Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: The mother of a Faceworld gang member was found guilty of retaliating against a witness in her son’s murder case.
🗞️ Plus: Extreme heat breaks our bridges, another bond rating upgrade for the state of Illinois, and more.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to the Brewers, 9-5; the White Sox lost to the Astros, 2-0.
📧 Subscribe: Get our morning newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a chance of afternoon storms and a high near 95, with heat index values as high as 103. Another heat warning is in effect through 7 p.m.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Mom of Faceworld gang member found guilty of retaliating against a witness in son’s murder case
Reporting by Frank Main
Mom’s alleged role: Donnita Bryant wasn’t accused of pulling a trigger, taking part in a kidnapping or committing any of the other brutal crimes federal prosecutors have tied to the South Side street gang known as Faceworld. But prosecutors say the mother of a convicted Faceworld killer joined her son’s campaign of intimidation — and helped post a videotaped law enforcement interview on social media to brand a government witness a “rat.”
The conviction: On Wednesday, a jury found Bryant and a Faceworld associate guilty of conspiring with her son to retaliate against witnesses in his murder case — the latest development in a sprawling FBI crackdown that’s swept up at least a dozen reputed Faceworld members over the past three years.
Son’s plea: Earlier this year, Bryant’s son Diontae Harper pleaded guilty to a federal charge that accused him of firing into a car at a South Side gas station and killing a 22-year-old man in 2020. He also pleaded guilty on Aug. 17 to the charges in the witness retaliation case.
Key context: The case offered a window into the violence prosecutors say Faceworld unleashed on West Chatham and surrounding South Side neighborhoods — more than a dozen killings, the gang rape of a woman forced to drink bleach and Harper’s behind-bars campaign to expose government witnesses. The Faceworld investigation was part of a broader federal effort to rein in violence linked to Chicago gangs like Goonie Boss, Hobos and O Block.
ENVIRONMENT ⚡
ComEd customers pay billions to keep the lights on during storms. Will it be enough?
Reporting by Brett Chase
Keeping the lights on: ComEd customers have footed the bill for billions of dollars spent by the utility in recent years to help ensure that power stays on in Northern Illinois even during the worst weather. ComEd says it needs to raise more than $15 billion through rate increases to handle rising demand and intense storms that experts say are getting worse because of climate change.
Is that enough? The lights still went out in 2.4 million homes during storms this year. Sometimes, it was for an hour or less. People in the south suburbs have been left without electricity for as long as five days. ComEd said the number of outages citywide this year would be twice as high had it not made technological improvements in recent years to better deal with weather-related damage.
At issue: The utility and state officials say more must be done to strengthen parts of the grid that are many decades old, in addition to the $4.4 billion already being spent on a previously approved initiative to strengthen the electric grid.
MORE IN ENVIRONMENT ⚡
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- Bridges stuck in heat: The DuSable Lake Shore Drive bridge was stuck for hours Wednesday morning after opening for a yacht to pass beneath, with officials citing a “heat-related” issue and spraying water on the structure to cool it down. Later Wednesday, the Torrence Avenue Bridge on the Far South Side also got stuck in the raised position.
- Homewood still recovering: Local, state and federal representatives walked through storm-damaged Homewood on Wednesday, gathering information to support a request for relief funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
- Mosquito safety: Chicago health officials recently reported the first death of 2026 due to the mosquito-borne West Nile virus. We’ve got tips for how to protect yourself.
- Are cicadas louder this year? Experts say it’s “inconclusive,” but don’t deny that the male calls this year are really loud.
- Record hailstone: “A real beast” of hail that dropped in Kankakee on March 10 is officially the state’s largest recorded hailstone, measuring 6.6 inches in diameter and weighing 1.2 pounds.
THE WATCHDOGS 👀
After drug arrest, resignation calls emerge for chairman of Triton College’s board
Reporting by Robert Herguth
Calls for ouster: Mark Stephens, a member of Rosemont’s ruling family, has chaired Triton College’s board of trustees since the 1990s. He was busted during a July 31 traffic stop with a substance believed to be cocaine.
Colleagues’ demands: Two colleagues on the community college’s elected panel say it’s time for Stephens to step down from his position on the board, while others question his “fitness” for the job, citing Stephens’ lack of transparency, “condescending” treatment of students and failure to attend commencement ceremonies.
