Good morning, Chicago.
The news last fall couldn’t have come at a better time for Karina Fuentes.
The 42-year-old Venezuelan migrant and her family could say goodbye to the Inn of Chicago shelter. They had been approved for a relatively new state program that promised to help migrants find apartments. The state would cover up to six months of rent — a key move to help the city empty its shelters, which had been swelling with migrants.
The family would soon learn, however, of the program’s sluggish bureaucracy and harsh on-the-ground realities. Fuentes, who has both a daughter and husband with serious medical needs, would be offered a series of apartments they considered unlivable.
The state would end up paying rent for months for places where people weren’t living. And, even for places migrants did live, it would often be charged $140 or more above market rate for apartments migrants often found uninhabitable.
Over an 18-month span through June, the state would pay more than $50 million to cover the rent of more than 6,000 families and, in the end, ask dozens of landlords to pay back more than $620,000 amid complaints about the properties.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Nell Salzman and Joe Mahr.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition
NASCAR Chicago street race: For second year in a row, rain interrupts Grant Park 165
Fans — and once again, rain — flooded downtown Chicago Sunday for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race weekend’s main event, the Grant Park 165.
Thousands watched as race cars roared by on the city streets between lengthy delays sparked by intermittent downpours for a second year.
- Alex Bowman wraps up a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with a win on a rainy Chicago street course
- NASCAR unveils EV prototype at Chicago Street Race
‘I want her to worry about who’s waiting on the corner’: How one man uses Facebook to frighten his children’s mother and why police do nothing
Dominique Ward had been locked in a custody and child support battle for years with her ex-partner, a computer whiz with a sizable social media following and a well-documented disregard for court orders. Since moving to Florida in 2021, he had been offering money on Facebook for information regarding his children.
A Facebook post documenting Ward and her daughters out shopping at Target was a reminder that people — usually complete strangers — were taking him up on the various offers and tracking her whereabouts. And it was proof, yet again, that no one in authority cared enough to stop it.
A dedicated bus lane on Western Avenue? Nearby aldermen support overhaul plan to make CTA less ‘Loop-centric.’
Chicago’s neighborhood-connecting north-south spine, Western Avenue, could be in for major surgery if a coalition of public transit backers have their way.
A push to install the city’s first extended bus rapid transit lanes along its longest street is well underway. Its supporters hope a lane on either side of the busy 27-mile street will be carved out exclusively for faster bus travel — a setup they say helps buses function almost like trains.
Illinois AG Kwame Raoul joins Democratic counterparts in defending DEI initiatives
A national effort to undermine diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in housing, universities and corporate boardrooms is being countered in Illinois and other states by Democratic officials who say they will defend anti-discrimination laws from being “hijacked and turned on their heads.”
Simpson Academy graduates challenge stigma as teen moms
School days at Simpson are designed to ensure student success, said Principal Sherita Carter-King. “We’re really trying to catch them, make sure that there’s never an opportunity to fail,” said Carter-King. She said a block of time every other week is devoted to academic intervention, which entails working one-on-one with students in subjects in which they’re struggling.
Sky rookie Angel Reese surpasses Candace Parker for the WNBA all-time consecutive double-double record
Reese broke the record in the third quarter of Sunday’s game in her signature style, launching to snag a ricocheting miss by Kamilla Cardoso and setting the ball back into the hoop for a pair of put-back points.
Bulls lose DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in free agency
DeMar DeRozan will not return to Chicago this fall.
The veteran will head to Sacramento to join the Kings on a sign-and-trade deal with the Bulls, according to a report by ESPN, ending his three-year tenure as a crucial catalyst in Chicago.
Column: Hot dog eating champion Patrick Bertoletti has a winning strategy Chicago teams should emulate
Patrick Bertoletti’s crowning moment at the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest could be the first domino to fall in the hoped-for comeback of all-out failing legacy franchises — the Chicago Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and White Sox.
Until that happens, the 39-year-old Bertoletti will remain the Chicago unicorn — a winner in a town of losers, writes Paul Sullivan.
While texture might not be something you think about when it comes to cocktails, mixologists certainly do
In the general scheme of things, “texture” is a word that’s easy to define. We can physically feel it through touch and recognize it when eating. But when it comes to cocktails, texture can be trickier to grasp.
Windy City Smokeout 2024: Guide to this year’s bands, barbecue and more
Taking place Thursday through Sunday at United Center Parking Lot C (1901 W. Madison St.), Windy City Smokeout is a bit like a mullet hairdo — party in the back, more chilled-out in the front — in that it blends frat-like debauchery, adult theme-park-style entertainment, foodie credibility, corporate branding and family-friendly accessibility. Logistically, the annual extravaganza stands out from Chicago’s crowded festival slate by doing several things better than its peers.
