Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration says it will spend more than $520 million to fix homes and the sewer infrastructure needed to help prevent future floods, as Chicagoans still deal with the effects of 2023’s historic flooding.
🗞️ Plus: Footage of a Chicago police officer’s fatal shooting, a City Council meeting recap, the Obama Presidential Center’s inauguration day and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat the Rockies, 8-6; the White Sox lost to the Yankees, 10-5; the Sky fell to the Liberty, 96-95.
🔴 Live blog: Follow along with our journalists at the Obama Presidential Center’s invite-only opening event.
📧 Subscribe: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: A 9-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a high near 73.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
West Siders wait for sewer fixes as threat of more flooding looms
By Brett Chase
Historic floods: Floods in the summer of 2023 drenched tens of thousands of homes on the West Side, South Side and nearby suburbs with up to 9 inches of rainwater. That was partly a result of aging infrastructure, which is supposed to prevent stormwater and everything flushed down the toilet from backing up into basements.
Zooming in: In the Austin area, sewer infrastructure is worse than the rest of the city, with an average sewer system between 80 and 90 years old. More than 250 miles of “deficient sewers” are on the West Side. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration acknowledged the decades of disinvestment and is pledging to spend more than $520 million, mostly federal housing dollars received last year, to prevent more flooding and address aging sewers. The city also plans to allocate $40 million for a home repair program.
Waiting on repairs: West Side homeowners like Andre Moseley, whose home was hammered by floods twice in 2023, say they’re still waiting on financial help to make repairs. The need comes as climate change contributes to more frequent flooding from storms dropping more rain over shorter periods of time.
OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER 🇺🇸
Democratic elites gather for historic Obama Presidential Center opening
By Tina Sfondeles and Mitchell Armentrout
Inauguration day: Top Democrats, operatives and musical legends arrive Thursday in Chicago to celebrate Barack Obama’s namesake presidential center in the city where the nation’s first Black president launched his political career. The former president and ex-first lady Michelle Obama are in town for the culmination of more than a decade of planning, legal fights, political squabbles and blueprints for massive economic development: The Juneteenth public opening of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park.
Thursday VIPs: A who’s who of Chicago’s political elite will attend the 11 a.m. dedication ceremony, which features an A-list musical lineup including Bruce Springsteen, Bono, Common, Eddie Vedder and John Legend. Ex-Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden will be on hand along with former first ladies Laura Bush, Jill Biden and Hillary Clinton, who’s also a former Secretary of State.
Follow along: Thursday’s ceremony is invite-only, with the public opening Friday. Follow Thursday’s developments via our live blog, which we’ll be updating with dispatches from our journalists inside.
More on OPC:
- For the first time, we have more information about how much the very top donors to the Obama Presidential Foundation contributed. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos gave $100 million. Airbnb CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky donated at least $125 million.
- The Obama Presidential Center is not an official presidential library. Here’s why.
- What to know about the Obama Presidential Center’s opening weekend and beyond.
CHICAGO POLICE 🚔
New bodycam footage shows deadly shooting of Chicago police officer Ella French
By Sophie Sherry
Footage released: Nearly five years after Chicago police officer Ella French was killed, oversight officials on Wednesday released video footage of the on-duty shooting. The footage shows the brief moments before a routine traffic stop turned deadly on Aug. 7, 2021. French was shot and killed and her partner, officer Carlos Yanez Jr., was seriously wounded.
Key context: Gunman Emonte Morgan and his brother, Eric, were arrested shortly after the attack. Court orders prohibited the release of any materials related to the shooting while the criminal cases played out. Eric Morgan pleaded guilty to gun charges in 2023 and was sentenced to seven years in prison. It took a jury just hours to find his older brother guilty of murder and attempted murder a year later. Emonte Morgan was sentenced to life in prison.
Why now?: With the court’s prohibition no longer in effect, the Civilian Office of Police Accountability published the video footage online.
PUBLIC SAFETY 🚨
- Charges after shooting: Jonathan Wilson was hit with first-degree murder and other charges in the fatal shooting of an Uptown condo board president who was trying to protect a resident from him, police said. Wilson had been served with a protective order and told to stay away from the resident, his girlfriend.
- Man charged after cross burning: Merlin Lu is facing hate crime and arson charges after burning a cross in Grant Park last week, according to Chicago police.
- Dispute over ICE arrest: State Rep. Abdelnasser Rashid said his office is investigating whether state laws were broken after a person was detained by ICE agents Wednesday at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
- $10.5M for family over police shooting: Despite objections from its mayor, Elk Grove Village will pay the family of Jack Murray, who was fatally shot by police officers while in emotional distress in 2023.
- Suburban cop sentenced for bribes: Antoine Larry, a former Phoenix Police Department officer, was sentenced June 8 to more than five years in federal prison for conspiring to steal cash and drugs from people during traffic stops.
