Good morning, Chicago.
It’s been nearly a week since Illinois and the city fully reopened. In this new pandemic era in which fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks in most settings, a new version of mask shaming and blaming has broken out. The Tribune’s Darcel Rockett talked to experts about the moral questions surrounding masks.
Speaking of reopening, the Chicago Bears announced yesterday that fans will be welcomed back to Soldier Field at full capacity for the 2021 season. And perhaps more importantly for some, pregame tailgating will also be permitted.
And, with the warm weather upon us and school days wrapping up, that means one thing for many parents and children: It’s almost time for summer camp. But Chicago-area camp directors are running into a problem — they don’t have enough counselors.
— Nicole Stock, audience editor
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The Illinois House delivered a rebuke to Mayor Lori Lightfoot yesterday by approving legislation that would shift control of Chicago Public Schools from the mayor to an elected 21-member school board by 2027.
The 70-41 vote by the Democratic-controlled chamber followed Senate approval two weeks ago. It came despite last-minute pleas from Lightfoot to members of the legislature’s Black Caucus contending the shift of power was too rapid, that it would deny minority representation and would cater to well-financed special interests and the Chicago Teachers Union.
Broad gun control measure aimed at modernizing FOID law, tightening private gun sale rules is sent to Gov. J.B. Pritzker by Illinois House
A few feet away from a rare copy of the Emancipation Proclamation signed by President Abraham Lincoln, Gov. J.B. Pritzker yesterday signed legislation making Juneteenth an official state holiday.
The holiday commemorates June 19, 1865, the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and informed the last enslaved African Americans that the Civil War had ended and that Lincoln’s proclamation more than two years earlier had declared them free.
Congress approves bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday
Mayor Lori Lightfoot fueled her political ascent with promises to reform policing, but after two years under her guidance, the Chicago Police Department’s present looks much like its past.
Black and Latino people account for more than 9 out of 10 arrests and uses of force by police, a disparity just as pronounced as it was under Rahm Emanuel, the Tribune found.
Anjanette Young, attorney blast Lightfoot, city Law Department for tactics during mediation over botched police raid on home
On a steamy weekday morning, along the eastern edge of Illinois, beams of light pierced through the leafy cover above Kickapoo State Park. A pulsating chorus swelled and steadied: cicada mating calls. A fine mist hung in the air: cicada pee. A man crunched down on a few of the twitching insects and said they tasted buttery: cicada brunch.
Brood X summer is in full swing Downstate, where 17-year periodical cicadas crawled their way up through thousands of straw-sized holes in the earth to make the most of the end of their lives.
Father’s Day has arrived amid warm weather and a thriving Chicago, as COVID-19 restrictions fall away during the city’s reopening.
Festivities are all too easy to indulge in, and Dad deserves some fun this weekend. Grab a restaurant-quality grilling kit for a backyard get-together, or make a reservation for anything from a brunch buffet with barbecue to a cocktail class at The Violet Hour. Here’s our list of where to eat and what to do.
