Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Why is the Chicago Police Department withholding videos from last month’s Border Patrol shooting on the Southwest Side?
🗞️ Plus: A judge curbs the feds’ use of force, an ICE agent faces DUI charges, the latest on food stamps and flight cancellations, and more news you need to know.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a chance of showers and a high near 61.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES 🔎
Judge blasts Trump’s Chicago ‘blitz,’ extends limits on use of force that ‘shocks the conscience’
By Jon Seidel
Judge’s ruling: U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis on Thursday handed down a historic order that further restricts federal agents’ use of force during their deportation campaign in Chicago. The force she’s seen so far, she said, “shocks the conscience.”
In the courtroom: Ellis invoked Carl Sandburg’s “City of the Big Shoulders” to tout Chicago’s greatness despite the Trump administration’s depictions. She said the U.S. Justice Department lacks credibility partly because U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino “admitted that he lied about whether a rock hit him before he deployed tear gas in Little Village.”
New order: Ellis’ new ruling will remain in effect while a lawsuit over the feds’ treatments of protesters and journalists plays out. The new order:
- Forbids agents from using “riot control weapons” against protesters or observers who pose no immediate threat, and without two warnings.
- Adds a restriction on “chokeholds, carotid restraints, neck restraints, or any other restraint technique that applies prolonged pressure to the neck that may restrict blood flow or air passage.”
- Requires agents to display identifying star or badge numbers “conspicuously” in “two separate places.”
More headlines:
- Minister who feds hit with pepperballs praises court restrictions on use of force
- How Kristi Noem, Gregory Bovino defend effort to ‘hammer’ protesters
- Feds lead caravan through Southwest Side, question residents’ citizenship
- Parents want answers after feds arrest day care teacher
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Police withhold Border Patrol shooting videos, cite probe of chief accused of calling off cops
By Tom Schuba and Peter Nickeas
Oct. 4 shooting: Last month, Chicago’s top cop Supt. Larry Snelling spoke to the media after a Border Patrol agent shot a woman. Patrol Chief Jon Hein was facing a flood of criticism after radio transmissions showed Hein’s officers were ordered not to respond to the Oct. 4 shooting scene as an angry crowd gathered to protest. Snelling defended Hein, saying reports that police were told to stand down were “absolutely not true.”
Blocking video: Dozens of complaints were filed against Hein over his response to the Oct. 4 incident; all but one have been closed out. Police officials are citing that one complaint to block the public release of videos tied to the shooting, saying that releasing the body camera and drone footage would hinder the ongoing investigation of the complaint.
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ICE agent facing DUI in Oak Brook after driving into tree line
By Violet Miller and Mary Norkol
ICE DUI: An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is facing DUI charges after his car hopped a curb and he drove into a tree line, according to bodycam footage and report obtained by the Sun-Times from Oak Brook police through Freedom of Information Act requests.
Key context: Guillermo Diaz-Torres — a 33-year-old Albuquerque, New Mexico, resident and ICE agent — was driving a 2025 KIA Telluride with an Illinois fleet plate and had his service weapon in the back seat when he was arrested Oct. 26, according to the report. He faces up to a year in jail and is set to be arraigned Dec. 5 in DuPage County.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED ✶
- Flight cut fears: Some Chicago-area air travelers are anxious and scrambling, uncertain if their upcoming flights will be impacted by the Federal Aviation Administration’s planned 10% air traffic cuts, as the government shutdown stretches into its second month.
- Benefits arrive: Partial Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for those who were supposed to receive them Nov. 1-6 will be sent out starting Friday, the Illinois Department of Human Services said. However, it warns some customers’ benefits will be reduced to nothing by the Trump administration, even with the updated payment schedule.
- 24-hour Orange Line: The CTA will use its share of a $1.5 billion mass transit bailout from Springfield to provide 24-hour service on the Orange Line to Midway Airport and deliver more frequent and cleaner bus and rail service, acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen said.
- Ride sharing: An Americans with Disabilities Act ride-share program that was on the chopping block is set to be revived, also with money from the transit funding bill, officials said.
- Starbucks labor strife: Union members said they voted to strike next week at the company’s U.S. stores, including ones in Chicago, unless it finalizes a contract agreement.
POLITICS ✶
- Who is Patty Garcia?: U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia surprised many this week by deciding not to seek reelection — and quickly shifted to helping his chief of staff, Patty Garcia, take his place. Here’s what we know about her.
- Ex-alderman out: The Chicago Housing Authority was considering six finalists for its long-vacant CEO job — and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s pick for the role, retired Ald. Walter Burnett, is unlikely to get it.
