Good morning, Chicago.
The ShotSpotter gunshot detection system could get another chance to stick around in Chicago as aldermen try to wrest control over the technology’s future from Mayor Brandon Johnson.
Aldermen on Monday advanced an order to give the City Council final say over violence prevention funding efforts removed by the mayor, such as ShotSpotter. The effort revives the contentious fight over the technology that is set to be canceled later this year after Johnson followed through on a campaign pledge to end the company’s contract with the city.
The potential rebuke of the mayor’s power over the ShotSpotter deal moved forward with little criticism and a unanimous voice vote in the council’s Police and Fire Committee. Johnson’s council allies, like his hand-picked Finance Committee chair, Ald. Pat Dowell, 3rd, joined opponents in the push to gain the power to override his decision.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jake Sheridan.
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Cook County state’s attorney Democratic Party nominee Eileen O’Neill Burke, left, chats with Ald. Debra Silverstein and supporters on April 1, 2024, at the Plumbers Local 130 UA Training Center in Chicago. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Eileen O’Neill Burke marks victory in primary for state’s attorney as November campaign looms
Eileen O’Neill Burke finds herself being embraced by the same county Democratic Party that for months championed her opponent in the primary, Clayton Harris III, until he conceded defeat on Friday.
As she now receives the backing of Cook County Board President and county Democratic Party Chair Toni Preckwinkle, O’Neill Burke’s also managing continued support from one of Preckwinkle’s biggest political foes — Chicago police union boss John Catanzara, a declared proponent of former President Donald Trump.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, 25th, speaks in his own defense at City Hall in Chicago on April 1, 2024, during a special meeting of the City Council called to determine if Sigcho-Lopez should be removed from his position as chairman of the Committee on Housing and Real Estate. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Alderman who spoke in front of burnt American flag avoids punishment
After more than two hours of often-heated debate that touched on First Amendment rights, appropriate behavior for elected officials and the increasingly divided nature of the council, aldermen voted 29-16 not to punish Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez, a progressive ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson.
At Rosewood Beach in Highland Park, a ravine flowing toward Lake Michigan is seen on March 28, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Great Lakes ice cover hits record low through mid-March of this year
Typically, the ice coverage across the lakes peaks at an average of 53% in late February or early March. This year, the maximum ice cover was just 16% in the third week of January. It then plummeted to a historic low of 2.7% in early February, according to NOAA. Average ice cover from Jan. 1 through March 17 was 5%, breaking the previous record low of 5.5% for this time period set in 2012.
Dr. Fabio Ortega, shown in March 2023 during a civil proceeding at the Daley Center, pleaded guilty in 2021 to sexually abusing two former patients. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
More patients sue former Endeavor Health gynecologist Fabio Ortega, alleging sexual assault
Three more women are suing former OB-GYN Dr. Fabio Ortega and the health systems where he worked, alleging the doctor sexually assaulted them as patients.
A total of 34 former patients have now sued Ortega, Endeavor Health and/or Swedish Hospital alleging inappropriate conduct by the doctor.
Sendy Soto, Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer, listens to speakers at the grand opening of the Lawson House, a building with newly renovated affordable housing units in the Gold Coast, on April 1, 2024, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Johnson unveils Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer, takes more shots at ‘wicked’ adversaries of Bring Chicago Home
Mayor Brandon Johnson debuted his pick for Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer during a Monday news conference that also saw him stand firm against the real estate lobby and other political adversaries over his progressive agenda.
In introducing Sendy Soto at the grand opening of the Lawson House’s newly renovated affordable housing units in the Gold Coast, the mayor first pushed back on characterizations of his reaction to the Bring Chicago Home referendum’s loss as “defiant.”
Chicago Cubs players Christopher Morel and Cody Bellinger celebrate the win, April 1, 2024, in the home opener at Wrigley Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Column: Chicago Cubs provide their own fireworks in 5-0 win over the Colorado Rockies in home opener
As home openers go, their 5-0 win over the Colorado Rockies was everything the Cubs could have hoped for, writes Paul Sullivan.
Shota Imanaga’s stellar MLB debut fuels Chicago Cubs’ 5-0 win over Colorado Rockies
Cubs fans rejoice at home opener: ‘High holy day in baseball’s cathedral’
White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jiménez winces as he walks back to the dugout after being thrown out at first during the sixth inning against the Tigers on March 31, 2024, at Guaranteed Rate Field. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
With Eloy Jiménez day to day, Chicago White Sox fall to 0-4 with 3 hits in a 9-0 loss to Atlanta Braves
The Chicago White Sox haven’t had a whole lot of offensive production to begin the season.
That trend continued Monday with a 9-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves in front of 13,781 at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Starting pitcher Mike Clevinger is returning to the Chicago White Sox on a 1-year deal
Oak Park resident Joe Berton, who posed as fictional Mets pitcher Sidd Finch in a 1985 Sports Illustrated hoax, at his Oak Park home on March 25, 2011. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Column: A new baseball season brings back Updike, Brashler and Plimpton
Rick Kogan writes: “I like movies and I like baseball but I start every new baseball season by returning to old words, and so this year I reread ‘The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings’ because it was written by Chicago’s William Brashler, who also wrote other fine books, including a great novel titled ‘City Dogs’ in 1976 and later (in collaboration with Reinder Van Til) 1991’s ‘Murder in Wrigley Field,’ using the pseudonym Crabbe Evers. Brashler is a great writer.”
“Since Monday was April 1, I couldn’t resist visiting another ‘old friend.’ His name is Sidd Finch and he was the greatest baseball player who never was, except in the mind of writer George Plimpton, who created him on the pages of the April 1, 1985, issue of Sports Illustrated.”
Photographs styled and staged by Martine Gutierrez and published in “Indigenous Woman,” her 128-page parody magazine. Part of “Native America: In Translation” at the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago organized by Aperture, curated by Wendy Red Star. (RYAN LEE Gallery)
Review: Indigenous artists take charge of the camera at MoCP
Fabulous fashion spreads open “Native America: In Translation,” a thoughtful and wide-ranging group show of nine Indigenous artists at the Museum of Contemporary Photography. Slim, sexy models wear chic clothes, posed against backdrops ranging from a tropical paradise to the white non-space of a commercial studio.
Look carefully, though, and the glossy veneer cracks, writes Lori Waxman.
