Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Federal immigration officers were after “the worst of the worst” during last fall’s “Operation Midway Blitz” — but our analysis shows that just 15% of people detained here had a prior criminal conviction.
🗞️ Plus: The Flock fight over surveillance, families call for criminal charges against the owners of the South Chicago Chapel funeral home and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to the Reds, 7-5; the White Sox lost to the Twins, 5-1.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Partly sunny with a chance of more thunderstorms and a high near 87.
CHICAGO JIGSAW PUZZLE 🧩
Piece together history to reveal more about today’s photo from the Sun-Times archives.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Flock license plate readers turn suburbs into ground zero for bitter fight over surveillance
Reporting by Violet Miller
Flock flak: Law enforcement officials say Flock Safety’s powerful license-plate reader system helps crack cases by allowing them to easily pinpoint crime suspects. But critics argue the technology has largely gone unchecked and is ripe for abuse.
Key context: Flock’s cameras track every driver that passes them, logging billions of license-plate scans in databases that can potentially be searched by any law enforcement agency that pays for access.
In Illinois: Flock’s massive cache of license-plate data in Illinois has been accessed by out-of-state officials monitoring abortions and by federal immigration agents whose coordination with local police is restricted under state law.
For example: Prosecutors in McHenry County say William Copp, a part-time police officer in Prairie Grove, was using Flock to stalk his former partners and others in his orbit, conducting hundreds of searches tracking their movements. “It scares me to death that he could still be using another system to track me,” one partner said in a petition for a protective order.
IMMIGRATION ✶
Trump’s ‘Blitz’ on Chicago targeting the ‘worst of the worst’ detained only 5 murderers in 68 days
Reporting by Lauren FitzPatrick and Alden Loury
Midway miss?: A Sun-Times/WBEZ analysis of data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows the Trump administration’s “Operation Midway Blitz” campaign proved less effective in Chicago than the quieter efforts they had taken earlier in the second Trump administration — and since then.
Key context: On Sept. 8, 2025, the “blitz” campaign brought a surge of ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in to seize and detain thousands of people they called “criminal illegal aliens,” or the “worst of the worst” living in the U.S. without legal status.
Our analysis: Federal officers had greater success detaining convicted murderers, rapists, other sex offenders and people convicted of serious assault in many months before and after the height of the “blitz” than during it, our analysis shows. And just 15% of the immigrants detained in the Chicago area during the fall campaign had a prior criminal conviction, a steady decline from a high of 50% right after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.
WORLD NEWS ✶
Suburban family devastated after woman goes missing in Nepal amid flash floods
Reporting by Cindy Hernandez
Missing loved one: A suburban family is clinging to hope as they search for Poonam Dilipkumar Thakkar, their loved one who went missing in the catastrophic flash floods in Nepal last Wednesday. Thakkar, 42, left her home in Bartlett for Nepal Aug. 20 for a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to visit Mount Kailash as part of a religious pilgrimage. She checked into a hotel last week that is no longer standing, her family said.
Key context: Experts said the flash floods were caused by a glacial collapse. Local officials said the combined death toll in Nepal and China surpassed 900, with more than 4,700 people missing, as search-and-rescue teams continue to work in the affected areas.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Families call for charges: Mourning families gathered Sunday for a vigil outside South Chicago Chapel, where they demanded answers about their loved ones and criminal charges for Clark and Johanna Morgan, who allegedly improperly handled dozens of bodies at the funeral home.
- Mass shooting at Washington Park: A man was killed and 14 other people were wounded when masked gunmen opened fire on a party in Washington Park late Saturday in the largest mass shooting in Chicago this year.
- Mob-tied man’s tax fraud: Robert “Bobby” Dominic, who has ties to the Chicago Outfit, was sentenced to two years probation Friday in a tax fraud case linked to the sweepstakes gaming industry.
- Chairman Trump: President Donald Trump will return to the Chicago area Sept. 22-27 for the Presidents Cup golf tournament at the Medinah Country Club, where he’ll be the honorary chairman.
- West Nile virus: The Cook County Department of Public Health has reported the first four cases of West Nile virus in the suburbs this year and is urging residents to take precautions against mosquito bites.
- Groundbreaking in Woodlawn: Four years after introducing plans for Woodlawn Central — a sprawling neighborhood campus dedicated to celebrating Black culture and community — developers broke ground Saturday on the project’s first phase.
- Bittersweet celebration in Gary: On Saturday, tourists and residents visited Michael Jackson’s childhood home and attended a community festival, grappling with the challenge of celebrating while still rebuilding after brutal storms.
EDUCATION 🍎
CPS wins back millions in federal funding after Trump administration settles lawsuit
Reporting by Sarah Karp
CPS win: Chicago Public Schools has won back millions of dollars in federal grants that top education officials took away after concluding the school district had violated students’ civil rights by having a Black Student Success Plan and policies that support transgender students.
Settled suit: CPS sued the federal government in March alleging the grants were taken away without following the process required by law. That case was settled on Thursday after the U.S. Department of Education agreed to return the funds by Friday, according to a court document dismissing the case.
How much?: CPS officials did not say how much money they expected to be released as part of the settlement. But when the Education Department announced last year that it was stripping the grant, it said it would withhold about $6 million, as well as funding for future years.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Nepal disaster: Bala Ghimire of the Nepali Cultural Center Chicago joins the show to discuss relief efforts from Chicago’s Nepali community as rescue efforts continue following flash floods there.
- Ask the mayoral candidate: Joe Holberg, businessman and mayoral candidate, stops by the show to answer listener questions. Call 866-915-WBEZ (866-915-9239).
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Urban planning: A private group of transit and business leaders has proposed a $2.25 billion high-speed rail line connecting downtown to O’Hare Airport in 15 minutes. If you had $2.25 billion to spend on improving the city or region, what would you spend it on? Callers weigh in.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈⚾🏒
- Historic start: Chicago State University — debuting as an independent in the Division I FCS ranks — fell to Roosevelt 44-28 Saturday in Chicago State’s first football game in school history.
- Bears roster set: Here are the 53 men who made the cut before Sunday’s deadline.
- Hey, neighbor!: The Cubs are starting a pivotal stretch, beginning Monday with a four-game series vs. the Brewers — who are playing like a well-oiled machine.
- Final stretch: The White Sox are hungry for Colson Montgomery and Munetaka Murakami to get cooking at the plate in September.
- Sky miss playoffs: Team owner Michael Alter said he’s “not happy” about the Sky missing the playoffs again. Here are three paths he could take going forward.
- Blackhawks’ hopes: Forward Frank Nazar hopes to convert more opportunities this season with new teeth and a new teammate.
- High school football: Sandburg vaults into the top 10 and Fremd makes its season debut in Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 3.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 9A: Doesn’t fly the W flag
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Chicago House Music Festival filled Grant Park with sound and energy
Reporting by Sun-Times staff
Chicagoans gathered at Grant Park on Friday for a dance party at the Chicago House Music Festival and Conference.
The park was filled with music, dancing, and performances that celebrated the city’s deep-rooted house music culture.
Several DJs kept the energy and tunes flowing on the turntables while groups of people moved to the beats and rhythms well into the night.
Longtime and new house music fans were brought together to experience a genre native to Chicago.
Friday’s event was part of a slate of programming scheduled throughout the weekend.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What was the best Chicago street fest or event you attended this summer? Tell us why.
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
Edited: Michael Lansu