Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a five-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and a high near 53 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and a low near 34. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 57.
Top story
Belmont Cragin voters keep their heads down, say they wish pols would occasionally show their faces
Politicians don’t stop in Belmont Cragin — ever.
At least that’s what some residents of the Northwest Side neighborhood insist.
Many of them couldn’t tell a reporter who is on the ballot next month, who their state or U.S. representatives are, or why they should even care about casting their votes, since nothing seems to change.
“Politicians don’t really show their face in all the years that I’ve lived here,” 30-year resident Melissa Quintana said. “I’ve never known any alderman’s name, don’t know how many aldermen we have, I didn’t know the wards, or our representatives — I literally know nothing.”
What residents readily share is their concerns that the obstacles that lie in front of them are becoming ever more difficult to overcome. Soaring home prices, crime, the quality of education and the struggles of small businesses are all making life more challenging.
Tucked on the Northwest Side, Belmont Cragin is bound by Grand Avenue to the south, Belmont Avenue to the north, Kenton Avenue to the east and Nashville Avenue to the west. As voters prepare to cast their ballots in state, county and federal elections next month, the Sun-Times talked to residents to find out what’s on their minds.
Many said they wish their elected officials would do the same. The dozens of people who spoke with the Chicago Sun-Times said the neighborhood’s long history of being a working-class community that puts its head down and doesn’t stir the pot contributes to it so often being forgotten.
It should be a neighborhood with more clout considering it is the fifth-largest community area in the city and home of the largest Hispanic population in Chicago.
Of the more than 78,000 people who call Belmont Cragin home, nearly 80% are Hispanic, 14% are white, 2% are Black and 2% are Asian, according to the most recent U.S. Census figures.
Adding to the confusion for residents, the Belmont Cragin community area is divided among multiple wards and state representative districts, meaning residents of nearby blocks can have different representatives in the City Council or state Legislature.
The neighborhood is roughly split among three Illinois House districts as well as the 30th, 31st and 36th wards, which fit together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. That’s a half-dozen different local elected officials, all representing different slices of the neighborhood.
Manny Ramos has more with Belmont Cragin voters here.
More news you need
- A tenant renting a room in a Northwest Side home killed her landlord and dismembered her body before storing several of the landlord’s body parts in a freezer, Cook County prosecutors said today. Our Matthew Hendrickson has the latest on the case here.
- A Chicago man who allegedly wore a “Trump 2020” flag as a cape during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol pleaded guilty along with his father today to a misdemeanor. Matthew Bokoski of Chicago and his father, Bradley Bokoski of Utah, each pleaded guilty to demonstrating in a Capitol building.
- A killing outside a downtown nightclub last weekend might have been averted if the city had shut it down after two earlier fatal shootings outside the club, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez says. The alderman, whose ward includes the bar, says he and the police commander for the area were surprised to learn the club was open.
- With Chief Procurement Officer Aileen Velasquez on the hot seat at City Council budget hearings yesterday, members of the city’s Black Caucus raised concerns about Chicago’s paltry numbers for Black contractors. Chicago paid $763 million to prime contractors through July 31, but only 11% — $82 million — went to firms owned by African Americans, our Fran Spielman reports.
- Lake Forest mega donors Dick Uihlein and his wife Liz have directly contributed more than $6.4 million this election cycle, FEC records show. Their goal? To help pack Congress with Republicans who either cast doubt on the legitimacy of the last presidential election or voted against certifying the results. Our Tina Sfondeles has more on their efforts here.
- Federal prosecutors yesterday asked a judge to give a 19-month prison sentence to former Teamsters boss John T. Coli Sr. Coli had pleaded guilty in an extortion case but then cooperated against former state Sen. Thomas Cullerton.
- Metra could keep a popular, pandemic-inspired $100 unlimited travel monthly pass for the foreseeable future after board directors rebuffed reverting to a zoned system during budget discussions today. The Daily Herald’s Marni Pyke has more on the future of the Super Saver pass here.
- Workers at Chicago’s Field Museum went public today with a drive to unionize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The action follows campaigns among employees at the Art Institute of Chicago and its school and the Newberry Library.
- A current Art on theMART exhibit is a love letter to 79th Street and Black culture, the artist Jasmin Taylor told our Mariah Rush in a recent interview. Taylor’s “Trap Moulin Rouge” performance piece is among the projections featured nightly on the facade of the Merchandise Mart.
- More victims of “check washing” are speaking out about their experiences while the U.S. Postal Service remains silent about how it’s addressing the crime that has spiked in Chicago. Authorities who investigate cases of check washing — USPS and the Postal Inspection Service — again declined to outline steps they are taking to combat the rising scheme.