- Head tax hype: Emboldened by the Democratic sweep in Tuesday’s nationwide elections, Mayor Johnson is defending the corporate head tax that Gov. JB Pritzker, business leaders and more than half the City Council are determined to reduce or eliminate.
WEEKEND PLANS 🎉
⭐ Stargazing at Northerly Island
6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday
📍Northerly Island Park, 1521 S. Linn White Drive
Whether you’re an expert or casual observer, you can join the educational organization Chicago Astronomer for guided stargazing sessions.
Admission: Free
💃 Deeply Rooted Dance Theater
Friday and Saturday
📍Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St.
The Chicago-based company kicks off its 30th anniversary season with pieces from Kevin Iega Jeff, Nicole Clarke-Springer and more.
Admission: $45+
🎷 Chicago Asian American Jazz Festival
Friday through Monday
📍Elastic Arts, 3429 W. Diversey Ave.
The annual fest returns with performances from Jeff Chan and Ratchet, Yoko Noge and Jazz Me Blues, Kioto Aoki Trio, and more.
Admission: $20
🎥 Black Harvest Film Festival
Friday through Nov. 16
📍Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State St.
A showcase of Black cinema from across the diaspora, with screenings of feature-length and short films including “Move Ya Body: The Birth of House” and Angela Lynn Tucker’s “The Inquisitor.”
Admission: $13+
🎄 Tree Lighting and Cultural Festival
10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday
📍Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, 5700 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive
The Christmas Around the World and Holiday of Lights exhibit returns with more than 50 holiday trees and celebrations of light for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali and more.
Admission: $25+
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈🏒⚾
- Who’s on the list?: The Bears have 14 players on its injury report, but some are progressing toward playing against the Giants on Sunday.
- Bedard’s moment: Connor Bedard is taking a Bigfoot-sized step toward superstardom for the Blackhawks this season.
- Cubs make offers: The Cubs extended qualifying offers to Shota Imanaga and Kyle Tucker.
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Where to find Polish food classics in Chicago
By Joanna Marszałek and Mary Wisniewski
Equipped with notebooks and appetites, reporters Joanna Marszałek and Mary Wisniewski set out to find the best old and new Polish restaurants in Chicago.
Marszałek is a Polish-born immigrant well versed in the cuisine of the modern country and Wisniewski is a second-generation Polish American familiar with old-time recipes.
They ate potato pancakes, beet salad and żurek; they found a rich borscht worthy of Christmas Eve dinner in a tiny restaurant adjoining a workmen’s bar; and they devoured crispy zapiekanki — a Polish “pizza” consisting of an open-face baguette with cheese and other toppings — on a hip Lincoln Park corner.
Marszałek and Wisniewski came up with seven solid choices, including:
- Pierogi Kitchen, 1856 W. North Ave., a welcome throwback to Old Wicker Park, where the potato and cheese pierogi was a standout.
- Polish Bistro, 8303 W. Irving Park Road, an unassuming place adjoining a crowded bar, where you must try the potato pancakes.
- Polish Pączki Café, 7210 W. Foster Ave., a strip mall star with 1980s decor whose namesake pączki will make you fall in love.
GAMES AND CROSSWORDS 🧩
This week’s Chicago-style crossword theme is: Famous Chicagoans 🌟
Here’s your clue:
1A: “The Fugitive” star and Chicagoan-by-birth, Harrison ___
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Are you flying out of Chicago amid the FAA cuts? What’s your backup plan if your flight gets delayed or cancelled? ✈️
Email us (please include your first and last name). We may run your answers in Monday’s Morning Edition newsletter.
Yesterday, we asked you: When the days get shorter and the temperatures drop, how do you kick the Chicago winter blues?
Here’s some of what you said …
“Have entertainment events on the calendar to look forward to — holiday-themed plays, concerts, dinners, worship services … All get me inside AND feeling warm inside.” — Paul Lockwood
“I get outside! Bundle up, hike in the forest preserve, cross-country ski, go visit ice sculptures, take grandchildren sledding, have a snowball fight, build a snowman.” — Sandy Ritt Anderson
“Family and I have booked volleyball 6-8 p.m. [twice] a week. Been game- changing already. No pun intended.” — Guillermo Flores
“Indoor/outdoor skating; hiking/snow-shoeing/cross-country skiing … and downtown dining and entertainment. And edibles and vape.” — Dean Currao
“I listen to Buddy Guy.” — Tony Galati
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
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