Good morning, Chicago.
When Chicagoans woke up to a sunny start to the week with a high temperature forecasted above 80 degrees — or as one meteorologist said, “definitely on the unseasonably warm side” — some might have hoped it’s a harbinger of a mild winter.
But scientists warn that may not be the case.
Measurements indicate that a slowly developing La Niña will affect winter conditions in most of the country. There’s a 60% chance of it emerging somewhere between September to November, with the expectation that it will continue through March, according to the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.
For Chicago and the rest of Illinois, this may mean a colder and wetter winter.
“There’s a lot of variability between La Niña years,” cautioned Trent Ford, the Illinois state climatologist. “Depending on what other (weather patterns) are operating and what tends to play a larger role during the winter, we could still see a lot of different variations on what La Niña actually brings.”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Rebecca Johnson.
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Israeli strike on Gaza shelter kills 17 as Blinken says cease-fire talks will resume
An Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people yesterday, nearly all women and children, Palestinian medical officials said.
The strike came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had accomplished its objective of “effectively dismantling” Hamas, and that negotiations over a cease-fire and the release of dozens of Israeli hostages would resume “in the coming days.”
Prosecutors to recommend resentencing Erik and Lyle Menendez in 1989 killings of their parents
Prosecutors will recommend Erik and Lyle Menendez be resentenced for the 1989 killings of their parents in the family’s Beverly Hills home, providing the brothers with a chance at freedom after 34 years behind bars.
Mysterious skull found decades ago in Batavia home identified as that of Indiana teen who died in 1860s
The Kane County Coroner’s Office has determined the identity of the person whose skull was found in the late 1970s hidden behind the wall of a Batavia home, officials announced yesterday.
The partial skull was identified as that of Esther Granger, who died at age 17 in Merrillville, Indiana, according to Coroner Rob Russell. He said during a press conference that Granger died soon after giving birth to her first child in 1865.
47-year prison term for fatal attack on Chicago’s ‘Walking Man’
The man accused of setting Chicago’s beloved “Walking Man” on fire as he slept defenseless on a city street will serve nearly 50 years in prison after admitting his guilt in the unprovoked fatal attack, prosecutors confirmed Thursday.
Joseph Guardia had a trial tentatively set to begin this week in the slaying of Joseph Kromelis, but the 30-year-old Melrose Park man instead accepted a plea deal Wednesday on first-degree murder charges.
Five in Chicago accused in L.A. murder-for-hire shooting to avenge rapper King Von’s slaying
Five people in Chicago have been hit with federal charges in California alleging they were contracted to kill rapper Quando Rando in Los Angeles due to his suspected involvement in the 2020 slaying of rival artist King Von.
American Medical Association, Illinois State Medical Society file lawsuit alleging price-fixing conspiracy
The Chicago-based American Medical Association and the Illinois State Medical Society are suing data analytics firm MultiPlan, alleging that it’s at the center of a price-fixing conspiracy with health insurance companies that has hurt medical practices and, in turn, patients.
Cook County Board approves new health system CEO
After a monthslong search, Cook County Health found its new leader right back at home, with the current interim CEO getting elevated yesterday to the permanent job.
The Cook County Board affirmed a search committee’s pick, appointing Dr. Erik Mikaitis to oversee management of Stroger and Provident hospitals, a network of more than a dozen clinics, and the county’s Medicaid managed care program, CountyCare.
Montez Sweat, 1 year after Chicago Bears acquired him from Washington Commanders, is ‘happy being somewhere that I’m wanted’
Montez Sweat has had a lot go right since the Washington Commanders traded him to the Chicago Bears on Halloween one year ago.
But as Sweat returns to face the Commanders for the first time since the trade on Sunday in Landover, Md., he narrowed in on something simpler that has given him joy.
Chicago Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev takes temporary benching in stride: ‘Show your best and get back in the lineup’
Chicago Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev’s benching appears to be over after one game.
The Chicago Ghoul Who Would Not Die! How horror host Svengoolie has stayed on the air for decades
Svengoolie, also known as Rich Koz, also known as the Son of Svengoolie, also known as the top-hatted cadaver with the goatee and the rubber chickens who introduces monster movies on Saturday night television, also known as the most enduring horror host in Chicago broadcasting history, would not allow me to watch him apply his makeup. Mysterious. But just not something he’s comfortable with. He would also not allow a peek inside Castle Svengoolie, his home coffin, in the moors of Oak Park. Peculiar. Yet understandable. Since he transformed in the late 1970s from a mild-mannered native of the western suburbs into a grotesque freak/jokester/vampire/zombie — Koz never really settled on what species or profession Svengoolie can claim — he has been a fixture of Chicago TV, conventions, parades. And sometimes the fans can be … creepy.
You get it.
Rich Koz has been Svengoolie for 45 years now. But at 72, he’s never been hotter.
‘Anora’ review: This improbable fairy tale is a ‘Pretty Woman’ for our time
If half the folks who paid to see Demi Moore in “The Substance” take a chance on the bracing new seriocomedy “Anora,” they’ll be far better rewarded, this time by a sharp and finally moving story of one woman’s options in extreme circumstances, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
What to do in Chicago: Usher, Will Ferrell with Swedish House Mafia and plenty to do for Halloween
Around town this weekend, Ben Schwartz at the Chicago Theatre and Manual Cinema’s distinctive take on “Frankenstein.”
