Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: What our reporters found when they went back to the South Shore building that federal agents raided last month.
🗞️ Plus: Records show the Chicago Housing Authority paid $22M to businesses tied to one board member, Chicago Marathon runners get a boost of neighborhood pride, and more news you need to know.
🧩 After you’re caught up: Try a new Chicago-Style Crossword puzzle. This week’s theme: Fall Fest.
📧 Subscribe: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: A 9-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌥️
Mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and a high near 71.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
CHA has paid $22 million to companies tied to same board member
By Dan Mihalopoulos
CHA payments: Records show that the Chicago Housing Authority has paid nearly $22 million total to companies tied to CHA Commissioner Debra Parker, a longtime public housing tenant activist.
The companies: Among the vendors: Parks and Bell Cleaning Co., a janitorial business connected to Parker and her boyfriend; Ryan’s Cleaning Services Inc., owned by the commissioner’s sister; and Lavi Decor and Cleaning Co., owned by Parker’s daughter.
Her response: Parker told WBEZ that she has had nothing to do with the success of her boyfriend’s, sister’s and daughter’s businesses with the CHA, because agency employees decide who gets work from the housing authority. She said board members set policy “but don’t give out contracts.”
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Neighbor shielded 7-year-old during South Shore federal raid
By Sophie Sherry and Mariah Woelfel
Knock at the door: Amid the smoke bombs and screams that ricocheted throughout a South Shore building last month during a massive military-style immigration raid, one man heard a knock on his door. On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, his Venezuelan migrant neighbors pleading for help. He let them in and protected them as the raid proceeded.
Key context: During the Sept. 30 raid, residents, migrants including the woman’s husband, and squatters alike were zip-tied in the middle of the night. Federal agents arrested 37 people. Other residents — like the man who helped his neighbors hide — were left undisturbed by federal agents, prompting questions about what federal authorities knew about the building’s occupants ahead of time and how they obtained that information.
Mysterious map: Remnants of the raid and interviews with residents who lived through it reveal some hints, including a mysterious map of the building found by the Sun-Times and WBEZ in the complex, and makeshift door stickers that took inventory of occupants in some units.
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Feds deploy tear gas in another Chicago neighborhood
By Violet Miller
Neighborhood action: Tear gas still hung in the air as Albany Park neighbors and elected officials hugged and cried, processing the scene they had just witnessed Sunday afternoon, after at least four vehicles full of federal agents had taken a man and tear gassed their neighborhood as residents responded.
Rapid response: Some residents have been using whistles to indicate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings. Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd) on Sunday led a crowd of rapid responders as she sprinted toward each call with state Sen. Graciela Guzmán, D-Chicago, following behind her. Each time they arrived, the vehicles were already gone. They said at least one person had gotten away from ICE during their responses.
More headlines:
- Illinois Democrats call for investigation of Chicago ICE raids
- Religious leaders are denied request to deliver communion to detainees at Broadview facility
- Feds detain WGN-TV staffer, slam into resident’s car
CHICAGO ON GUARD ✶
National Guard deployment still blocked in Illinois after federal appeals court steps in Saturday
By Jon Seidel
Justice Department lawyers argued U.S. District Judge April Perry “impermissibly second-guessed the Commander in Chief.” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said after the appellate court’s ruling: “This is a victory for our state.”
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Most Chicagoans think using National Guard for policing is ‘unacceptable’: poll
By Selena Kuznikov
A survey conducted in September reveals that a majority of Chicago residents oppose the National Guard intervening in local policing and deportation efforts.
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Active Illinois National Guard members share views on Chicago troop activations
By Bob Chiarito
Military members are required to follow constitutional orders and disobey unconstitutional ones. But two members from Illinois see gray areas in deploying forces in the Chicago area to assist immigration agents.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Gold is up: Gold prices hit a record this past week, and the new gold rush is electrifying the jewelry industry and commodity markets — creating an unprecedented era for Chicago retailers, consumers and traders.
- Road projects on hold: Twenty road projects totaling more than $50 million in the suburbs likely won’t get underway until 2026, as the state continues to investigate a contractor with ties to a family whose patriarch is banned from state and federal projects.
- Remembering Tony Fitzpatrick: A fiercely independent creative, Mr. Fitzpatrick wrote poetry, painted, made music, acted, wrote newspaper columns and owned galleries while connecting people and advocating for Chicago. His works are in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He died Saturday at age 66.
- New cultural czar: Mayor Brandon Johnson has tapped Kenya Merritt, one of his current deputies, to be the acting commissioner of the city’s cultural affairs department.
