Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: A state review board has sent to Gov. JB Pritzker its confidential recommendations about whether former Gangster Disciples leader Larry Hoover should be freed.
🗞️ Plus: The politicians getting ex-Ald. Ed Burke’s campaign cash, the man who left the Cubs for the White Sox and more.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs bested Atlanta, 2-0; the White Sox beat the Royals, 6-2, breaking .500 for the first time since the end of 2022.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Partly sunny with a high near 73.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover’s bid for freedom is in Pritzker’s hands
By Frank Main, Tina Sfondeles and Tom Schuba
Pritzker push: The Illinois Prisoner Review Board’s recommendation about whether to free Larry Hoover is now on Gov. Pritzker’s desk. The board held a clemency hearing April 7 for the former Gangster Disciples leader and confirmed this week that its confidential recommendation had been sent to Pritzker, who doesn’t have a deadline to review it.
Case for clemency: The Rev. Michael Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Church, and ex-mayoral candidate Ja’Mal Green say they’ve asked the governor to grant clemency for a murder conviction, though sources say state lawmakers aren’t actively lobbying. Last year, President Donald Trump granted Hoover clemency for a separate federal drug conspiracy conviction for running a $100 million a year narcotics business in Chicago, which resulted in Hoover being transferred from federal to state custody.
Key context: Hoover is imprisoned by the Illinois Department of Corrections on a sentence of 150 to 200 years for a 1973 murder, but it’s unclear where he’s being held. His clemency petition poses potential political costs and benefits for Pritzker as he seeks reelection this year and mulls a possible run for the presidency in 2028.
COURTS ⚖️
Man found guilty in 2021 Loop stabbing death of graduate student
By Stephanie Zimmermann
Verdict reached: A jury found Tony Robinson guilty late Thursday in the murder of graduate student Anat Kimchi, who was fatally stabbed in an unprovoked attack downtown. Robinson was charged with killing Kimchi by sneaking up on her and stabbing her three times in the neck and back. He will be sentenced in July and faces 20 to 60 years in prison, prosecutors said.
June 19, 2021: Kimchi, 31, a University of Maryland doctoral student, was killed June 19, 2021, while in town to visit a friend. Though prosecutors did not have video evidence of the crime, and no weapon was recovered, they strove to connect the dots by playing multiple videos recorded by surveillance cameras showing Robinson’s whereabouts around the time of the stabbing.
Failure to treat or protect: Kimchi’s murder was one of several shocking cases examined in a Sun-Times investigation last year into violent attacks downtown. According to police and court records, Robinson, 45, had a history of arrests and bizarre behavior, including telling detectives “he believes people are following him and tracking his location using their cellphones.”
POLITICS ✶
Convicted ex-Ald. Burke’s campaign money isn’t radioactive to everyone
By Robert Herguth
Strange bedfellows?: Since his conviction on corruption charges and a brief prison stint that followed, politicians have kept their distance, at least publicly, from former Ald. Edward M. Burke. But that’s not so in two notable instances.
Campaign contributions: Burke’s former City Council colleague, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), recently accepted $10,000 in campaign contributions from two of Burke’s political accounts. A campaign fund for Nile mayor George Alpogianis accepted a $1,000 contribution from a Burke fund.
Funds spent: Convicted in 2023 on extortion-related charges, Burke was released from prison in July and remained under the jurisdiction of the federal prison system into November, records show. Throughout the ordeal, his campaign funds stayed open — and were used to cover hefty legal bills that appear related to his prosecution.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Veteran firefighter dies: Steven Decker, a 30-year Chicago Fire Department veteran, was killed Thursday during a training exercise in West Ridge, officials said.
- Costs of wrongdoing: Allegations of police abuse cost Chicago taxpayers more than $175 million through April 30, and $16.5 million is about to be added to the pile as the city considers more settlements, including a case linked to notorious police commander Jon Burge.
- John Wayne Gacy reissue: The Graveface museum, with locations in Georgia and Chicago, is reissuing the serial killer’s death row manuscript. The book is part of the museum owners’ collection, which includes hundreds of items related to Gacy.
- CPS chief subpoenaed: The U.S. House education committee is calling Chicago Public Schools Superintendent Macquline King to testify next month at a congressional hearing about “attacks on parental rights” in connection with how school districts address issues related to gender identity and sexual content.
