Good morning, Chicago.
Chicago’s push for a fully elected school board promised more community voice. Days out from the historic vote, the race also has become a new venue for the city’s infamously rough-and-tumble politics. And candidates are throwing punches.
“If you come to the swamp, you get muddy,” said Jonathan Collins, an assistant professor of political science and education at the Teachers College at Columbia University.
For almost 30 years, the Chicago Board of Education was a seven-member body handpicked by the mayor. After a decades-long movement, fueled by growing calls for representation, it began a two-year shift to a fully elected, 21-member board. But what advocates hailed as a vehicle for democratic governance also has unleashed attack ads, seven-figure war chests and hardball politics.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Kate Armanini.
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Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including this week’s Chicago Media Report, Brad Biggs’ latest Bears Q&A and the 13 finalists in the Tribune’s 40th annual Holiday Cookie Contest.
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Illinois’ 7th Congressional District: Progressive La Shawn Ford poised to succeed Danny Davis
The congressional district covering downtown Chicago and much of the West Side is set to change hands for the first time in 30 years, and Democratic state Rep. La Shawn Ford looks to sail through his general election matchup and take the torch from retiring U.S. Rep. Danny Davis.
Fritz Kaegi defends record as Cook County assessor, calls for more reform in last budget hearing
Outgoing Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi used his final county budget hearing yesterday to defend his record, tout his accomplishments and call for his replacement to pick up the baton on several unresolved reforms.
Chicago bride’s social media search for her mother’s dress reunites family with lost wedding heirloom
When she was in fifth grade, Lexie Ippolito watched her mother get married in a stunning Michelangelo-style strapless wedding dress. Ippolito, now 28, always imagined that she, too, would one day wear that same beaded gown and matching sheer veil. Once she got engaged, she wanted her mother’s to be the first wedding dress she tried on.
But that childhood dream is more elusive than the 2027 bride once thought. This summer, when she and her mom unboxed the preserved gown the family had stored for more than a decade, they instead found a stranger’s dress.
‘Chicago, do better’: Vendors, food activists demand reforms to city’s restrictive street vending laws
Chicago street vendors and food worker activists from across the country rallied yesterday at the Haymarket Memorial in West Loop to call for sweeping changes to the city’s restrictive street vending laws.
The gathering centered around a street vendor making elote to order and serving fresh, hot cocoa-like champurrado.
Whole Foods is coming to Logan Square in a new format
Whole Foods Market plans to open a small grocery in the Logan Square neighborhood near the CTA Blue Line’s California Avenue stop.
Chicago Media Report: John Kass winding down website — and Horace Grant launches cable TV sports talk show
John Kass, once a high-profile columnist at the baiduhai, is ending his post-newspaper online venture of five years and calling it a career.
Chicago Bears Q&A: When will things heat up in the trade market? What’s up with Jaylon Johnson’s downturn?
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Coming off a three-day weekend for players, the Bears returned to the Halas Hall fields today for an extra practice.
Nearing the midpoint of the season, the Bears are 5-2 in the ultracompetitive NFC North, with all four teams above .500. They’re 1½ games behind the Minnesota Vikings, the league’s lone unbeaten team at 6-0.
World Series: Tampa Bay Rays stun Milwaukee Brewers with a 12th inning rally and force Game 5 with 4-3 win
Jonny DeLuca and pinch-hitter Ben Williamson drove in runs in a stunning 12th-inning rally, and the Tampa Bay Rays staved off World Series elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night that forced Game 5.
A long-suppressed 1961 documentary about Chicago is unearthed
“The interpretation of Chicago was at stake at this moment.”
That’s Northwestern University professor Michael Metzger talking about the 1961 made-for-TV documentary “Chicago: First Impressions of a Great American City,” which would ultimately be suppressed and virtually unseen — until now — because of its warts-and-all portrayal of the city.
Meet the 13 finalists in the Tribune’s 40th annual Holiday Cookie Contest
After tallying more than 2,000 votes, we’re thrilled to announce the 13 finalists for this year’s Tribune Holiday Cookie Contest.