Good morning, Chicago.
A short video taken inside an Illinois school captured troubling behavior: A teacher gripping a 6-year-old boy with autism by the ankle and dragging him down the hallway on his back.
The early April incident would’ve been upsetting in any school, but it happened at the Garrison School, part of a special education district where at one time students were arrested at the highest rate of any district in the country. The teacher was charged with battery weeks later after pressure from the student’s parents.
It’s been about eight months since the U.S. Department of Education directed Garrison to change the way it responded to the behavior of students with disabilities. The department said it would monitor the Four Rivers Special Education District, which operates Garrison, following a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation in 2022 that found the school frequently involved police and used controversial disciplinary methods.
But the department’s Office for Civil Rights regional office in Chicago, which was responsible for Illinois and five other states, was one of seven abolished by President Donald Trump’s administration in March; the offices were closed and their entire staff was fired.
Read the latest on this investigation.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including why the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into Mayor Brandon Johnson, how Chicago is settling the parking meter lawsuit and a new book that tells stories behind the Malnati pizza empire.
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Cupich says Pope Leo XIV will champion the environment, immigrants — but doesn’t know when he’ll visit Chicago
The archbishop of Chicago doesn’t know when the Holy Father will return to his hometown for a visit – an appearance many have been clamoring for as the city celebrates its new homegrown pontiff. Vice President JD Vance invited the pope to visit the United States during a private meeting Monday and the pontiff could be heard responding “at some point” in video provided by Vatican media.
“We need to give him some breathing space here,” Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said, with a little laugh. “He’s got a lot of things on his plate right now. He has to make that decision.”
Only one pope has ever traveled to Chicago: In 1979, Pope John Paul II’s three-hour Mass in Grant Park attracted anywhere from 500,000 to 1.5 million attendees.
- Chicago White Sox honor Pope Leo XIV with new Rate Field artwork
- Vintage Chicago Tribune: Pope John Paul II’s visit in 1979
US Rep. Lauren Underwood says she is not running to succeed Dick Durbin in the Senate
U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood announced that she will not enter the Democratic primary race to succeed retiring Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate.
The four-term congresswoman from west suburban Naperville was the youngest Black woman ever elected to Congress in 2018 and has been viewed as a rising star in the party.
Justice Department investigating Mayor Brandon Johnson for alleged racially motivated hiring
The U.S. Department of Justice began an investigation into Mayor Brandon Johnson yesterday over allegations of race-based discrimination, citing his recent remarks at a Woodlawn church in which he emphasized how many Black people he’s hired in his administration.
ComEd customers to see rate increase this summer
ComEd customers may be feeling the heat this summer after a spike in electricity supply charges goes into effect in June, just in time for air conditioning season.
Chicago set to add ticket agents to settle parking meter lawsuit
Chicagoans who overwhelmingly loathe the Daley meter lease may indeed be hard-pressed to feel victorious over paying to hire 10 more people to ticket them for not staying current on their payments to the company for the privilege of parking on public streets.
Judge issues deadline for former Portage Mayor James Snyder to respond to prosecutor’s sentencing proposal
Former Portage Mayor James Snyder and his legal team have until Friday to object to prosecutor’s filing to proceed to sentencing on the IRS charge conviction and drop a third trial on the bribery charge.
If a response isn’t filed by Friday, Judge Gretchen Lund wrote that she would request probation office officials to file a revised presentence report and set a date for sentencing.
Wintrust buys naming rights for New Lenox Crossroads Sports Complex; grand opening set for June
The New Lenox Crossroads Sports Complex set to open this summer is also getting a new name. The village signed a three-year naming rights agreement with Wintrust Financial Corporation, rebranding the $70 million facility as the Wintrust Crossroads Sports Complex.
Are the Chicago Blackhawks closing in on a new coach? What to know about Jeff Blashill.
Former Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill has emerged as a top contender for the Chicago Blackhawks, according to reports.
Blashill, 51, has a wide-ranging background. He has been a head coach and assistant in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, United States Hockey League, American Hockey League and with USA Hockey in addition to the NHL.
NFL owners set to discuss tush push again, along with playoff and flag football proposals
The Philadelphia Eagles’ famous tush push play has been a topic of conversation for years, reaching a new level when owners agreed to consider a proposal from the Green Bay Packers to ban the short-yardage scheme that has helped the Eagles win one Super Bowl and reach another.
Lydia Cash peels back the layers of her own life to share rich, evocative Americana-inspired rock music
“I kind of love that mix of excitement and fear, like on a roller coaster,” says Lydia Cash. Those warring emotions permeate Cash’s latest body of work, including the singles “We Can Never Go Back” and “A Whole Summer of Loving You,” which were both released earlier this year. Confident and lyrically naked, Cash (yes, of that Cash family) peels back the layers of her own life — including the end of an eight-year relationship and marriage — to share rich, evocative Americana-inspired rock music. New and old fans can hear her latest tracks during a solo set at the Empty Bottle on May 23.
Restaurant review: Parachute HiFi flies high with creative Korean American food and cocktails in Chicago
Parachute HiFi, the creative Korean American restaurant and cocktail bar in Avondale, retains its original Michelin-starred DNA, but has been reimagined beautifully with casual cuisine and amplified style by James Beard award-winning chefs, owners and spouses Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim for the world we live in right now.
Kim describes the newest incarnation of Parachute, which just celebrated its 11th anniversary this month, more specifically as a listening bar. These bars trace their lineage back a hundred years or so to jazz kissa cafe culture in Japan, where listening to jazz records through high-fidelity equipment brings music to the forefront.
Column: ‘Deep Dish’ tells the stories behind the Malnati pizza empire, including some difficult ones
“Deep Dish: Inside the First 50 Years of Lou Malnati’s Pizza” is a surprising book in that it has a welcome lack of recipes but also because it is self-aware and, frankly, occasionally chilling, writes Rick Kogan.
As Marc Malnati’s younger brother, Rick, puts it in a short preface, “This is not a story about great pizza, although we do serve the best pizza in the world. This is the story about how a somewhat dysfunctional family led to the growth of a more functional family.”
