Good morning, Chicago.
Northwestern University President Michael Schill is scheduled to testify this morning at a congressional hearing titled “Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos,” as the elite Big Ten school and others across the country face mounting accusations of fostering climates that are hostile or discriminatory to Jews.
Schill — who describes himself as a “proud Jew” raised with an enduring love for Israel — is slated to appear before lawmakers alongside the leaders of Rutgers University and the University of California at Los Angeles.
A similar congressional hearing on antisemitism on college campuses in December spurred the resignations of several leaders of Ivy League schools, amid fierce backlash to their testimonies.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Angie Leventis Lourgos.
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Norway, Ireland and Spain say they will recognize a Palestinian state
Norway, Ireland and Spain said they would recognize a Palestinian state, a historic but largely symbolic move that further deepens Israel’s isolation more than seven months into its grinding war against Hamas in Gaza. Israel denounced the decisions and recalled its ambassadors to the three countries.
In possible DNC preview, Gov. J.B. Pritzker mocks ex-President Donald Trump
Before a captive crowd of national media members in Chicago on Wednesday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker heaped scorn upon former President Donald Trump, saying the presumptive GOP presidential nominee is cruel, wants to be a dictator and is “waiting to become the first felon elected president.”
The remarks, made at a media gathering at the United Center in preparation for this August’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, hinted at just some of the barbs certain to be aimed at Trump this summer and highlighted the attack-dog surrogate role Pritzker is playing in the 2024 presidential campaign.
City Council gives itself power to take control of ShotSpotter, defies Johnson campaign promise
Under the order that passed Wednesday, the pact with ShotSpotter is now subject to an up-or-down council vote before it can be terminated. It is not clear how the new rule will be applied to a deal the mayor already announced will end, however, especially since Johnson has suggested it’s illegal for aldermen to try to exert such authority over a city contract.
Amara Harris outside of Spelman College in Atlanta on March 21, 2023. (Alyssa Pointer/for ProPublica)
Naperville woman who beat city’s high school theft accusation suing for $20M in damages
Former Naperville North High School student Amara Harris, who successfully fought Naperville in court over a charge that she stole a fellow classmate’s AirPods, has filed suit seeking $20 million in compensatory damages from the city.
Experts caution safety as beach season opens Friday: Half of all Great Lakes drownings occur in Lake Michigan
According to statistics, Lake Michigan is the most dangerous of the Great Lakes for swimming. As the city gears up to open its beaches Friday, emergency responders and the Chicago Park District caution swimmers to be vigilant.
Average US vehicle age hits record 12.6 years as high prices force people to keep them longer
Cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. keep getting older, hitting a record average age of 12.6 years in 2024 as people hang on to their vehicles largely because new ones cost so much.
There are now more daily marijuana users in the US than daily alcohol users
For the first time, the number of Americans who use marijuana just about every day has surpassed the number who drink that often, a shift some 40 years in the making as recreational pot use became more mainstream and legal in nearly half of U.S. states.
Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes: Harrison Butker entitled to his beliefs, even though the QB doesn’t always agree with him
Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday that while he doesn’t agree with all the beliefs espoused by kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address, the Chiefs quarterback nevertheless respects his teammate’s right to make them be known.
Now at Chicago Maritime Museum, exhibits devoted to a Black sailor and the deadly sinking of the Lady Elgin
The Chicago Maritime Museum didn’t plan for its two exhibition openings this month to be quite so timely.
The new exhibitions — the museum’s first since opening in the Bridgeport Art Center in 2016 — have been underway for years: “Lady Elgin: Treasures from the Shipwreck,” on the steamship that sank in 1860, the Great Lakes’ deadliest disaster to date, and “Bill Pinkney: Breaking Barriers with Commitment,” about the Chicagoan who became the first Black sailor to solo circumnavigate the globe around the capes in 1992.
Dance for summer: In the hot months, free festivals are just the tip of the iceberg
Free dance outside is kind of Chicago’s thing.
All summer long, the city’s beloved SummerDance is a weekly chance to hit the dance floor in the golden hour. To this, we add a few newcomers, like a second helping of Joffrey for All in Millennium Park, and toward the end of the summer, a joy bomb celebrating the entire 10-company Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project cohort with performances as eclectic as this great city.