Key context: Stephens is the brother of Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens and a son of late Mayor Donald E. Stephens. In addition to his position on Triton’s board, Mark Stephens also runs a maintenance company that has reaped millions of dollars from Rosemont’s municipal government.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Bond rating upgrades: S&P Global Ratings raised Illinois’ general obligation bond rating from an “A-” to an “A.” Last week, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded its bond rating for Illinois, saying the state has demonstrated “conservative fiscal management.”
- Fed faces trial: A federal judge rejected the argument that the “Broadview Six” scandal involving alleged government misconduct should derail the prosecution of Luis Uribe, an immigration officer accused of sexual assault who is facing trial next week.
- ‘Blitz’ suit faces ruling: The judge who once tried to limit the feds’ use of force during Operation Midway Blitz is now expected to decide in mid-November whether she’ll allow Illinois and Chicago’s lawsuit over the deportation campaign to move forward.
- Free WiFi for students: More than 28,000 Chicago Public Schools students will have access to free internet at home this year thanks to the extension of the Chicago Connected program.
- Hersh Goldberg-Polin honored: A kosher community fridge honoring Hersh Goldberg-Polin was dedicated Wednesday in Skokie. Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old with Chicago ties, was taken hostage and later killed by Hamas.
- Joffrey Ballet head to step down: The dance company’s President and CEO Greg Cameron will step down in December 2027, ending a 15-year tenure during which he oversaw a financial turnaround for the local institution.
YE AND CHICAGO 🎵
Ye kicks off a two-night stint at Soldier Field on Thursday, marking a return for the rapper formerly known as Kanye West to the city that raised him.
More than 20 years after his debut album, Ye’s career is shrouded in controversy, following years of antisemitic incidents, allegations of assault and outbursts.
To help unpack his return and legacy, we’ve got perspectives from four Chicagoans. Click each author’s name to read their full column.
- Arionne Nettles: Ye is unrecognizable from the “Old Kanye” we fell in love with.
- Nile Lasana: My nearly bulletproof love for Kanye has eroded.
- Mary L. Datcher: There’s still room at Chicago’s table for Ye.
- Tamar Manasseh: I’m a Chicago rabbi, and I choose to forgive Kanye.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- O’Hare Flyer plan: A train from the Loop to O’Hare Airport in 15 minutes? Leaders behind the project join the show to discuss their high-flying pitch, and a transportation expert weighs in.
- Electrifying vehicles: Seloc, a Chicago-based company, is trying to convert fleets of school buses and firetrucks into electric vehicles. The company’s founder and a climate expert join the show to discuss.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- What’s in a name? President Donald Trump’s executive order changing the name of Lake Ontario is his latest renaming effort. In Chicago, landmarks like Lake Shore Drive and the Sears Tower have been renamed, but many locals say they won’t change what they call them. Callers weigh in on the legacy of name changes and the fights over them.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈⚾
- Will Kyler Gordon return? One day after Bears GM Ryan Poles said he couldn’t guarantee the cornerback would ever play for them again, a rehab specialist posted videos of Gordon going through private workouts.
- Playoff plan: The Cubs need to lose the bullpen blues to be the best version of themselves come October, writes Vinnie Duber.
- Running joke? The Sox’s baserunning mishaps and missed opportunities defined their shutout loss in Houston.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 5D: Bears coach Johnson
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Sound & Gravity festival creates space for ‘left of center art’
Reporting by Selena Fragassi
There’s only one way to sum up the eclectic range of acts appearing at the Sound & Gravity Festival this weekend, a lineup that includes electro rockers Son Lux, ambient master Grouper and avant-jazz ensemble Natural Information Society.
“The band has either played at Constellation or should have,” said festival creator Mike Reed.
The boutique venue, 3111 N. Western Ave., is where Reed books a mix of modern jazz, contemporary classical and experimental acts year-round. And it’s one of the seven concert halls participating in the multiday, multivenue festival that returns Sept. 3-6 to the Avondale area for its second year.
Programming the festival in one centralized area of venues (where Reed also lives) is twofold. First, he said, “I wanted to get away from the festival of 20,000 people in the park, which I think has in a lot of ways played itself out, at least in Chicago.”
But the other reason was to encourage music fans to easily jump from one venue to the next and discover a new band — or a new neighborhood. Sound & Gravity’s website offers a map with eight different restaurants to check out nearby, too, like Indian street food eatery Thattu and BBQ hot spot Soul & Smoke.
“The core of our audience is people who are interested in discovery,” said Reed.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s something in Chicago that, despite its name being changed years ago, you still find yourself calling it something else?
Reply to this question via email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Satchel Price