Good morning, Chicago.
Illinois nurtured the nation’s greatest president in Abraham Lincoln. It is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan and the state where Barack Obama developed his political chops.
But Illinois is far better known for a more notorious political legacy: constant and persistent corruption. Four of its last 11 governors went to prison. Chicago, its largest city, is home to sweeping federal sting operations that put busloads of judges, aldermen, state lawmakers and other officials behind bars.
What makes Illinois so corrupt? In the coming weeks and months, the Tribune will explore and attempt to explain why corruption continues to poison virtually every level of government in our state, draining off tax dollars and robbing public service of its meaning in a series called “Culture of Corruption.”
Read part one from the Tribune’s Rick Pearson and Ray Long.
As part of the series, the Tribune’s Kori Rumore, Ray Long and John Chase compiled a list of roughly 200 convicted, indicted or generally notorious public officials from Illinois’ long and infamous political history. Meet the small-town official behind the largest municipal fraud in the nation’s history, the Chicago mayor with ties to gangster Al Capone and many more.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Some CPS parents take transportation into their own hands, as busing woes continue for 2024-2025 school year
Despite a new plan from Chicago Public Schools promising to boost transportation services for qualifying students, students at selective enrollment and magnet schools will not be guaranteed busing again this year, leaving parents searching for transportation solutions to get their children to and from selective enrollment and magnet schools which draw students from every area of the city.
CPS students, parents soak up last weekend of summer vacation
Before the new year began at Chicago Public Schools, students and their families made the most of their final weekend of summer vacation at various neighborhood gatherings and back-to-school bashes, many of which offered free school supplies and backpacks.
Members of Midwest farming community connect with shrimper, researchers in Gulf dead zone visit
Six members of Midwestern farming communities huddled around Louisiana fisherman Lance Nacio earlier this month as he showed family photos and spoke about the shrimping business he inherited from his father and grandfather. Later that evening, the group talked about the Gulf of Mexico dead zone — the primary thing that connects them — over a shrimp boil.
The dead zone is a lifeless expanse caused by excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus in farm fertilizers, that flow from Midwestern states via the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin.
A sit-down with Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
The conversation begins with a question. When, pray tell, will Caleb Williams officially arrive as an NFL star?
We need specifics here. A date and a time. It’s the question Chicago needs answered, the storyline so much of the NFL world is eager to zoom in on.
So, Caleb, out with it already.
Century mark: Chicago White Sox reach 100 losses for the 6th time in franchise history after 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers
The Sox became just the second team in the modern era of Major League Baseball history to lose 100-plus times over the first 131 games of a season after falling 9-4 on Sunday in front of 16,928 at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Sox joined the ranks of the 1916 Philadelphia A’s — who were 29-101-1 after game 131.
Babe Ruth’s ‘called shot’ jersey sells at auction for over $24 million
The jersey Babe Ruth wore when he called his shot during the 1932 World Series, hitting a home run to center field, sold at auction early Sunday for over $24 million.
I know what you stole last summer: Beg that national park for forgiveness and send it back. Better yet, write a letter.
A few years ago, on Washington Island, in Door County, Wisconsin, the police department received a cardboard box. Inside was a note on blue paper that read: “Please return to Schoolhouse Beach.” The box contained three smooth grayish-white rocks, exactly the kind tourists routinely take from Schoolhouse Beach, touted by locals here as one of best beaches in the world composed entirely of stones. If you are caught taking even one of those rocks, you could receive a $250 fine. Presumably, whoever mailed these rocks — there was no return address or signature on the letter — faced $750 in fines.
And yet the simple fact that someone took time to return three rocks that look just like every other rock on Schoolhouse Beach suggested a more existential concern was nagging. Their conscience spoke to them.
Restaurant news: Stussy’s Diner in Bridgeport, among notable openings and closings around Chicago
Stussy’s Diner has transformed a former 24-hour corner restaurant into a new pretty pink destination in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
“It’s the fusion between retro and modern diner,” said creative director Dahlia Beckett.
Review: ‘Divination’ was a crowning moment for Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project
Surrounded by dancers, musicians and community leaders on the Jay Pritzker Pavilion stage, Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project co-director Mashaune Hardy gave the final sendoff for “Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk.” This year’s showcase in Millennium Park served as the celebratory end of a two-year process for 10 dance companies participating in the project, writes Lauren Warnecke.
Review: Pink with Sheryl Crow at Soldier Field
Feeding off electrified emotion and sugar-rush adrenaline, Pink operated in a gear inaccessible to most mortals, writes critic Bob Gendron.
