Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: On the first full day of President Donald Trump’s immigration “blitz,” sporadic reports of arrests fuel anxiety as many Chicagoans continue to hunker down and hundreds of federal agents move in.
🗞️ Plus: The new COVID-19 vaccine, Chicago’s invisible property owners and more news you need to know.👇
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat Atlanta, 6-1; the White Sox fell to the Rays, 5-4; the Sky lost to the Aces, 92-61.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a high near 80.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Chicago’s first full day of ‘Operation Midway Blitz’: Fear, tension and a ‘reality show’
By Mitchell Armentrout, Cindy Hernandez, Selena Kuznikov, Tina Sfondeles, Mariah Woelfel and Mary Norkol
Day one: The first full day of President Donald Trump’s “Operation Midway Blitz” played out much like the last few weeks as Trump teased stepped-up immigration enforcement in the city, with sporadic reports of arrests and rising tension in Chicago’s Latino community as hundreds of federal agents move in — and many residents hunker down.
Sporadic arrests: Details were scarce as videos surfaced of masked federal agents taking people into custody, with a smattering of arrests from the South Side to the west suburbs.
Chicagoans protest: A few hundred people gathered downtown across from Grant Park on Tuesday evening to protest Trump’s deportation campaign, eventually marching through the Loop, holding signs with messages such as “No Trump, No troops.”
Workplace warnings: The Sun-Times and WBEZ spoke with experts who shared what businesses and employees should know if federal immigration agents come to their workplace.
GAMES AND CROSSWORDS 🧩
This week’s Chicago-style crossword theme is: Murals.
Here’s your clue:
19D: ___ 4 the City (annual Chicago graffiti competition)
MORE NEWS YOU NEED
- COVID vaccine arrives: The updated COVID-19 vaccine has arrived at large pharmacies in Chicago and is available to those who meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s new, restrictive criteria. Everyone else is likely to get access to the shot in the city but may have to wait a few more weeks.
- Ex-bank official sentenced: James Crotty, former vice president of Washington Federal Bank for Savings, was sentenced Tuesday to a year in prison. Crotty previously pleaded guilty in the massive embezzlement scheme that caused the clout-heavy bank to fail seven years ago.
- New head of court: Bronzeville native Justice P. Scott Neville Jr. will become Illinois’ next chief justice of the state Supreme Court, the court announced.
- GOP’s gubernatorial ticket: Four years after he lost by more than half a million votes in the general election, hardline conservative Darren Bailey is running again to unseat Gov. JB Pritzker — this time with a more moderate running mate, Cook County GOP Chair Aaron Del Mar.
- Interim NU president: Former Northwestern University President Henry Bienen will step into the role again next week, serving as interim president following the resignation of President Michael Schill.
- Spot villain?: Bears fans say at least 40 vehicles were towed Monday night from a parking lot where their spots were reserved using the parking app SpotHero.
CHICAGO STORIES 🗞️
Reporting by Amy Qin and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang
Chicago’s invisible property owners
Apartment troubles: For two years, Russell Carter and his son had concerns about their South Shore apartment: Their caved-in bathroom ceiling, recurring heat shut-offs and a litany of other building code violations.
Who’s responsible?: Like many tenants, Carter knew the name of his property management company. But he didn’t know the names of the people who hired them — the investors ultimately accountable. A current search of county records shows his 13-unit building is owned by a pair of LLCs. Short for “limited liability company,” an LLC is a form of corporate ownership that protects property owners from personal legal liability.
Hidden landlords: Owners of LLCs are not required to disclose who they are, and it’s this feature that has made it easier than ever for problem landlords to hide in the housing market and harder for tenants to find out basic information about who owns their buildings. In some cases, the anonymity that LLCs provide makes it next to impossible to find out what other buildings a landlord owns, impeding the city’s ability to go after neglectful property owners in a systematic way.
MUST-READ COMMENTARY 💭
Specter of Trump’s immigration raids hurt Latino-owned businesses
By Amy Yee
Chicago-area Latino businesses are particularly affected by the president’s threats of mass deportation.
✶
Plan could mean beginning — or end — of Genesis Convention Center in Gary, Indiana
By Lee Bey
The city plans to seek proposals to reuse or raze the 44-year-old convention center. Our architecture critic says to reuse.
✶
Welcome to suburbia, team still calling itself the Chicago Bears! Let the razzing begin!
By Neil Steinberg
Can the Chicago Bears really move to Arlington Heights without losing something essential? A longtime suburbanite weighs in.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏀⚾🏈
- Giddey re-up: Josh Giddey has proven to be a solid salesman after signing a 4-year, $100 million deal with the Bulls.
- Who’s the real WNBA MVP?: The Aces’ Becky Hammon and the Sky’s Tyler Marsh say A’ja Wilson.
- Mead’s progress report: The White Sox’ Curtis Mead says he’s “trending in the right direction” at the plate.
- Peyton’s pitch: Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning tried to land a special guest to appear on the “ManningCast” for the Bears game Monday: Pope Leo XIV.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Chef Grant Achatz’s next adventure? Space food
Reporting by Ambar Colón
Next Restaurant, the satellite by culinary innovator Grant Achatz located at 953 W. Fulton Market, is known for creatively themed tasting menus that take diners to Paris 1906 or the kitchen of Julia Child.
Now, the renowned chef is planning a fall menu inspired by a boundless place few have visited: The cosmos. The limited-time menu of Next: Space will feature nearly a dozen courses that showcase seasonal, Midwest ingredients.
With space — and even the depths of Earth’s oceans — going largely unexplored, this tasting menu at Next Restaurant offers an endless range of possibilities, says Achatz, the award-winning chef behind Next and the three Michelin-starred Alinea in Lincoln Park.
The special menu runs from Saturday to early January 2026.
Why space? “It just gives us a blank slate to create within and use our imagination, versus having any sort of foundation to play off of and to have the obligation to meet certain expectations,” he told the Sun-Times.
Much of the food astronauts eat in space is simply functional, Achatz said. This tasting menu goes far beyond that.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s something every restaurant should have to be a true Chicago institution? Tell us why.
Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check Thursday’s Morning Edition newsletter.
Yesterday, we asked you: What will you try to squeeze into your Chicago summer before it’s over?
Here’s some of what you said…
“Kayaking on the river. And sitting still.”— Shannon Twenter
“The architectural boat tour on the river.”— David Fitzgerald
“More respite lakeside.”— Nicole Beck
“Standing outside Jim’s Original without freezing.”— Adam Rucker
“A new waistline after a memorable summertime Chi.”— Jesse Dunbar
Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Morning Edition!
Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.
Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
Hat tip: Thank you to Sun-Times’ Chris De Luca for the brilliance that is “Giddey re-up,” which you’ll find on today’s Sun-Times sports cover in print.
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