Afternoon Edition: Aug. 25, 2020

Burnt cars, which were set on fire following the police shooting of Jacob Blake by a police officer, are seen in this photo from this afternoon. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 90 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 73 degrees. Tomorrow will really hot: sunny with a high near 98 degrees.

Top story

Kenosha business owners survey the damage after a second night of protests

The day dawned charcoal gray over Kenosha, Wisconsin, this morning, but it was at times hard to tell if it was clouds or smoke dimming the light after a second night of protests and burning following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.

Businesses along a usually busy stretch of 60th Street near downtown were reduced to blackened rubble and firefighters were still dousing hotspots. Windows everywhere were shattered, stores looted.

Scott Carpenter stood outside what remained of the used furniture business his father started in the family garage 40 years ago: “It saddens my heart. It hurts,” said the 51-year-old.

All that remained inside the hollowed-out store was the charred heating and cooling system that collapsed onto the showroom floor when the ceiling gave way. Of the thousands of items the store carried, Carpenter said he managed to find a single undamaged one — a metal vase.

“I’m without a job, my daughter is without a job,” he said in a quiet voice. “It’s hurtful knowing the hatefulness is there and that other people are going to suffer just like us.”

Our complete coverage of the chaos in Kenosha.

A couple of doors down, at a law office, all of the windows were shattered.

“I feel like I’m in a movie,” said Jenny Eaton, who works there. “The probation and parole office is on fire, a man who spent all his life running a business now has nothing. I don’t know how this helps Black Lives Matter. At this point, all lives matter. Let’s get it together, America. This is doing nothing but putting us further into a recession.”

Phillip Marry owns the 92-year-old law office building where Eaton works. He pointed to some cinder blocks used to smash the building’s stained glass windows that he said can’t be replaced. “It’s a sad day, a very sad day,” said Marry, a criminal defense attorney.

Marry described the governor’s deployment of the National Guard as “too little, too late.” He also said he understands the protesters’ frustrations. “But taking it out on business owners I don’t think is the right thing to do,” he said.

Other residents surveying the scene disagreed.

Regina Luckett, a former Chicagoan who has lived in Kenosha for six years, pulled over to watch as bulldozers began to clean up the Department of Corrections building.

“The police system is messed up, it’s like they’re more aggressive to men and women of color,” Luckett said. “And I hate for it to come to this, but how else are they going to listen? It’s sad but it’s needed.”

“All this s—t right here is replaceable, but our lives are not replaceable,” said Wendell Coleman, a longtime resident. “The police, they harass anybody of color here.”

Read the full report from our team in Kenosha.

More news you need

1. Some witnesses say Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man who attended middle and high school in Evanston, was simply trying to break up a fight Sunday evening before he was shot by police eight times in Kenosha. We spoke to his dad, who said his son is now paralyzed from the waist down.
2. Facing a rise in coronavirus cases statewide, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued a new set of guidelines for bars and restaurants today that require patrons to keep their masks over their mouths and noses during all interactions with wait staff and other food service workers. So unless you’re mid-sip or mid-bite, the mask pretty much has to stay on.
3. Runners whose hopes were dashed by the cancellation of the Chicago Marathon are being encouraged to run 26.2 miles on their own and submit their times. Bank of America Chicago Marathon organizers said today that anyone who’d signed up for the 2020 marathon is eligible for the “virtual marathon.”
4. A major Massachusetts-based cannabis company announced plans today to acquire a pair of Chicago marijuana shops. Ascend Wellness and Health, which has a cultivation center in Barry and two downstate dispensaries, aims to buy MOCA Modern Cannabis shops in Logan Square and River North.
5. It’s Day 2 of the Republican National Convention, with speakers that will include First Lady Melania Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Eric Trump and Tiffany Trump. Watch it here.

A bright one

Vic Mensa set for Lakeshore Drive-In live show

Chicago hip-hop artist and activist Vic Mensa dropped a seven-track EP on Friday, “V TAPE,” that includes collaborations with BJ the Chicago Kid, Peter CottonTale, SAINt JHN, Eryn Allen Kane and Snoh Aalegra.

And yesterday, Mensa announced a COVID-friendly drive-in live performance scheduled to take place Sept. 5 at the Lakeshore Drive-In (located in the Adler Planetarium’s parking lot), marking his first live performance in nearly a year. Showtime is 7 p.m.

Mensa’s mixtape, “V TAPE,” touches on the artist’s battles with depression.

“In a time when the people are hurting, we need healing,” said Mensa in a statement. “Music is medicine, and the sickness is real. I’m excited to be able to play my part.”

A limited number of tickets, which cost $25-$230 per car, are available via Universe. Concert-goers won’t be allowed to bring in any food or drinks of their own, or their pets.

The all-ages event will adhere to social distancing guidelines by requiring attendees to park their cars one full space apart. Everyone will be required to wear a mask when outside of their cars.

Read Evan F. Moore’s full story for more details on how to purchase tickets.

From the press box

Corey Crawford may be set to hit free agency this offseason, but the longtime Hawks goaltender would prefer to stay in Chicago if it’s up to him. “I would like to be back,” Crawford said Tuesday, while adding later that his salary would be “something that is not as important.”

And the White Sox are bringing back a familiar face: Yolmer Sanchez, who has agreed to a minor league deal. The 2019 Gold Glove winner spent the last month at the Giants’ alternate training site, but asked for his release from that club after being unable to secure a spot in the lineup.

Your daily question ☕

Some day, how do you imagine you’ll tell your kids or grandkids about the pandemic of 2020?

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: Will you be tuning in to the Republican National Convention this week? Here’s what some of you said…

“I’ll watch some of it, just to see the tone, although I’m skeptical. I hope some of it is more optimistic. I’m a little nervous about what the president will say… the insults are disappointing. I want to hear concrete proposals not diatribes.” — Gary A. Lucas

“Since my first vote in 1976 I’ve watched both major conventions. So yes.” — Michael Vicari

“No, because I really like my TV, and don’t want to throw anything at it.” — Mary Girsch-Bock

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