Good afternoon, Chicago.
Cook County prosecutors dropped charges today against an Oak Lawn police officer charged in connection with the violent arrest of a then 17-year-old Bridgeview teen in July 2022, according to court records.
Patrick O’Donnell was charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct for allegedly striking the teen more than 10 times as he was lying face down in the street during the arrest, which was captured on video.
O’Donnell has been with the department since December 2014 and pleaded not guilty to charges in March 2022 after being indicted that February.
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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Chicago Board of Education meeting called, employment of CPS CEO Pedro Martinez on the agenda
Chicago Public Schools called a special board meeting Friday amid brewing tension over the schools chief Pedro Martinez’s employment status. Read more here.
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- After prosecutors rest, defense in Madigan corruption trial calls ex-AT&T exec about deal to hire Edward Acevedo
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CTA says bus schedules to return to prepandemic levels, one month after train service returns
The CTA says bus schedules will return to prepandemic levels during the last full week of 2024, marking the fulfillment of the agency’s plan to restore service by the end of the year. Read more here.
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Chicago White Sox ballpark gets a rebrand to Rate Field
As the Chicago White Sox pursue a new home ballpark, their current stadium has a new name. The Sox will spend the 2025 season at Rate Field, the team formally announced today. The Sox posted a video announcing the name change on social media last night. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
- Chicago Bulls’ Josh Giddey avoids serious ankle injury but is doubtful for Thursday’s game in Boston
- 6 takeaways from the Chicago Blackhawks’ 3rd-period rally from a 2-goal deficit: ‘We stuck with it’
Chicagoan of the Year in Dance: Vershawn Sanders-Ward is still here, doing the thing
Red Clay Dance’s home base is in Woodlawn, a gleaming dance center steps from the Green Line that opened in 2021 after a long stretch in shared Chicago Park District space in Fuller Park. The South Side is teeming with possibility for dance, but there aren’t currently more than a handful of physical spaces to rehearse and perform. Red Clay has found one performance home at the Logan Center for the Arts, and transformed others, like the DuSable Roundhouse, into viable ones. Read more here.
More Chicagoan of the Year stories:
- Chicagoans of the Year in Books: Javier and Kristin Ramirez of Exile in Bookville are getting good energy back in volumes
- Chicagoan of the Year in Classical Music: Composer Shawn Okpebholo’s music always means something
- Chicagoan of the Year in Theater: Tim Rater leads Paramount Theatre in transforming Aurora’s downtown
What Americans think of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his health stances
Republicans hold an overwhelmingly positive view of Kennedy, with most approving of Trump’s decision to put him in his administration, according to recent polling. But Americans overall are less positive about Kennedy, and there isn’t broad support for some of his views, which include closer scrutiny of vaccines. Read more here.
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