Good morning, Chicago.
A West Side man was talking to his imprisoned cousin in 2013 when he allegedly floated the idea of adding him to a string of bogus sexual abuse allegations filed against defrocked Chicago Catholic priest Daniel McCormack, court records show.
“I think I want to put you on these cases now,” the man told his cousin, who at the time was serving a three-year term for a gun conviction.
“Hell yeah,” the cousin, Ahmond Williams, allegedly responded. “I need some ass free money too. … As long as (McCormack) ain’t got to touch me for real, I don’t give a (expletive).”
That conversation recorded on a prison line 12 years ago was included in an unusual new lawsuit filed by the Archdiocese of Chicago on Monday alleging a group of mostly West Side residents, including a convicted murderer and others associated with violent street gangs, conspired for years to bring false allegations of sexual abuse by McCormack — often ranked among the most notorious child sexual abusers ever employed by the church — in order to win millions of dollars in legal settlements.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including which bill Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed and why, the escalating conflict between SEIU and CTU and spring training takeaways.
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Trump’s portrait to be taken down at Colorado Capitol after president claimed it was ‘distorted’
A portrait of President Donald Trump hanging at the Colorado state Capitol will be taken down after Trump claimed it was “purposefully distorted,” state officials said yesterday.
The portrait was painted by artist Sarah Boardman during Trump’s first term and unveiled in 2019. Colorado Republicans raised more than $10,000 through a GoFundMe account to commission the oil painting.
Federal workers on edge as Trump plans to shrink government and cut services proceed
The administration of President Donald Trump forged ahead this month with plans to shrink the federal government’s national real estate footprint, canceling hundreds of office leases across the country and proposing to sell off many properties.
In the Chicago area, as of this week nearly 200,000 square feet of leased federal office space had been canceled.
Gov. JB Pritzker cites legal, technical issues in veto of warehouse worker protection bill
Gov. JB Pritzker vetoed a bill aimed at providing protections for workers at large warehouses, saying it was passed “hastily” and “without engagement with relevant state agencies or my office and presents both legal and operational issues that undermine its effect.”
It’s rare for Pritzker to veto a bill sent to him after being approved by the legislature. But in a letter, the Democratic governor cited a number of potential legal and technical issues he had with the bill.
Conflict between SEIU and CTU escalates with allegations of ‘bullying’
The leader of a local chapter of the Service Employees International Union yesterday issued a fiery internal message to members accusing Chicago Teachers Union leadership of “bullying and dishonesty,” the latest escalation of a conflict between two influential labor organizations that were once close allies.
SEIU 73 President Dian Palmer disputed assertions CTU president Stacy Davis Gates made in social media posts over the weekend, delivering her strongest comments yet on the monthslong dispute between the two unions over jobs at Chicago Public Schools.
Divers find car of Elgin woman missing since 1983 in the Fox River
The 1980 Toyota Celica driven by Karen Schepers, a 23-year-old Elgin woman missing since 1983, was found at the bottom of the Fox River by divers using specialized sonar equipment.
The license plate on the car, XP8919, matches that of the vehicle police have been searching for since Schepers disappeared in the early morning hours of April 16, 1983, after leaving a bar in Carpentersville.
2,400 grocery workers to decide whether Tony’s Fresh Market will go union
Over the next three days, 2,400 cashiers, deli clerks, meat cutters, bakery workers, pastry decorators, florists and other grocery store staffers will decide whether Tony’s Fresh Market, the grocery chain founded by Italian immigrants in Logan Square and sold to private equity three years ago, will become a union shop.
United Airlines hikes airport lounge fees in bid to curb overcrowding
United Airlines will begin charging customers more to access its airport lounges to help combat a rise in overcrowding since the pandemic.
No. 8 seed Illinois bounced from NCAA Tournament in 2nd round by No. 1 Texas
Madison Booker scored 20 points and No. 1-seed Texas used a smothering defense to earn a 65-48 victory over No. 8 Illinois, sending the Longhorns to the Sweet 16 of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons.
Spring training takeaways for the Chicago White Sox, including clarity behind the plate as camp wraps up
Will Venable remembers being on the end of tough conversations as a player. He’s now having to deliver that information as the Chicago White Sox manager.
“It is difficult because guys just work so hard, and being in the big leagues is where they want to be,” Venable said before yesterday’s Cactus League finale against the Athletics.
At the Non-Equity Jeff Awards, Kokandy’s ‘Into the Woods’ is the big winner
The winners have been announced for the 51st annual Non-Equity Jeff Awards, with Kokandy Productions taking home five awards for “Into the Woods.” Its production of the Sondheim musical in late 2024 won several big categories, including for best musical, ensemble, director and music direction, as well as for artistic specialization for orchestrations.
This year’s Doc10 film festival opens with the house music documentary ‘Move Ya Body’
A Chicago tale beginning with the infamous Comiskey Park Disco Demolition night and ending with the global rise of house music as sweet revenge opens the 10th edition of the nonfiction film festival Doc10 on April 30.
“Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music” will be followed by 10 more documentaries, concluding on May 4, most screened at Lincoln Square’s Davis Theater with two at the Gene Siskel Film Center.
