Hello, Chicago.
Illinois is the birthplace of the nation’s greatest president, Abraham Lincoln. It is the birthplace of Ronald Reagan and the state where Barack Obama developed his political talents.
But Illinois is far more famous for its notorious political legacy: persistent and ongoing corruption. Four of its last 11 governors have been imprisoned. Chicago, its largest city, is the scene of federal sting operations that put busloads of judges, aldermen, state legislators and other officials behind bars.
What makes Illinois so corrupt? In the coming weeks and months, the Tribune will explore and attempt to explain why corruption continues to plague virtually every level of government in our state, draining taxpayer dollars and robbing public service of meaning in a series called “Culture of Corruption.”
Read part one from Rick Pearson and Ray Long of the Tribune.
For this series, the Tribune’s Kori Rumore, Ray Long and John Chase have compiled a list of about 200 convicted, indicted or otherwise notorious public officials from Illinois’ long and infamous political history. Meet the small-town official behind the largest municipal fraud in the nation’s history, the Chicago mayor with ties to gangster Al Capone and more.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Some CPS parents are taking on transportation themselves as school transportation woes continue for the 2024-25 school year
Despite a new Chicago Public Schools plan promising to improve transportation services for eligible students, students at selective and magnet schools will not be guaranteed bus transportation again this year, leaving parents scrambling to find transportation options to get their children to and from selective and magnet schools that draw students from across the city.
CPS Students and Parents Enjoy Last Weekend of Summer Vacation
Before the start of the new year in Chicago Public Schools, students and their families took advantage of their last weekend of summer vacation by hosting various neighborhood gatherings and back-to-school parties, many of which offered free school supplies and backpacks.
Members of the Midwest farming community meet with shrimp fishermen and researchers during a visit to the Gulf Dead Zone
Six members of Midwestern farming communities gathered around Louisiana fisherman Lance Nacio earlier this month as he showed family photos and talked about the shrimping business he inherited from his father and grandfather. Later that night, the group talked about the Gulf of Mexico dead zone — the main thing that connects them — over a shrimp cook-off.
The dead zone is a lifeless expanse caused by excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus in agricultural fertilizers, that flow from the Midwestern states through the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River basin.
Interview with Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams
The conversation begins with a question. When, pray tell, will Caleb Williams officially arrive as an NFL star?
We need some clarity here. A date and a time. That’s the question Chicago must answer, the storyline much of the NFL world is eager to see.
So, Caleb, tell us.
100-loss mark reaches climax: The Chicago White Sox reach the 100-loss mark for the 6th time in franchise history after a 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers
The Sox became the second team in modern-era Major League Baseball history to lose more than 100 times in the first 131 games of a season after losing 9-4 Sunday in front of 16,928 fans at Guaranteed Rate Field. The Sox joined the ranks of the 1916 Philadelphia A’s, who were 29-101-1 after Game 131.
Babe Ruth’s ‘Called Shot’ Jersey Sells at Auction for Over $24 Million
The jersey Babe Ruth wore when he called his shot in the 1932 World Series, hitting a home run to center field, sold at auction early Sunday for more than $24 million.
I know what you stole last summer: apologize to this national park and give it back. Better yet, write them a letter.
A few years ago, on Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin, the police received a cardboard box. Inside was a note on blue paper that read: “Please return to Schoolhouse Beach.” The box contained three smooth, grayish-white rocks, exactly the kind of rocks that tourists regularly take to Schoolhouse Beach, a beach that locals consider one of the most beautiful in the world, made entirely of pebbles. If you were caught taking even one of these rocks, you could be fined $250. It’s likely that whoever mailed the rocks—there was no return address or signature on the letter—was fined $750.
And yet the mere fact that someone had taken the time to bring back three rocks that looked like all the others on Schoolhouse Beach suggested that a more existential concern was nagging at them. Their conscience was speaking to them.
Restaurant News: Stussy’s Diner in Bridgeport Among Notable Openings and Closings Around Chicago
Stussy’s Diner has transformed a former 24-hour corner restaurant into a new pink destination in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
“It’s the fusion of a retro and modern restaurant,” said creative director Dahlia Beckett.
Review: ‘Divination’ Was a Crowning Moment for Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project
Surrounded by dancers, musicians and community leaders on the stage of the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project co-director Mashaune Hardy delivered the final valedictory address for “Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk.” This year’s presentation at Millennium Park marked the end of a two-year process for 10 dance companies participating in the project, writes Lauren Warnecke.
Review: Pink with Sheryl Crow at Soldier Field
Feeding on electric emotions and adrenaline, Pink operated in a relationship inaccessible to most mortals, writes critic Bob Gendron.
