Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a five-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.
This afternoon will be mostly cloudy with some isolated showers and a high near 57 degrees. Tonight will be cloudy with scattered showers and a low near 35. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 52. Sunday will be partly sunny with a high near 54.
Top story
New charge filed against Mike Madigan as AT&T Illinois agrees to pay $23 million fine
A federal grand jury has leveled an additional criminal charge against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan as AT&T Illinois agreed to pay a $23 million fine for trying to illegally sway the once-powerful politician.
Madigan and longtime confidant Michael McClain face an additional conspiracy count alleging corruption involving AT&T Illinois. The utility’s former president 65-year-old Paul La Schiazza, also now faces charges for conspiring to influence Madigan. The utility arranged for an ally of Madigan’s, former state Rep. Eddie Acevedo, to receive $22,500 as key legislation moved through Springfield.
AT&T Illinois has entered into a so-called deferred-prosecution agreement with U.S. Attorney John Lausch’s office, similar to the deal cut by ComEd when the feds charged it with bribery more than two years ago. AT&T Illinois has cooperated with federal prosecutors —and says it will continue to do so —under the terms of the two-year deal.
Acevedo pleaded guilty late last year to tax evasion.
Defense attorneys for Madigan and McClain declined to comment. An AT&T Illinois spokesperson said: “We hold ourselves and our contractors to the highest ethical standards. We are committed to ensuring that this never happens again.”
The case against ComEd first implicated Madigan in a nearly decadelong scheme that has since led to the indictment of Madigan himself, as well as McClain and three other people tied to ComEd who are also accused of trying to illegally influence Madigan by rewarding his allies.
The scandal led in early 2021 to the end of Madigan’s reign as the longest-serving state House speaker in the nation, though Madigan wouldn’t be charged until earlier this year.
Jon Seidel has more on the new charge here.
More news you need
- A tow truck driver says he feared for his life when he was hired to pick up a woman and bring her to Foster Beach, where her SUV needed to be towed. Only later did he learn that she had called him just hours after killing her landlord, according to police and prosecutors. The driver shared his story with our Tom Schuba here.
- Several vacant lots in Washington Park will be transformed tomorrow after a group of volunteers plants 100,000 red tulip bulbs in the shape of houses. Titled “Redefining Redlining,” artist Amanda Williams says the work aims to spark conversation around the disempowerment of Black neighborhoods that followed from banks refusing to lend to residents.
- Chicago will build its first tiny homes on city property, a top mayoral aide said today. The $3 million program will eliminate land acquisition costs, put four to eight units on each lot and feature “communal space” to support the “creation of a community,” Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said.
- A former business clerk at Caldwell Math and Science Academy admitted yesterday that she scammed CPS out of thousands of dollars to help pay for a Disney cruise. She did this all while the district was reeling from a kickback scandal involving its ex-CEO.
- Democratic incumbents Gov. J.B. Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth are leading their opponents by double digits, with the governor also faring better than Republican nominee Darren Bailey on his own turf in downstate Illinois. That’s according to a new Sun-Times/WBEZ poll.
- Sun-Times/WBEZ polling also showed Democrats appear in little danger of losing control of statewide offices three weeks from now. Democrat candidates for Illinois secretary of state, attorney general, comptroller and treasurer are all holding sizable leads over their Republican rivals, the poll found.
- Rev. Jesse L. Jackson turned 81 last week and is set to celebrate the milestone at a birthday gala tonight. Ahead of the festivities, he spoke with our Mariah Rush about his history of groundbreaking activism — and how he has no plans to slow down any time soon.
- Comedian Chris Rock last night kicked off the first of four shows at the Chicago Theatre. He delivered a set that was more about jokes than insights, sounding off on pop culture, single life and that Will Smith thing, our Darel Jevens writes in his review of Rock’s opening night.
- Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest grocers, have agreed to merge in a deal that would help them better compete with Walmart, Amazon and others that have stepped into the grocery business. The deal will likely get heavy scrutiny from U.S. antitrust regulators, especially at a time of high food price inflation, and if approved, it’s expected to close in early 2024.
A bright one
Rensselaer, Indiana, has become a mural hot spot, drawing people from the Chicago area, elsewhere
In 2016, when Ryan Musch helped commission the first mural in his town, the Rensselaer, Indiana, business owner says his aim was for his community to one day have “the most concentrated amount of public art of any town in Indiana.”
Today, Rensselaer has more than 60 murals across its business district — on the fronts of buildings, on the sides, tucked away in alleys — and that’s made it a popular spot for out-of-town visitors, including Chicagoans who make the drive, about 85 miles, to see them.
Boosters have created maps to help visitors find them.
“It really surprised me that this took off the way it did,” says Stephen A. Wood, the mayor of Rensselaer, population about 6,000.
The city’s first mural was painted about six years ago on Musch’s eMbers bar, bistro and events venue. On an outside wall, Cameron Moberg, a San Francisco artist, featured a giant, colorful bird. He called it “Take Flight.”
And that’s what’s happened with the city’s mural scene since then, with artists from elsewhere in Indiana, Chicago, New York and Los Angeles all doing murals.
You can learn more about the murals — and see some of them here.
From the press box
- Hall of Fame pitcher Bruce Sutter, who won the 1979 NL Cy Young as a member of the Cubs, has died. He was 69. Read our obituary for Sutter here.
- Nearly a month after he awkwardly tried to say these losses mean more to the players than anyone else following a loss to the Packers, Justin Fields sounded like just another frustrated Bears fan last night.
- Ahead of the latest weekend in high school football, Mike Clark breaks down the top matchups, including Simeon-Morgan Park, Lyons-Glenbard West and Hersey-Elk Grove.
Your daily question☕
What’s your spiciest Chicago food hot take?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
Yesterday, we asked you: Have you been “ghosted” by a CTA bus or train that never showed up despite appearing on the app tracker?
Here’s what some of you said ...
“Yes, recently. I intended to take the bus downtown (first time since the beginning of the pandemic) from the South Loop, but the bus never came, so I walked 30+ blocks and never saw the bus that was supposed to arrive when I got to the bus stop.” — Julie MacCarthy
“Getting #GhostBussed is a tradition since the tracker apps started, but the last 18 months have been really brutal. I always assume that at least half the buses listed aren’t coming. — Jamie Gump
“It happens all the time on the blue line. I’ve waited multiple times on trains that never showed up. Also, Pace is getting worse as well. Always late and the 290 bus I wait on has not shown up numerous times.” — Michael Dicks
“The 146 has become one of the most unreliable bus routes.” — Rita Hasner
“I’ve worked part-time at Wrigley Field and usually ride the #22 bus. After night games is the worst, when after 10 p.m. there is often NO southbound service. But sometimes a bus will appear at Waveland without being shown on ‘BusTracker.’” — Chuck Fargo
“I think anyone who uses a transit app has had that happen. It regularly occurs on the 77 and 9 bus routes. Then you’ll see multiple buses show up in a row. Sigh.” — Howard Moore
“Who hasn’t?” — Patricia Unsinn
Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
