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)
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This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 82 degrees and wind gusts up to 35 mph. Tonight will be clear with a low near 55. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 82.
Top story
Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s public safety promises — and obstacles
The Chicago mayoral election was dominated by one issue above all others: crime.
Chicagoans are contending with everything from CTA robberies to a three-year gun violence surge that is only starting to wane. Related policing issues facing the city also include CPD abuses, breakdowns in police-community trust, and the consent decree, a massive overhaul of the Police Department under federal oversight.
As Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson prepares to take office, here are some ways he has promised to improve public safety — and some challenges he will face in getting there.
Promise 1: Add 200 detectives
Johnson’s public safety plan promises that his initial steps as mayor will include adding 200 detectives to CPD: “Training and promoting more detectives from the rank and file will make an immediate impact of lowering the caseloads per detective and improving murder clearance rates.”
As of last month, the department had 1,139 detectives, according to figures from Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s office. That’s just shy of the 1,155 that CPD had in late 2018 following a two-year police hiring and promotion spree under Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
Promise 2: Pull the plug on ShotSpotter
Another Johnson promise would remove gunfire detection technology installed by a California company known until recently as ShotSpotter.
Since 2012, the company has worked with CPD to mount hundreds of microphones in at least 12 police districts with high rates of gun violence. The technology, now deployed in dozens of cities, uses artificial intelligence to differentiate gunfire from nonlethal noises such as fireworks and thunder.
When everything works, police are alerted instantly and they rush to find the shooters and render aid to victims. But it’s rare when everything works, according to the Inspector General’s Office. In 2021, the office reported that ShotSpotter seldom leads to documented evidence of gun crimes or recovery of a firearm and has led some CPD members to view more residents as suspects in neighborhoods where ShotSpotter alerts are frequent.
Promise 3: Respond to 911 calls with mental health workers instead of cops
Throughout his campaign, Johnson promised to implement the proposals of Treatment Not Trauma, a community campaign to expand the city’s mental health resources and send health staff, instead of police, to 911 calls for mental health help.
The city already has a pilot program to respond to crisis calls with a mental health component. The five Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement teams operate in a handful of neighborhoods during business hours. In March, the CARE program responded to an average of fewer than three calls to 911 a day, according to city figures.
The Treatment Not Trauma campaign calls for an expansion to at least 10 teams operating 24 hours a day.
More news you need
- One of ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s former top precinct captains testified yesterday that he believed hundreds of thousands of dollars funneled to him from ComEd were meant to keep him knocking on doors for the powerful Southwest Side Democrat. Edward Moody collected more than $354,000 between 2012 and 2018, according to testimony in the ongoing trial of four former political power players. Our Jon Seidel and Tina Sfondeles have more from yesterday’s iteration of the trial.
- Nearly half a million records of minor marijuana arrests were wiped off the books after Illinois legalized cannabis in 2019 — but only a fraction have been completely cleared from the public record, according to legal aid groups across the state. Our Andy Grimm has more on help for residents looking to expunge their cannabis-related convictions.
- The Museum of Science and Industry is the latest institution where workers want to affiliate with Council 31 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The workers made their campaign public today in a letter carrying 54 signatures. The letter asks colleagues to support the movement for pay equity, more professional development and zero tolerance of discrimination.
The 2024 DNC
Chicago’s sluggish comeback from the COVID-19 pandemic got a little push yesterday from President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee.
With the DNC’s announcement that Chicago will host the party’s convention in August 2024, business leaders exulted that the city will again have a national forum for showing off its best side. But they hope the real payoff comes from other conventions and tourism drawn to Chicago.
“It’s a game-changer,” said Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association.
Our David Roeder has more reaction from local business leaders.
O’Dell Boyd lived in Chicago when the city last hosted a Democratic National Convention in 1996. Now, she is “excited to show off our city” when it returns next year.
The South Loop resident said Chicago’s “amazing lakefront” and landscaping make the city “the best all-around” place to host the convention.
Some residents, however, expressed concern about the convention. Nae Shepard, who works in security at a public library near the United Center, said she wished the city were using the money it is spending on the convention for shelters and community centers.
“I don’t think this is necessary,” Shepard said about the convention.
Our Catherine Odom and Mitchell Armentrout have more reaction to the news from Chicagoans.
Shortly after yesterday’s announcement, chatter about the violent convention here in 1968 reverberated across social media and stoked the partisan divide.
But former police officials say the city needs to look at lessons from a more recent turbulent event in Chicago, the NATO summit of 2012, which drew world leaders but led to the first terrorism case to be heard in a Cook County courtroom.
That summit and other recent moments of unrest here could provide Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson with a playbook on how to deploy officers for the 2024 DNC, those ex-police officials say. Our Tom Schuba and Frank Main have more on those lessons.
We’ve also got a gallery of archive photos from the city’s other Democratic National Conventions, a rundown of how Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Mayor-elect Johnson and others learned of the news and more — all at our 2024 DNC hub.
A bright one ☀️
Women step up at bigger, in-person 39th Chicago Latino Film Festival
At the longest-running Latino film festival in the United States, this year’s showcase is all about celebrating women.
Women’s contributions have been a fundamental part of every great film, whether it’s on-screen or behind the scenes. But of the 100 top-grossing movies last year domestically, only 11% were directed by women. Even fewer came from Latinos.
The 39th edition of the Chicago Latino Film Festival, produced by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago, begins tomorrow, and it will be the largest since the height of the pandemic, when the festival was delayed, according to programming manager Andrea Florens. It has more films by women than ever before.
“That just goes to show how Latin America film is getting dominated by women, which I think it’s an incredible thing,” Florens said.
Of the 51 features and 35 shorts in the lineup, more than two dozen were directed or co-directed by women. Florens said that as the programming manager, it was her job to select not just the best films to feature, but the most broad, diverse and eclectic.
“We just want to get people excited again and remind them about who we are, why we’re here and that we can still throw a party,” Florens said.
Our Ambar Colón has more on the festival and directors featured.
From the press box
- The Cubs and outfielder Ian Happ have agreed to a three-year contract extension that’ll keep him on the North Side through 2026.
- As individuals, the Bulls’ players are likable. The same goes for head coach Billy Donovan. “Nope, there’s not a bad guy in the bunch. Which makes this next part seem harsh: I don’t like this team!” writes Laurence W. Holmes ahead of their play-in matchup against Toronto.
Your daily question☕
If you were making a Chicago version of the TV show “Cheers,” which local bar would you choose for your setting? 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: How do you feel about Chicago hosting the 2024 Democratic National Convention?
“Great for the City, but I wonder whether they should have picked a State which could be a toss-up in the 2024 election.” — Joe K.
“Let’s hope it is not a repeat of 1968.” — Irene Lathrop
“We don’t need no more reasons for things to be hiked up, crowded, traffic and so on. Get somebody else to do it.” — Akia Y.
“I’m happy about it.” — Rhonda Palmer Lang
“We — Chicago — need the money. We have pensions to pay.” — Buck M.
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