- Grants for artists: The Chicago-based nonprofit 3Arts will award more than $1 million in grants to artists this fall as federal programs for creatives this year have been disrupted.
- Nobel prize: Northwestern University researcher Joel Mokyr along with Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt won the Nobel memorial prize in economics for their research into the impact of innovation on economic growth and how new technologies replace older ones.
- Chance the Rapper review: Chatham’s own performed Friday at Northerly Island as part of his ongoing U.S. tour in support of his latest album “Star Line.” The performance was a love letter to Chicago, with local luminaries Jamila Woods, Vic Mensa and BabyChiefDoit joining him onstage.
CHICAGO STORIES 🛞
Lowrider festival showcases Latino car culture and artistry
Reporting by Erica Thompson
Customized rides: On Saturday, Navy Pier’s Festival Hall was filled with row upon row of gleaming, customized cars and bikes adorned with foxtails, flowers, Mexican flags and Día de los Muertos altars. One vehicle was covered with images of Chucky and other horror film characters. Another featured a hydraulic system wrapped in a painting of the Last Supper.
The showcase: Saturday’s “Slow & Low: Chicago Lowrider Festival” showcased 178 cars with hydraulic power to lift and lower them. The event highlighted Midwest car, bike and motorcycle clubs and celebrated Latino culture amid Hispanic Heritage Month.
Empty spaces: But just as striking were the empty spaces representing 30 exhibitors fearful of attending, given the heavy presence of agents with ICE in the Chicago area. This year’s attendance was also noticeably lower than last year, when 10,000 to 12,000 people visited, organizers said.
Key quote: “We make space for people even if they were hesitant to come,” said Lauren Pacheco, who founded the event in 2011 with her brother, Peter Kepha. “This was an important visual.” Those who did come out were enthusiastic about honoring the lowrider culture and community — and praising the skill exhibited on what Pacheco called “mobile works of art.”
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈⚾🏀
- Monday night football: Here’s what to watch for Monday as the Bears take on the Commanders after coming off a bye week.
- Cubs season ends: After losing 3-1 Saturday to the Brewers, the Cubs want another shot at a deep playoff run next year. It’s the front office’s job to get them back there, Maddie Lee writes.
- WNBA analysis: The WNBA season ends with A’ja Wilson’s tambourine — and the commissioner walking the plank, writes Alissa Hirsh.
- High school football: Loyola hangs on after the Providence loss while the Celtics and Carmel join, for the first time this season, Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 high school football rankings for Week 8.
GAMES AND CROSSWORDS 🧩
This week’s Chicago-style crossword theme is: Fall Fest!
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
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Runners and their cheerleaders turn out for Chicago Marathon
Reporting by Kaitlin Washburn and Casey He
Chicago Marathon runners and spectators reveled in the chance to show some Chicago pride Sunday — despite several weeks of immigration enforcement, mass protests and national scrutiny. The 47th annual race was also a display of true grit for both elite runners and casual joggers looking for a challenge.
More than 54,000 runners stepped off for the 26.2-mile race that weaved through 29 neighborhoods, where spectators packed sidewalks, screamed, cheered, danced, blew air horns, displayed clever signs, and handed out snacks and Gatorade.
“Chicago will always show out, and the marathon is the perfect example of that,” said Izzy Mealy, who was cheering on the final runners early in the afternoon in Lincoln Park. “They’ll try to tear us down and say things that are not true, but we are thriving here, and the city comes together, and it’s so beautiful. And we’re so proud to live here.”
Ugandan runner Jacob Kiplimo won the Marathon in the men’s division with an unofficial time of 2:02:23. In the women’s division, Ethiopian Hawi Feysa won with an unofficial time of 2:14:56, a personal best. Marcel Hug won his sixth Chicago Marathon in the wheelchair division, sporting an unofficial time of 1:23:20. Susannah Scaroni won the women’s wheelchair division with an unofficial time of 1:38:12.
DAILY QUESTION ☕️
On Friday, we asked you: What makes someone a “real Chicagoan” to you?
Here’s some of what you said:
“We are a hardy bunch! We don’t take crap from anyone and will help others in need. We love our history, landmarks and all the foods so readily available that can’t be found elsewhere. We are accustomed to traffic delays and weather extremes. I am very proud to be a lifelong Chicagoan.”— Linda Padgurskis
“Real Chicagoans never refer to pizza as ‘Chicago-style,’ and they instinctively know where east is because that is where the lake is.”— Reid Mackin
“They make conversation in the grocery check-out lane and let people with less than five items cut ahead of them.”— LuAnn Belmonte Paladino
“They serve you a frozen pizza and an RC from the Jewels in the frunchroom while you watch the Sox game.”— Michael Klybor
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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