CITY COUNCIL RECAP 🏛️
- Mayor pitches $425M TIF subsidy: Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto has been praised for bankrolling his own $750 million soccer stadium on the South Loop parcel known as The 78. But taxpayers would subsidize broader development of the site for $425 million with a plan proposed by Mayor Brandon Johnson during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
- Black market air bag crackdown: Buyers and sellers of stolen air bags will now face harsher penalties under a new ordinance approved Wednesday by City Council to crack down on the city’s skyrocketing rate of air bag thefts.
- Sweepstakes machine ban fails: Mayor Johnson’s Council allies snuffed out an attempt to ban sweepstakes machines that compete with and take revenue away from video gambling terminals. The sweepstakes devices look like video slot machines but offer “free play” options and coupons to winners instead of cash.
- Greyhound terminal purchase OKd: The city could be running its first intercity bus terminal under public ownership by late summer, following a vote by alderpersons to buy the ailing South Loop Greyhound station for $19 million.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Calls for probe of DOJ: Members of the “Broadview Six” are asking a federal judge to appoint an independent special counsel to investigate and possibly prosecute U.S. Department of Justice officials in Chicago and Washington for criminal contempt.
- County projects $550M shortfall: Cook County officials said Wednesday that the county must start considering restructuring its finances as expenses continue to outpace revenues. The budget gap is largely due to federal funding cuts to Medicaid and rising costs across the economy.
- Birthright citizenship: For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has granted citizenship to babies born within the territory of the United States, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. A looming decision by the U.S. Supreme Court could change that.
- West Nile virus mosquitoes: A batch of up to 50 mosquitoes collected in Wilmette has tested positive for the West Nile virus, officials said Wednesday.
- Groundbreaking step: Hundreds of Englewood residents celebrated the groundbreaking of a long-awaited project that could help make 59th Street “the corridor to watch,” Resident Association of Greater Englewood Executive Director Asiaha Butler said.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
Weekly news recap: The Sun-Times’ Lee Bey, the Chicago Tribune’s Talia Soglin and Crain’s Chicago Business Justin Laurence talk about the week’s biggest stories.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
Work-life balance: Grace Ahn-Im, a licensed clinical psychologist and the executive director of Cornerstone Counseling Center of Chicago, will discuss before a live, in-studio audience.
BRIGHT ONE ⚽
Our picks for where to watch the World Cup
By Stefano Esposito
The FIFA Men’s World Cup is underway, and we’ve come up with a by no means exhaustive list of places in the city to cheer (and cry) along with the dreamers, the hopelessly optimistic, the true believers.
For each of our picks, you’ll find which country the patrons root for, what to expect when you get there and what to order.
Remember, though, that the World Cup happens once every four years and is expected to be watched by billions of people. So call ahead before you go to ensure you’ll have a seat.
Here are some highlights from our list, organized by country:
Algeria
📍 Zebda, 4344 N. Elston Ave.
The vibe: The kind of place you might find tucked away on a side street in Algiers, minus the clouds of tobacco smoke. The room is tight and has only a single flat-screen TV, and the daily specials are scrawled on a huge chalkboard. When we were there, the patrons were all men, mostly middle-aged, but the staff here assured me that women are welcome too.
What to eat: Chicken tagine, a North African stew, gently spiced
What to drink: Hamoud La Gazouz Blanche, a popular caffeinated lemon-lime soda
Germany
📍Laschet’s Inn, 2119 W. Irving Park Road
The vibe: If old-world German charm is your thing, you’ll love this place. Beer steins hang from the wood beams, yellowing maps of the mother country decorate the walls. And, yes, there is beer — lots and lots of it.
What to eat: Rouladen (tenderized beef rolled up with mustard, bacon and pickled onion, served in a dark gravy); goulash with a side of spaetzle.
What to drink: Flensburger Pilsener, a full-bodied north German beer
Mexico
📍Pizza Cantina, 1713 W. 18th St.
The vibe: It is cavernous, doesn’t take reservations and fans were packed in like sardines for Mexico’s first game against South Africa. Mexico has never won a World Cup. They’ve twice reached the quarterfinals, in 1970 and 1986, both times on home soil. Fans are hoping for some magic this year.
What to eat: Asada pizza
What to drink: Mexican Bloody Mary
All nations
Several bars in Chicago are showing just about all of this year’s matches. We recommend you check out A.J. Hudson’s Public House, 3801 N. Ashland Ave., where wooden walls are smothered in soccer memorabilia; there’s even TV seating outside. The Globe Pub, 1934 W. Irving Park Road, is also a proper soccer pub, open whenever a game is airing.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1D: One of Chicago’s 24 lakefront features
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Say you have a friend visiting Chicago who’s never been here before — where’s the first place you’ll take them? Tell us why.
Email your answer to us (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
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
The Chicago Sun-Times is a nonprofit supported by readers like you. Become a member to make stories like these free and available to everyone. Learn more at suntimes.com/member.