Good morning, Chicago.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday signed into law a trio of measures aimed at expanding protections for reproductive and gender-affirming health care.
“We can’t wait around and be reactive when the latest attacks come. The pro-choice majority in this country need to be proactive,” Pritzker said at a news conference, calling the new laws “anticipatory.”
Abortion rights have been a key part of Pritzker’s legislative agenda in Illinois and in his role as a campaign surrogate for the Democratic ticket in the upcoming presidential election.
The latest laws add onto existing abortion rights in Illinois in three ways: protecting abortion patients from housing, workplace and other types of discrimination; shielding out-of-state patients from investigations launched beyond Illinois’ borders; and protecting patients who need emergency abortion care in the event that federal protection weakens.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Olivia Olander.
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Illinois Lottery celebrates 50 years of rich history, from pingpong balls and TV drawings to minting folk-hero millionaires
The Illinois Lottery is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first drawing Thursday, a pioneering gamble that has become an enduring cash cow for the state, and a shared fantasy for millions of players.
Harris and Walz say they’re ‘joyful warriors,’ narrowly miss tarmac confrontation with Vance
Vice President Kamala Harris declared herself and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “joyful warriors” against Donald Trump on Wednesday as they spent their first full day campaigning together across the Midwest. They got an unusual glimpse of how hotly contested the region will be when they overlapped on a Wisconsin tarmac with Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance.
Boy injured in Gaza bombing arrives in Chicago for prosthetic legs, medical care: ‘An opportunity at a better life’
When Khalil Abu Shaban crossed the international arrival gate at O’Hare Airport on Wednesday, he was greeted with cheers, hugs and lots of presents.
The 13-year-old, who lost both his legs in a bombing in Gaza, arrived in Chicago to receive medical care at Shriners Children’s specialty hospital, where doctors hope he will walk again with the help of prosthetics.
JD Vance and other Trump allies amplify false claim about Harris’ racial identity
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, defended a false claim the former president made about Vice President Kamala Harris’ racial identity, suggesting wrongly that Harris had downplayed her Black heritage in trying to suggest she’s inauthentic.
“What I took it as was an attack on Kamala Harris being a chameleon,” he told reporters when asked in Michigan about the former president’s suggestion that Harris, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, had only recently identified as Black.
Blues Brothers Con: The Sequel celebrates iconic film and the late Judy Belushi Pisano
After being postponed in 2023 due to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ strike, Blues Brothers Con: The Sequel takes place Aug. 17 at the Old Joliet Prison Historic Site, one of the movie’s few surviving filming locations.
A skid-busting win but another series loss: Takeaways from the Chicago White Sox’s 3 games against the A’s in Oakland
With their 21-game losing streak in the rearview mirror, the Chicago White Sox looked to end a few more droughts Wednesday in the series finale against the Oakland Athletics.
But the A’s had other ideas.
Chicago Bears training camp report: Coaches on Caleb Williams’ progress, a D’Andre Swift highlight and a kicker thinking about tackling
Bears offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and his assistant coaches spoke with the media Wednesday at Halas Hall after a padded training camp practice. The coaches are preparing their units for Saturday’s preseason game against the Bills in Buffalo, N.Y.
Bears reporter Colleen Kane has the rundown from camp.
Addison’s Alexa Knierim and the US figure skating team receive ‘historic’ gold medals from 2022 at Paris Games
Addison native Alexa Knierim and the 2022 U.S. figure skating team made Olympic history, becoming the first Winter athletes to be awarded a gold medal at a Summer Games.
The 20-minute ceremony, conducted in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, came more than 900 days after the American squad competed in Beijing. No medals were awarded for the team figure skating event in China while officials tried to sort out a doping scandal involving a Russian skater.
‘The Instigators’ review: Matt Damon and Casey Affleck take Apple’s money and run
According to Tribune film critic Michael Phillips, the Boston-set heist movie “The Instigators,” on a few screens here and there and streaming on Apple TV+ Aug. 9, features a relaxed-bordering-on-napping Matt Damon and Casey Affleck as glib everymen enlisted by some underworld overactors, led by Michael Stuhlbarg, to steal the mayor’s reelection campaign slush fund. When the heist goes south, the movie follows their attempt to stay alive and get at least a little rich for their trouble.
‘Mr. Throwback’ review: The NBA’s Steph Curry stars in this mockmentary about hangers-on
Tribune film and TV critic Nina Metz reviews “Mr. Throwback,” a six-episode mockumentary on Peacock starring Adam Pally as a sports memorabilia dealer named Danny who, desperate for money, seeks out his old childhood friend-turned-NBA star Steph Curry.
