Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms and a high near 86 degrees. Similar weather will continue into tonight with a low around 57. Tomorrow will be cloudy with showers likely and a high near 60, while Sunday will be partly cloudy with a high around 61.
Top story
Once again, Chicago’s top cop on defensive over gun violence, this time after mass shooting at trouble-spot on Near North Side
For the third time this week, Chicago’s top cop found himself on the defensive over gun violence today, this time over a mass shooting downtown last night that left two dead and seven injured.
The people were shot near Chicago Avenue and State Street as two groups began fighting near a McDonald’s restaurant and someone opened fire into the crowd.
The attack occurred just a day after Chicago police shot and seriously wounded an unarmed 13-year-old boy during a chase in Austin, and less than a week after a 16-year-old boy was fatally shot during a fight in Millennium Park.
“This is a gun crime crisis,” Brown told reporters who pressed him on his strategy going into the summer, typically the most violent time in the city.”We are awash in guns.”
Brown said “roving posts” of police officers have been patrolling downtown and one of the teams was responding to the fight at McDonald’s when shots rang out around 10:40 p.m.
They chased the gunman onto the Red Line subway platform and arrested him along with someone who tried to help him escape, the superintendent said. A gun was recovered, police said.
A third suspect being chased suffered burns when she came into contact with the third rail. She was stabilized at Stroger Hospital.
Charges against the three were still pending as Brown spoke.
Five people were taken by ambulances to hospitals: A male with a gunshot wound to the chest, pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, a 31-year-old man pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital; a 17-year-old boy taken to Stroger with multiple gunshot wounds; another man, 19, taken to Northwestern in critical condition with a gunshot wound to his chest; a 46-year-old woman shot in the leg and taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was stabilized.
Mohammad Samra, Mitch Dudek and Andy Boyle have more on the incident here.
More news you need
- Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to change the hour and age of Chicago’s weekend curfew — from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m. for minors under 18 instead of 17 — cleared a key legislative hurdle today. The Committee on Public Safety approved the mayor’s ordinance despite a barrage of concerns about a crackdown condemned as a toothless and desperate headline-grabber.
- Some three weeks after 13-year-old Lesly Morales crept out of a bedroom window at night in her Back of the Yards home, her distraught family still has no clue where she might be. Morales’ family huddled and prayed at a church this morning, where they spoke with our Stefano Esposito in hopes of getting the word out about the missing girl.
- This year’s college graduates navigated the majority of their college years with COVID looming — all while planning their futures in a world in flux. And they persevered. Our colleagues at WBEZ spoke with four grads who opened up about how the pandemic shook up their college experiences, their finances and mental health.
- David Najib Kasir’s mural in Uptown is filled with pastel florals, but the subject matter is incredibly stark and important. The lightness is meant to draw people to its image of a father holding the lifeless body of his daughter — a comment on the lives lost in the Syrian and Afghan wars, Kasir told the Sun-Times.
A bright one
Sueños Music Festival gig a ‘dream come true’ for Chicago DJ
When Bad Bunny made a weekend-long stop in March in Chicago for his Último Tour Del Mundo, Chicago native DJ Miriam achieved one of her dreams by opening for one of the biggest pop stars in the world.
Months later, one of Chicago’s most popular Latina DJs is a featured artist at Sueños Music Festival, the first and largest reggaeton festival to ever take place in Grant Park.
Memorial Day weekend, downtown Chicago will be filled with music from reggaeton superstars Wisin y Yandel, Ozuna, Farruko, and J Balvin.
The presence of DJ Miriam (aka Miriam Paz) at Sueños is one that she says she never imagined when she first started deejaying in 2019. She rose to popularity online throughout the COVID pandemic, doing shows on Instagram and Twitch and posting her mixes to SoundCloud.
Paz grew up on the North Side in the Andersonville neighborhood. She says her taste in music is “definitely” influenced by both her Guatemalan roots and Chicago upbringing.
“I’ve always been inclined to music. And being a DJ, and being able to do what I love, and sharing that with people, is just really fulfilling,” Paz, 30, told the Sun-Times.
Ambar Colón has more from her interview with DJ Miriam here.
From the press box
- Before WGN celebrates longtime broadcaster Dan Roan next week ahead of his retirement, our Jeff Agrest sat down with Roan to look back at special moments from his storied career in Chicago.
- Who’s going to be the next top Cubs prospect to reach the big leagues? Maddie Lee looks at the candidates, including Brennen Davis, who could soon be appearing at Wrigley Field.
- White Sox roster moves: reliever Ryan Burr heads to Triple-A Charlotte to make room for Michael Kopech, who’s coming off the paternity list.
- The Bears made some more front office changes yesterday, shaking up their scouting departments following the 2022 NFL Draft.
Your daily question ☕
What’s the best place to birdwatch in the city? Tell us why.
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: What’s Chicago’s most underrated neighborhood?
Here’s what some of you said…
“Beverly. It has great cultural offerings, eateries and houses.” — Craig Barner
“Bridgeport. They got some neat shops, some good breakfast spots, sports bars, late night spots, and green spaces.” — Valentin Galvan
“Englewood — so many people bustin’ their butts to make things better.” — Dennis Novak
“Rogers Park — you don’t have to cross Lake Shore Drive to get to the beach.” — Jonathan B. Rivera
“Hyde Park. It enriches the entire metro area with its institutions.” — Douglas FP
Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
