Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Our investigation into the firing of a former principal now running for president of Chicago’s first-ever fully elected school board.
🗞️ Plus: A City Council recap, the push to save a mansion built by Mrs. O’Leary’s son, a new era for Chicago’s candy legacy and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to the Marlins, 3-2; the White Sox lost to the Royals, 5-4.
🌤️ Today’s weather: Partly sunny with a high near 68.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
School Board president candidate faces scrutiny over 2018 firing
Reporting by Mila Koumpilova and Sarah Karp
Biggs banned: Jessica Biggs claims leading a South Side school is a top reason voters should pick her in the race for Chicago’s first elected school board president. That’s even though she was fired from her job as principal of Burke Elementary in 2018, and until recently, was banned from working in Chicago Public Schools.
Candidates’ claims: Biggs, a current school board member, has maintained she was terminated based on a rushed internal investigation after openly criticizing district practices. Her opponents say her dismissal revealed a deliberate, multi-year scheme to falsify attendance data to game her school’s rating.
Our investigation: A WBEZ and Chalkbeat Chicago investigation shows a more nuanced picture. At Biggs’ direction, Burke staff improperly marked students tardy. An uptick in the school’s attendance rate helped improve a high-stakes rating given to the school. But the inspector general’s report does not lay out a full-blown conspiracy to cheat, and it’s hard to say how much of the attendance bump came from mislabeling students versus a concerted effort to get kids to school.
Meet the candidates: Attorney Victor Henderson, leadership consultant Sendhil Revuluri, and former Chicago Teachers Union deputy political director Hilario Dominguez also want the president’s seat. Learn more about them here.
CITY COUNCIL RECAP 🏛️
Mayoral allies stall debt approval measure
Reporting by Fran Spielman
Vote delayed: Mayoral allies temporarily derailed an ordinance at Wednesday’s City Council meeting that would require future borrowing to be approved by a three-fifths vote. That’s 30 votes instead of the current benchmark of 26.
Data center decision: Also on Wednesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson followed through on his promise to propose a one-year moratorium on new or expanded data centers until permanent regulations are established to mitigate their impact on the power grid, the water supply and the environment.
TIF approved: Additionally, Council members authorized a $201 million tax increment financing subsidy to pave the way for JDL Development to start construction of the first phase of Foundry Park, a $3 billion replacement for the failed Lincoln Yards mega-project.
Settlements OK’d: A nearly $14 million settlement was approved to compensate two defendants framed by corrupt Chicago Police Detective Reynaldo Guevara for murders they said they didn’t commit. A $6 million payout to the family of a man killed in a police chase was also OK’d.
Meter deal update: On Thursday, a parking meter compromise is up for a vote in the Council’s Finance Committee.
CHICAGO HISTORY ✶
Landmark status sought for mansion built by Mrs. O’Leary’s son
Reporting by Lee Bey
Historic mansion: An endangered Englewood mansion built by the Victorian-era man-about-town and gambler James “Big Jim” O’Leary — his mother and her cow were blamed for starting the Great Chicago Fire — should be granted preliminary landmark status, the city’s two leading preservation groups said Monday.
Key context: The vacant, 125-year-old O’Leary Mansion, 726 W. Garfield Blvd., is currently in demolition court under a raft of code violations. The three-story, 33-room house was designed by Zachary Taylor Davis, an architect whose works include Wrigley Field and the old Comiskey Park.
Status case: “We’re looking at a number of factors [as reasons to landmark the house], from the architecture to the architect, to the people connected with this place,” Landmarks Illinois Interim President and CEO Frank Butterfield said.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Funeral home scandal: A hearing is scheduled Thursday in a lawsuit against South Chicago Chapel, the funeral home where 56 decomposing bodies were discovered in August. Here’s what to know.
- 3rd person charged in man’s death: An 18-year-old man appeared in court Wednesday, marking the third suspect charged in the homicide of Kyle Bickham, who was pushed off a Red Line train Sept. 7.
- Tylenol murders lead: A man who died in 1982 could have ties to the Tylenol murders case, according to law enforcement in Idaho. Dr. Matthew Francis Betkouski hasn’t been named a suspect, but his former coworkers reportedly accused him of claiming he could commit the “perfect crime” by slipping poison into pharmaceuticals.
- Misconduct hearing set: The judge who uncovered apparent misconduct by prosecutors in the “Broadview Six” conspiracy case has scheduled a hearing Oct. 1 to help her decide what to do about the discovery that shook the Dirksen Federal Courthouse this summer.
- Chicago extends Divvy contract: The network of rentable bikes, e-bikes and scooters is planning some changes, including discounted pricing on the South and West Sides and a new bike model.
- Joffrey doc: A new PBS documentary captures the discipline, creativity and heart behind the Joffrey Ballet’s trailblazing “Winning Works” program for emerging artists historically excluded from ballet.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Bridgeport’s concerns: Residents Jonathan Chen and Maria LaGiglio explain how they’re viewing Amtrak’s plan to move its Chicago maintenance facility from South Loop to Bridgeport.
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Card conversations: Jordan Abell, a Chicago high school senior behind a new card game inspiring debate, joins the show to discuss.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Manopause: Men’s hormones and testosterone levels can change as they age. A medical expert and callers weigh in.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 3D: Like the cuisine at 88 Marketplace
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏈🏀
- Remembering Don Cooper: A former White Sox pitching coach who led a World Series-winning rotation, Mr. Cooper died at age 70.
- Bregman recovering: The Cubs’ Alex Bregman said Wednesday that he “felt like I got hit by a baseball bat to the face,” and he’s working to make a quick return.
- Williams unphased: Bears QB Caleb Williams is back to being a punching bag, but he’s never let a little backlash get him down, writes Jason Lieser.
- High school boys basketball: There have been many changes to high school basketball in the last several years — Joe Henricksen breaks them down.
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Wonky-esque gummy production comes to Chicago
Reporting by Maggie Hennessy
More than a century after Wrigley, Brach’s and Mars helped turn Chicago into a candy epicenter, a trio of artists with an unabashed candy obsession brought their gummy candy startup to the shuttered former Jelly Belly plant in suburban North Chicago, ushering in a new era for this storied city of sweets production.
The actor Martin Starr and musicians and twins Ezra and Adeev Potash cofounded Sweet Stash last fall with an additive-free gummy with the complex flavor and texture dimension of candies they discovered over years of globe-trekking.
“We are obsessed with candy beyond what’s normal and maybe even healthy,” Ezra said.
After months of routinely selling out on Amazon amid requests from retailers for their toothsome, musical note-shaped Jams gummies in flavors like Prickly Pear, Strawbarb and White Peach, the company moved production from Nebraska (the twins’ home state) to Ferrara’s 113-year-old Jelly Belly factory in April.
The move doesn’t just mean taking on bigger orders and getting onto more indie store shelves while maintaining consistency in a product free from gluten, synthetic dyes and corn syrup. This self-starting trio can also keep making candy limited mostly by their imaginations in a city known for confectionery innovation — a rarity for an industry dominated by profit-seeking conglomerates.
“We’re a small band of creative people going up against billion-dollar companies that make candy by the tank,” Adeev said.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Aside from the ballpark, where’s the next best place to watch a Cubs or White Sox game? Tell us what makes that place the best.
Reply to this question via email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
PICTURE CHICAGO 📸
Alyssa Espinosa, a North Lawndale resident, shows off her boot outside Douglass Park after a muddy Riot Fest on Monday.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Michael Lansu