Good morning, Chicago.
Chicago’s iconic mirrored Bean sculpture is expected to fully reopen to visitors by the end of June after almost a year of limited access, city officials revealed Thursday.
Grainger Plaza, the area of Millennium Park that surrounds the sculpture formally known as Cloud Gate, has been under construction since last summer. The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events said upgrades to the plaza include new steps, ramps, paver replacements, waterproofing and other accessibility changes.
The 110-ton reflective artwork, designed by artist Anish Kapoor in 2004, brings about 20 million visitors to Millennium Park annually, according to DCASE.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Today’s eNewspaper edition
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, left, walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Madrid on June 13, 2024. (Eduardo Parra/Pool Photo via AP)
Spain and Turkey call on the international community to act to stop the war in Gaza
Spain and Turkey called on the international community Thursday to stop “looking the other way” and press for the end of Israel’s attack on Gaza to crush Hamas, following a bilateral summit focused on strengthening economic cooperation between the Mediterranean countries.
Former President Donald Trump arrives to the Capitol Hill Club, June 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Trump refers to Milwaukee as ‘horrible’ just before the city hosts the Republican convention
Former President Donald Trump used the word “horrible” in talking about Milwaukee — the city where he will accept the Republican nomination next month — during a closed-door meeting Thursday with GOP congressmen, according to several people in the room who spoke afterward.
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot speaks at the City Club on Jan. 18, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Lightfoot to be visiting professor at University of Michigan
Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is adding another line to her post-City Hall resume.
Lightfoot has had a host of positions since she left office last May. She taught at Harvard University last fall and the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics in the spring.
Pedestrians pass Chicago Public Schools Headquarters at Madison Street in Chicago on May 28, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
CPS: Elementary students topped pre-pandemic literacy rate in preliminary standardized test results
With school districts across the country still grappling with learning loss due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago Public Schools announced that students in grades 3-8 appear to have performed better on English Language proficiency tests, on average, than they did in 2018-19, the last full school year before the pandemic disrupted in-person learning.
University of Illinois basketball standout Terrence Shannon Jr., center, gets a hug after being found not guilty after his sexual assault trial on June 13, 2024, in Lawrence, Kansas. (Chris Conde/The Lawrence Journal-World)
Illinois basketball star Terrence Shannon Jr. found not guilty in rape trial
Terrence Shannon Jr., the University of Illinois men’s basketball star and potential first-round pick in this month’s NBA draft, has been found not guilty of raping an 18-year-old woman in September at a bar near the University of Kansas campus.
The Chicago native sat motionless as a Douglas County jury returned the unanimous verdict after about 90 minutes of deliberation. Shannon, 23, was found not guilty of rape or an alternative count of aggravated sexual battery.
Northwestern athletic director Derrick Gragg watches football practice on Aug. 9, 2023, in Evanston. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Northwestern moves AD Derrick Gragg into a new role overseeing NIL and revenue-sharing strategy
Northwestern is seeking a new athletic director after announcing Thursday that Derrick Gragg will take over a newly created position overseeing the department’s “strategy and approach to the new era of collegiate athletics.”
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams throws during minicamp at Halas Hall in Lake Forest on June 5, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Column: How to survive the next 33 days without the Chicago Bears and rookie QB Caleb Williams
You already might have begun to notice the early warning signs of Chicago Bears withdrawal.
Paul Sullivan has advice for how to survive until Caleb & Co. return from their summer break to begin the one of the most anticipated regular season in Bears history.
The national tour of “The Kite Runner,” now at Chicago’s CIBC Theatre. (Bekah Lynn Photography)
Review: ‘The Kite Runner’ at CIBC Theatre has a compelling story that struggles to fly on stage
“The Kite Runner” is a powerful work, widely assigned in schools and famous following the 2007 film of the same name, but Tribune theater critic Chris Jones finds Matthew Spangler’s adaptation disappointing mostly because huge chunks of the storytelling are confined to the narrative voice, and because so little of the potential visual sweep of a story that draws on the ecstatic experience of flying a kite made it onto the stage.
In “Tuesday,” Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays a mother struggling with her daughter’s imminent death. (Kevin Baker/A24)
Review: ‘Tuesday’ is a dark fairy tale led by a staggeringly good Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Tribune film critic Michael Phillips is extremely happy to have seen “Tuesday,” which demands and receives new and challenging things from Julia Louis-Dreyfus while announcing a formidable new filmmaker, the Croatian writer-director Daina O. Pusić. She has created an imperfect but singular fairy tale for adults, but not just adults, really. There’s real magic and deep feeling behind it.
Lil Uzi Vert performs at Lyrical Lemonade Summer Smash at its previous Douglass Park location on Aug. 22, 2021. (Vashon Jordan Jr./Chicago Tribune)
What to do in Chicago: Juneteenth Celebration, Summer Smash and Joffrey in the park
Also around town this weekend, the Chicago Mexican Folk Fest and an Evanston run in memory of Northwestern coach Ricky Byrdsong.
