Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Ex-Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s chief operating officer allegedly used clout to get his son an internship with a city contractor, then tried to get that company nearly $10 million in payments. The Sun-Times investigates.
🗞️ Plus: Former Mayor Richard M. Daley is recovering from a third stroke, a high school principal reflects after getting shot at, an Earth Day concert and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat the Phillies, 7-4; the White Sox beat the Diamondbacks, 11-5.
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⏱️: A 7-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a high near 71.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Lightfoot’s chief operating officer is at center of City Hall scandal
By Tim Novak, Robert Herguth, Fran Spielman and Tom Schuba
Contracting scandal: Paul Goodrich, former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s chief operating officer, allegedly used his position to secretly get his son a paid internship with a city contractor, and then tried to get that contractor nearly $10 million more in payments from taxpayers to which the company may not have been entitled.
Sun-Times investigates: Allegations lodged against Goodrich were all laid out in a report released last week by City Hall’s in-house watchdog, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg, but without specific names and titles. The Sun-Times has since confirmed from sources that Goodrich is the official referenced in the document, and that the contractor company is run by Chicago businessman Robert Blackwell Jr., a friend and campaign contributor to former President Barack Obama.
At issue: The revelations have proved embarrassing not only for Lightfoot, who always framed herself as a reformer, but also for her successor, Mayor Brandon Johnson. Blackwell’s firm, EKI-Digital, has remained a city contractor under Johnson. Records show the company has worked for City Hall since the early 2000s, when Mayor Richard M. Daley was in office.
MORE ON CITY HALL 🏛️
- Mayor criticized for CTA security firings: Mayor Johnson and acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen on Tuesday defended their decision to replace hundreds of unarmed security guards with “trained professionals.” Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) denounced the “sudden termination” of contracts with Monterrey Security and its two Black-owned subcontractors.
- IG knocks office: The $537,000-a-year Council’s Office of Financial Analysis, created in 2014 to advise the City Council on financial issues, has failed to deliver on that mission, Witzburg said.
- Daley recovering: Ex-Mayor Daley was hospitalized earlier this month after suffering what his brother described as a third stroke, and is home now, ahead of his 84th birthday on Friday.
CHICAGO PARKS 🌳
Chicago Park District’s summer camp registration begins as some remain frustrated over process
By Zoe Singer
Summer bummer?: In recent years, parents have complained that technical difficulties and a shortage of spots prevent them from being able to register their children for Chicago Park District summer camps, which are among the most affordable programs in the city. This year, some parents say they remain frustrated despite the Park District’s changes.
City’s efforts: The Park District says it has implemented new methods to address these issues, including a revamped registration landing page online with “high demand” icons to label programs likely to sell out and webinars to answer questions before registration.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Have you registered your child for a Chicago Park District summer camp program? What has your experience been like?
Reply to this newsletter (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Principal shot at: Whitney Young High School Rickey Harris, who escaped injury after being shot at Friday night while driving in Washington Heights, doesn’t think he was the intended target but wants his experience to spark conversations about mental health resources, stricter gun laws and righting “years of harm done in certain communities.”
- Prediction markets ban: Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order barring state employees from using insider information to bet on prediction market apps, joining six other states that have moved to either restrict or regulate the burgeoning betting field.
- Ex-Dolton mayor’s residence reveal: Former Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard told a county elections board in Georgia on Monday that she’s been living in that state since before her mayoral term ended last year — contradicting Illinois law.
- Remembering Arthur Loevy: Mr. Loevy, a lawyer and labor leader who came out of retirement to work with his son at Loevy & Loevy, a powerhouse in wrongful convictions and police misconduct litigation, died April 11 at age 87.
- Tariff refund process: After tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump were ruled unconstitutional and companies affected became entitled to refunds, Illinois businesses are reporting mixed experiences navigating the refund process.
- Ford City Mall’s decline: The mall’s owner, Namdar Realty Group, has failed to make repairs to the deteriorating building, like fixing a malfunctioning fire suppression system and preventing constant flooding. It could soon close for good.
EARTH DAY 🌍
Choral work explores connections between humans and land
By Graham Meyer
Earth Day concert: A new music piece titled “Ámmo’naka” will premiere Wednesday at Loyola University Chicago. The libretto with original poetry written in Chickasaw by the poet Lokosh tells the traditional Chickasaw story about the creation of the world and the relationship between humans and the land. “Ámmo’naka poshki” means “In a beginning / Our Mother.” Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate said he worked with musical elements drawn from his ancestry, using tools of modern concert music.
Key quote: Tate says the Chickasaw story can express the relationship of all humanity to Earth. “All of our ancient cultures are beautifully rooted in our environments … I want music that resonates to all people who have a sense of homeland.”
If you go: Catch the performance 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mundelein Center for the Fine and Performing Arts at Loyola University, 1020 W. Sheridan Road. Tickets are $5–$15
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Earth Day every day: Guests Nitya Jakka of Chicago’s Eat for Impact initiative, Seth Magle of the Urban Wildlife Institute and Gina Roxas of the Trickster Cultural Center explain how individuals can make meaningful change against massive threats to our planet and nurture new habits to keep the Earth Day spirit alive beyond April 22.
- Visiting The Land School: Afton Battle of The Land School and Rebuild Foundation gives a tour of the new artist incubator and third space in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Earth’s future: Guests Karen Weigert of Loyola University and Shari Pundrich of Remade in Chicago discuss local efforts and scientific advances impacting the planet’s future. Callers weigh in on what they’re doing to help the Earth.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏀🏈⚾
- Billy Donovan steps away: The Bulls coach opted to resign Tuesday rather than feel like a new front office was forced to inherit him.
- Gabriela Jaquez hype: The Sky’s No. 5 pick is getting rave reviews in training camp. And given the team is already short-handed, she’ll get an opportunity right away.
- NFL Mock Draft: For the first time under general manager Ryan Poles, the Bears go into the draft Thursday targeting specific holes in the starting lineup rather than trying to stock a dilapidated roster with talent as they rebuild.
- Everson Pereira showing promise: Early returns have been positive for the powerful former top-100 prospect who is trying to put it all together for the Sox.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1D: The ___ Store (Blockbuster-like spot in McKinley Park)
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Rising chef is redefining plant-forward dining
By Courtney Kueppers
When chef Javauneeka Jacobs was still in culinary school, she went door-to-door searching for a gig in a Chicago restaurant. Her first 20 stops offered her only one role: Dishwasher.
The young chef finally landed at the corner of Illinois and Clark streets, which for nearly 40 years has been the headquarters of chef Rick Bayless’ ever-growing culinary empire. In a decade, Jacobs, 29, has risen from an unpaid stage at the fast-casual XOCO to co-chef of Frontera Grill.
The Harvard, Illinois, native is now redefining what vegetable-forward dining looks like at one of Chicago’s longest-standing destination restaurants. And her skills are gaining wider recognition: She won the Food Network’s competition show “Chopped” in 2023 and, more recently, a Banchet Award for Chicago’s Rising Chef of the Year.
Jacobs incorporates vegetable dishes into Frontera’s regional Mexican menu, which has long been heavy on pork, chicken and beef.
Recalling last fall’s Banchet Awards, she said: “I heard my name, and I just had like a flashback of me going to those restaurants, knocking on those doors, having this passion of just cooking and making it in Chicago … And in that moment, I just saw all the years and all the hard work flash before my eyes.”
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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