Mayor Johnson’s road to reelection

Good morning, Chicago. ✶

🔎 Below: Mayor Brandon Johnson is officially embarking on a reelection bid, saying he’s the best choice in the mayoral race between “real progressives and posers.”

🗞️ Plus: A look at food insecurity in Chicago, why a county judge detained two sheriff’s deputies and more news you need to know.

📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to the Pirates, 4-3; the White Sox lost to the Cardinals, 3-1; the Fire were bested by the Revolution, 2-1; the Stars tied with the Thorns, 1-1; the Bears beat the Panthers, 59-37, in their season opener — more on that below.

🌤️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny with a high near 74.

⏱️: A 7-minute read

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TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎

Mayor Johnson embarks on reelection bid

Reporting by Fran Spielman and Mariah Woelfel

Count him in: After months of deliberation, Mayor Brandon Johnson on Sunday set out on the uphill road to reelection, launching a campaign he said will force voters to “identify the difference between real progressives and posers” in the crowded 2027 mayoral race. He spoke to an energized crowd of hundreds of supporters outside the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center — a block party-style event that was a who’s who of Chicago’s progressive activist community.

Analysis: Johnson’s advantage is that he has the progressive lane to himself at a time when affordability is everything. As he embarks on his final budget, he’ll likely renew his failed efforts to tax the rich and dare City Council to shoot his proposal down again. But by waiting until after Labor Day to announce his decision to run again, Johnson has put himself behind the eight ball. He has less than $650,000 in his campaign funds compared to the $22 million held by opponent and Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias.

Also running: In addition to Johnson and Giannoulias, mayoral candidates include: Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, lobbyist John Kelly, Chicago Housing Authority board member Matthew Brewer, businessman Willie Wilson, Cook County Board of Review Commissioner George Cardenas and Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas.

City Hall moves: In other City Hall news, Johnson on Friday announced his new communications director, Rachel Cohen, a Harvard-trained attorney turned activist and influencer who gained notoriety protesting Operation Midway Blitz and boycotting her federal income taxes.

READ MORE

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HEALTH 🥦

New report finds 35% of Chicago households don’t have sufficient food

Reporting by Elvia Malagón

Widespread issue: An estimated 35% of households in Chicago face some form of food insecurity, according to a report published Monday by the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The report noted food insecurity is more widespread than previous reports had indicated.

Key context: The depository, which supplies food to hundreds of food pantries across Cook County, partnered for the first time with the University of Chicago to release the “Hunger in Chicago Report,” detailing which communities and types of households face some level of food insecurity, which is defined as experiencing disrupted eating patterns or reduced food.

Driving causes: The current food insecurity is driven by inflation and families still recovering from changes to the economy since the COVID-19 pandemic, said Kate Maehr, chief executive officer for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

READ MORE

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BEARS 🏈

Bears blast Panthers in history-making season opener

Reporting by Jason Lieser

Blistering Bears: Get ready for a season at the speedway. The Bears’ offense raced away from the Panthers 59-37 to begin the season Sunday with a franchise-record 552 yards and the most points they’ve scored in an opener. It was their third-most points in a regular-season game and most since 1980. It was also the highest-scoring NFL season opener ever

Key elements: Nearly every part of coach Ben Johnson‘s offense was firing at full force, starting with quarterback Caleb Williams and running back D’Andre Swift, and it was more than enough on a day when the Bears’ defense sputtered throughout.

More on the Bears:

• Ben Johnson ‘didn’t get into this profession trying to be mediocre’
• Bears’ grades are in. How did they do against the Panthers?
• Bears’ defense good enough to win opener but nowhere near good enough

READ MORE

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MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️

• Mass honors man slain by ICE: Dozens gathered Saturday in Franklin Park for a mass at the site where Silverio Villegas González was killed by federal immigration agents on the one year anniversary of his death.
   
• Girl charged in man’s death: A 15-year-old girl was charged with murder after a passenger was shoved from a moving CTA train on Labor Day. The passenger, Kyle T. Bickham, 29, was remembered by his family as a kind and giving person who “who wore his heart on his sleeve.”
   
• 7 shot in Humboldt Park: A man was killed and at least six other people were injured in a shooting in Humboldt Park Sunday afternoon, Chicago police said.
   
• Rapper fatally shot: Mikquale Cooper, 22, who performed as BloodHound Q50, was fatally shot Sunday morning in Fuller Park, officials said.
   
• Judge orders deputies detained: A Cook County judge had two sheriff’s deputies detained last week for refusing to unshackle a man facing murder charges so he could embrace his family — a move the deputies’ union described as “an outrageous abuse of the court’s authority.”
   
• More corrupt cop settlements: Chicago taxpayers may have to spend another nearly $14 million to compensate two defendants framed for murders by corrupt Chicago police Detective Reynaldo Guevara.
   
• Lil Durk acquitted: A federal jury on Friday found the Chicago artist not guilty of the attempted killing for hire of a rival rapper Quando Rondo at a Los Angeles gas station, a shooting that resulted in the death of Rondo’s cousin.
   
• What’s next for closed hospitals: A Cook County judge appointed a receiver to take control of West Suburban Medical Center and Weiss Memorial Hospital, two safety-net hospitals with futures tied up in court hearings for months. This does not guarantee the hospitals will reopen.

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ARTS AND CULTURE 🎨

• Chief Keef cancels: Fans already lined up learned via social media that Saturday’s performance was canceled for unclear reasons. It was supposed to be a homecoming for the Chicago-made drill rapper, whose stratospheric rise as a teen in 2012 was marred by years of legal battles that kept him from area stages.
   
• Artistic experience: Monday marks the last night of Sonic Pavilion, a three-day showcase of sound art installations at the Pritzker Pavilion lawn, which includes audio by musicians, residents and engineers from Chicago’s neighborhoods.
   
• Robyn concert review: The Swedish pop star’s “Sexistential” tour stopped at the United Center on Saturday, where she sang about desire and sensuality, womanhood and single motherhood for adoring fans, writes Selena Fragassi in a review for the Sun-Times.

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CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭

Today’s clue: Chicago-born “Love Me Not” singer Ravyn

PLAY NOW

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BRIGHT ONE 🔆

Chicagoans celebrate ‘strength’ at Mexican Independence Day Parade

Reporting by Sun-Times staff

A year after immigration threats tempered many of Chicago’s Mexican Independence Day celebrations, this year’s parade brought crowds back to Little Village on Sunday.

Last year’s parade continued as planned, despite fears of immigration raids during Operation Midway Blitz. But, leaders encouraged would-be attendees to do what they felt would be safest and view the parade from home, if they desired.

This year, the theme of the 55th annual event was “United We Ride: Stronger Than Ever.”

Held by the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, organizers said the event is one of the largest parades in the Midwest and serves as a cultural celebration and an economic driver for local businesses.

MORE HERE

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YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️

What are your predictions for this next Bears season?

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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PICTURE CHICAGO 📸

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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Michael Lansu