- Ald. sues city: Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) is suing the city and various ethics and accountability agencies for $1 million in damages, arguing that previous investigations and fines leveled against him were aimed at damaging his political viability.
- City population grows: After declining by about 65,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chicago’s population now has grown for a third straight year: 2,731,585 residents in 2025, an increase of 5,253 compared to 2024, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau data.
- Arts grants: The South Side Community Art Center and the South Side Home Movie Project will receive part of a $1.8 million grant from the Los Angeles-based Getty Foundation to support Black visual arts archives.
FRAN SPIELMAN SHOW 🎧
Mayor Johnson rules out school closings, is mum on reelection bid
The conversation: Mayor Brandon Johnson on Thursday ruled out school closings to help Chicago Public Schools dig out of a $732 million hole, and said it’s up to the Illinois General Assembly to approve progressive revenue measures he believes are needed to avoid classroom cuts. He also continued to fend off questions about politics.
Listen up: The mayor joined The Fran Spielman Show to discuss major issues facing his administration. You can read a summary of the episode with context or click below to listen.👇
WEEKEND PLANS 🎉
🌱 Hyde Park Garden Fair
9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
📍Kimbark Plaza Shopping Center, S. Woodlawn Ave. and E. 53rd St.
The tradition continues, with gardeners stocking up on plants and exchanging tips with neighbors.
Admission: Free
👟 History walking tours
10-11:30 a.m. in Humboldt Park and 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Pilsen on Saturday
📍Ciclo Urbano, 2459 W. Division St. and National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St.
Experienced guides lead the Chicago History Museum’s walking tours.
Admission: $22+
💎 Renegade Craft Fair
11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
📍Clark Street from Bryn Mawr Avenue to Edgewater Avenue
More than 250 curated artists flock to Andersonville hocking ceramics, clothing, paintings, jewelry and food.
Admission: $5 suggested donation
🎉 Howard Street Carnaval
12 p.m. Saturday
📍White (Willye B.) Park, 1610 W. Howard St.
Celebrate the African diaspora with music, vendors and a parade that steps off at Paulina Street and Jonquil Terrace.
Admission: Free
🛍️ Maxwell Street Market
10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
📍Maxwell Street between S. Halsted St. and S. Union Ave.
The Chicago classic returns with handmade crafts, resale housewares, clothing and live music. Catch it again June 7, July 19, Aug. 9, Sept. 13 and Oct. 4.
Admission: Free
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏈
- Voice of baseball: Before the Cubs and Sox meet in the first round of the Crosstown Series this weekend, we talked with Len Kasper, in his sixth season as the White Sox’ radio voice after 16 years as the Cubs’ TV voice.
- Fallen fan recovering: The Sox said they’ve received a “positive report” on a fan who fell into the visiting bullpen during Wednesday’s game.
- Bryan Hudson’s on a roll: More than 10 years after being drafted, the 29-year-old Illinois native entered the Sox game Thursday against the Royals on a career-best run.
- Bears’ 2026 schedule: The team will host the Packers on Christmas Day, travel to the Lions for Thanksgiving and try a franchise record by playing five night games — including three in a row.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 5A: Common or Chance the Rapper, for example
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Irene’s Finer Diner reopens two years after grease fire closed doors
By Violet Miller
Petros Papatheofanis fondly remembers stealing bacon off the griddle and being handed orange juice by the doting wait staff of his father’s North Center restaurant, Alps East.
Tuesday morning, he got to walk back through the same door with his mom. She’s the namesake of the current space, Irene’s Finer Diner, and was one of many family members he worked alongside when Alps East was open from 1986 to 2012.
The moment came nearly two years after the diner, at 2012 W. Irving Park Road, was closed following a grease fire that gutted the inside.
The diner soft relaunched May 2 and a full reopening is still to come. Now open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, it started four years ago through the efforts of Papatheofanis and co-owners Cristian Mendoza and Noah Zamler.
“The diner allows us to really connect with people in the community … It brings joy and happiness to our hearts,” Mendoza said.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s something a first-time Crosstown Classic attendee should know?
Email us your response here please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
PICTURE CHICAGO 📸
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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