oldest Chicago companies, has pulled a few strings at City Hall and will be moving from its longtime home on the Near West Side to Galewood, Mayor Lightfoot’s office said. The 159-year-old company could get a property tax break from the city of Chicago for doing so.
Goodbyes at City Hall
City Council yesterday bid bittersweet farewell to Mayor Lori Lightfoot and 13 departing members, including indicted Ald. Edward Burke (14th), the longest-serving alderperson in Chicago history.
Tears were shed. Good-natured barbs were traded. Hatchets were buried. Past tensions, hard feelings and old grudges were put aside.
The hours-long love-fest was so upbeat and heartfelt, you’d never have known Burke is leaving under the dark cloud of a federal extortion and racketeering indictment or that Lightfoot’s relationship with alderpersons had been so contentious, it laid the groundwork for the Council to declare its independence and reorganize itself before the new mayor and Council can even be sworn in.
Our Fran Spielman details the long goodbyes at City Hall yesterday.
Lightfoot’s last Council meeting of the four-year term was short on official business and long on emotion. But alderpersons still managed to squeeze in some official business.
- Two new Police Board members were confirmed — Andreas Safakas and Aja Favors. They are the first nominated by an interim civilian oversight commission.
- Landmark status was granted to Promontory Point east of South DuSable Lake Shore Drive between 54th and 56th Streets. The designation was a decadeslong crusade for retiring 5th Ward Ald. Leslie Hairston.
- The Council also signed off on a $205,000 settlement with former Wheaton College students who claimed they were denied their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion by being kicked out of Millennium Park for distributing religious literature.
- A water supply contract with Joliet was approved. Chicago’s water system is expected to receive $30 million in annual revenue once Lake Michigan water is delivered to Joliet, starting in 2030.
Spielman breaks down the full list of what happened at yesterday’s meeting.
A bright one ☀️
Farragut junior Bella DeMateo proving she belongs on baseball field
Farragut junior Bella DeMateo tried playing softball.
‘‘I never really felt the connection,’’ she said. Baseball? That’s another story.
DeMateo has been playing travel ball for the Urban Warriors, the Little Village-based program founded in 2016 by Farragut assistant coach Rey Raigoza. But high school baseball wasn’t initially in the equation for DeMateo, who spent her first two years at Lane. The lengthy commute from Little Village to the Northwest Side made the idea of playing sports unworkable.
But then she transferred to Farragut. She came out to some of the Admirals’ boys 16-inch softball games last fall, then showed up at baseball workouts this spring.
DeMateo has settled in as the Admirals’ starting third baseman and closer. The best part? Right next to her at shortstop is her freshman brother, Ben. Though the siblings have grown up playing baseball, they rarely have been teammates because of the age difference. Ben, already one of Farragut’s top hitters and pitchers, can’t imagine a better introduction to high school baseball than suiting up alongside his sister.
‘‘It’s really fun playing with her,’’ he said.
Bella shrugs off the attention she receives as a girl playing what traditionally has been a boys sport.
‘‘Almost every game I have people comment,’’ she said. ‘‘I just enjoy playing. I love baseball.’’
Mike Clark has more on DeMateo and her time on the mound.
From the press box
- The Bears hired Darby Dunnagan as their director of video operations yesterday, making her the first woman to hold the title for the team and the highest-ranking woman across all video departments leaguewide.
- ESPN and NFL Network are coming together and putting competition aside for the betterment of NFL Draft coverage, writes Jeff Agrest.
- The White Sox are 0-5-1 in their first six series of 2023.
- After too many close losses in 2022, the Illini have spent the offseason in finishing school, writes Steve Greenberg.
Your daily question☕
Where is the best place in or around Chicago to see springtime flowers in bloom?
Email us (please include your first and last name) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: Who’s the most famous celebrity you’ve spotted in public in Chicago? Tell us what happened.
Here’s some of what you said…
“Back in 1984, I spied Mr. T jogging along Lakeshore Drive. I about wrecked the car.” — Stan Schelhorn
“I used to work at the FAO Schwarz toy store in Water Tower Place. I helped Lucille Ball pick out toys for her grandkids! She was lovely and kind and had great fun at the store that day.” — Judy Sviatko
“David Bowie at Neo’s in 1980.” — Jim Grosse
“Tony Bennett was performing at the Palmer House in the early 80s and I was a cashier in the breakfast restaurant where he ate. He was kind to everyone, and we all were polite enough not to bother him — mostly because celebrities came through there all the time.” — Laura Canales
“I met Nelly coming out of the House of Blues back in 2003.” — Jenny Johnson
“In the late 1970s, three friends and I were having Sunday brunch near 47th and the Lake. Mohammed Ali walked by, perhaps coming from a private room. Our waitress was so flustered that she got the 3 omelets — one ham, one cheese, and one ham and cheese — mixed up. As he was going out, an older man loudly said to his wife ‘That was Cassius Clay.’” — Martha J. Banks
“Harrison Ford in front of the Sears Tower, we got out of a cab and he got in.” — Cindy Lee Nielsen
“I shook hands with Prince Charles when he visited Whitney Young H.S.” — Jo Saieva
“One morning in 1973, I was walking along Madison towards Clark. A black car pulled up to the curb rather quickly. I had to jump out of the way to keep Mayor Daley from hitting me with the door.” — George Ciesla
“John Cusack at Frontera. He needed directions to the restroom.” — Martin Fitzgerald
“Mariel Hemingway was giving a yoga presentation in Grant Park almost 20 years ago, and I attended it. However, I happened to be the only pregnant woman who attended — and it’s Grant Park in the summertime. Ms. Hemingway walked up to me and started talking to me — because I was the pregnant lady attending. She talked about her children, and she was very nice, and down to earth. So that’s my celebrity story. I did actually attend a fundraiser where I met George Wendt, too, but he didn’t pick me out of a crowd to talk to me.” — Melissa Lawrence
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