A bright one
World-renowned Cuarteto Latinoamericano continuing its 40-year mission of showcasing Latin American composers
Most string quartets perform works by famed historical composers like Beethoven, Debussy, Haydn, Schubert or Shostakovich, often adding a lesser-known contemporary selection on programs to provide a taste of the now.
A small number focus only on modern and contemporary repertoire. But few if any others do what the Mexico City-based Cuarteto Latinoamericano has done so successfully: specialize exclusively in 20th- and 21st-century works by Latin American composers.
As part of its 40th anniversary season, the quartet is making a Chicago appearance on Saturday as part of Hispanic Heritage Month, which ends that day. The event, presented in partnership with the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, marks the opening of the Music Institute of Chicago’s 2022-23 season at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston.
The program includes works by Argentinian musical luminary Alberto Ginastera and Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz, as well as two arrangements of pieces by famed tango master Carlos Gardel. Rounding out the concert is the String Quartet No. 17 (1957), the final work in the form by legendary Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and Essay No. 1 for Quartet by Francisco Mignone.
The personnel of the Cuarteto has stayed the same except for Saúl Bitrán, the Cuarteto’s first violinist, who joined in 1986 after the group’s original first violinist moved back to Uruguay. He and two other members of the quartet are brothers, the children of amateur musicians. “We grew up playing chamber music at home,” he said, “so it became natural for us.”
The founding musicians knew each other since they were students, and they were playing in two different orchestras in the early ’80s. At first, the quartet members performed together part time and kept their main jobs.
“And then they decided to take this big, scary leap of abandoning the orchestras and dedicating all their time to the quartet,” Bitrán said.
The gamble paid off. The Cuarteto has toured extensively throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and it won Latin Grammys in 2012 and 2016. In addition, it has three times received the Chamber Music America/ASCAP award for adventurous programming.
Kyle MacMillan has more on Cuarteto Latinoamericano and Saturday’s performance here.
From the press box
- It’s already Bears gameday again! The team takes on the Commanders tonight on “Thursday Night Football.” Roquan Smith sounds like he’s ready to put on a show for the national primetime TV audience.
- If you think the Bears’ quarterback situation seems underwhelming, at least they’re not the Commanders, Patrick Finley writes.
- Jeff Agrest on how Amazon’s going all out to prove its worth as a broadcaster of primetime NFL games.
- The Blackhawks season unsurprisingly started with a loss to the Avalanche last night, but Ben Pope will try to warm your spirits with a story about how Hawks players Josiah Slavin and Petr Mrazek are using Cameo appearances to connect with fans and raise money for charity.
Your daily question☕
Have you been “ghosted” by a CTA bus or train that never showed up despite appearing on the app tracker? Tell us what happened.
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 something that should be on every Chicagoan’s bucket list?
Here’s what some of you said ...
“Kayaking the Chicago River.” — Anne Surmann Harpe
“Graceland Cemetery at Irving Park and Clark. So many famous Chicago figures with both enormous (Palmer) and remarkably modest (Mies van der Rohe) tombs/ burial sites, great trees (it is also an arboretum) and winding drives to walk or bike. We always take out-of-towners there!” — William Pitsenberger
“Architecture tour by boat on the Chicago River.” — Teri McCarthy
“Ride the South Shore interurban line to Michigan City (Indiana) and back (from Randolph station). It’s sort of a ‘last of its kind’ rail excursion.” — Stacy J Litherland
“Go dance to some good ole house music.” — Yvette Hayes
“Mario’s Lemonade on Taylor street in Little Italy.” — Anthony Baretta
“Riding a bicycle or walking along the Lakefront.” — Rebecca Hite Dodaro Corlew
“A giant Sunday from Margie’s.” — Michael Hassan
“Garfield Park Conservatory. Beautiful, peaceful, surprising, historical, interesting, and a true balm for the soul.” — Leora Dowling
“A burger and beer at the original Billy Goat on lower Michigan Ave.” — Lee Collier
“St Patrick’s Day parade.” — Stephanie Swieca
“Jump in the lake in the middle of August!” — Marco Cervantes
“To go see a Second City improv show.” — Bryan Tillman
“Go see Buckingham Fountain when it is lit.” — Linda Adams-Hayes
“A Cubs game At Wrigley Field.” — Hope Katz
“Seeing Buddy Guy. He is a legend and one of the best guitarists around.” — Erin Eileen
“The Museum of Science and Industry!” — Nancy Turini
“Taking a bike ride on the North Branch Trail.” — Tom Skelton
Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
