Afternoon Edition: July 1, 2020

Mayor Lori Lightfoot had announced in March that Chicago would — for awhile — stop ticketing, booting and towing illegally parked vehicles except for public safety reasons. | Sun-Times file photo

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 mostly sunny with a high near 85 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 69 degrees. Tomorrow will be sunny with a high near 84 degrees.

Top story

Ticketing and booting reprieve ending for Chicago motorists

The temporary reprieve is over for Chicago motorists: Ticketing and booting are making an unwelcome comeback.

On March 18, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Chicago would stop ticketing, booting and towing illegally parked vehicles, except for public safety reasons, through April 30 to give some measure of relief to residents whose jobs and paychecks have been impacted by the coronavirus.

At the time, the mayor reserved the right to extend the go-easy period. She did just that, several times — even after residential street-sweeping resumed with no parking signs, minus the ticketing-and-towing hammer.

There was no parking meter holiday; motorists were still required to feed meter boxes, and some complained about being ticketed when they didn’t. But City Hall made no attempt to collect overdue debt and no interest accumulated on existing payment plans. The ultimate penalty of booting vehicles was suspended.

Now that Chicago has tiptoed into Phase 4 of its cautious reopening plan, the free ride is over.

Today, ticketing enforcement resumed for illegal parking along street-sweeping routes. On Monday, booting makes a comeback. On July 16, the city will resume ticketing for expired city stickers and residential parking permits.

Enforcement for expired vehicle registration will be the last to resume — on Oct. 2.

Read the full story here.

More news you need

1. Sheriff Tom Dart is seeking a court order to compel the state to take custody of inmates who have been housed at Cook County Jail since the coronavirus outbreak. More than 350 inmates should be in state custody right now, the sheriff’s office says.
2. Overall crime for the first six months of 2020 is down 9%, according to Chicago police statistics. However, the city saw at least a 75% increase in murders and shootings for June compared to the same month last year.
3. A 3-year-old girl was shot Tuesday evening in West Englewood in what authorities say may have been retaliation for an earlier shooting that wounded a teenager. She’s the fourth child age 3 or younger to be shot in Chicago in the last 10 days.
4. As the number of murders in Chicago soared in June, there was a huge slowdown of police activity that the police union blames on low morale. FOP president John Catanzara also cited distrust of Mayor Lightfoot as part of the slowdown.
5. Timothy McCarthy, the Orland Park police chief who once took a bullet for President Reagan as a member of the U.S. Secret Service, will retire Aug. 1 to allow time to find a replacement. McCarthy has held the Orland Park post since 1994.
6. The toilet paper and paper towels came back, but what about a certain columnist’s favorite soda? Neil Steinberg ponders the mysterious disappearance of Fresca from local store shelves amid the pandemic.

A bright one

While it hasn’t been a normal year for movies and TV shows due to the pandemic shutting down theaters and productions across the country, there have still been a lot of great ones to come out in the first half of 2020.

To celebrate the ongoing excellence in the industry, Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper spotlighted “the best, the worst and the most ridiculous” in movies, TV and on social media over the last six months.

From beloved character actor Delroy Lindo’s well-earned chance at a showcase role in “Da 5 Bloods,” which Roeper says merits consideration for Best Actor at the next Oscars, to Jay Cutler’s ongoing antics during the pandemic, there’s been a lot to enjoy and appreciate.

Check out Roeper’s full list of his best and worst of 2020 (so far).

From the press box

The NHL will reportedly go with Toronto and Edmonton as its hub cities for the completion of the 2019-20 season, ending Chicago’s bid in favor of the Canadian cities. A lack of hotels near the United Center played a role in the NHL’s decision-making, reporter Ben Pope writes.

Don’t expect the small chance at the No. 1 overall pick and Alexis Lafreniere to impact the Hawks’ playoff ambitions, either. As always, Jonathan Toews and company are here to win.

Your daily question ☕

Have your neighbors started their 4th of July celebrations early with fireworks this week? Do you plan to join them?

Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked for your favorite movie or TV show that the late Carl Reiner wrote, directed, produced or starred in, and why you love it. Here’s what some of you said…

“Can’t choose. Everything he did was brilliant.” — Elizabeth Williams

“He directed ‘The Jerk.’ So so funny.” — Claudia Higgins

“‘The Russians are Coming, The Russians are Coming.’ He was the voice of reason among all the insanity around him. Well, Brian Keith was pretty grounded, too, but what a great film.” — Seth Dominick

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