Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Homelessness numbers have increased among Latinos in Illinois. We look into the contributing causes.
🗞️ Plus: Festival season arrives with heightened security, the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong is fined for an interaction with a White Sox fan and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to the Brewers, 5-2; the White Sox beat the Mariners, 2-1.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Partly sunny with a high near 58.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Latino homelessness in Illinois skyrocketed after Texas bused migrants
By Esther Yoon-Ji Kang
Unhoused in Illinois: Homelessness rates have increased among Latinos in Illinois in recent years, following the influx of migrants bused to Chicago by the governor of Texas, according to a new report from University of Illinois at Chicago researchers. Experts worry that tens of thousands more people without permanent housing are flying under the radar.
Zooming in: The report found that on any given night in the past decade, more than 1,000 Latinos were staying in Illinois homeless shelters, with another 200 living on the streets. Another 30,000 Latinos were “doubled-up,” meaning they didn’t have stable housing and were temporarily staying with family or friends.
Policy recs: Advocates and researchers will head to Springfield on Thursday to brief Gov. JB Pritzker on the findings and to make policy recommendations to address homelessness in Latino communities. These include funding eviction prevention programs and improving employment opportunities for residents.
POLITICS ✶
Johnson’s inspector general pick promises to be independent watchdog
By Fran Spielman
IG pick’s promise: Chicago Inspector General-designate David Glockner vowed Tuesday to make timely judgments “independent of politics” and focus on improving systems of city government where the “impact is greatest.”
Committee OKs: Before being unanimously backed by the City Council’s Ethics Committee, Glockner said he would not have agreed to become the city’s chief watchdog if he didn’t think Mayor Brandon Johnson was “committed to an effective and independent inspector general’s office.”
Key context: Glockner will replace Deborah Witzburg, who clashed repeatedly with Johnson and his inner circle over a host of ethics issues and ultimately decided not to seek a reappointment to a second term, which she was unlikely to get.
FESTIVAL SEASON 🎶
As festival season arrives, organizers point to high cost of running safe events
By Courtney Kueppers
Security costs: While the city supports festivals with street closures and approved security plans, summer event organizers must foot the bill for on-site private security, required by the city to obtain a permit. Organizers say running safe events comes at an ever-increasing cost as security bills climb.
Weekend outlook: Memorial Day weekend kicks off Chicago’s busy calendar of music festivals and neighborhood street fairs, including three major music festivals within a 4-mile radius. In Grant Park, the reggaeton and Latin Music-focused Sueños returns. West Town’s Salt Shed is bringing back its indie-heavy Warm Love Cool Dreams festival. Union Park hosts the inaugural R&B and house fest Forever Mine.
The strategies: Starting this weekend, attendees will notice more emphasis on security, from new gate screeners at the Salt Shed to double ID checks at Forever Mine. And at some street festivals, pairs of security guards will be stationed at entrances around the clock, according to Pamela Maass with Wicker Park Fest.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Judge orders mom’s release: Liliana Navarrete was ordered released from immigration custody by a federal judge Tuesday, though her son, Mather High School student Ricardo Hernandez-Navarrete, remains detained, according to the family’s lawyers.
- Live Nation is sued: The entertainment company is being sued for negligence after a man allegedly assaulted an intoxicated 16-year-old girl at a Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul concert last year in Tinley Park.
- Ex-cop sues city: Michael Barz, a former high-ranking Chicago cop, has sued the city, police Supt. Larry Snelling and other officials, alleging he was added to the city’s do-not-hire list based on bogus information about his disciplinary record.
- Gene & Georgetti sues airport: The steakhouse’s owner filed a breach of contract lawsuit accusing Midway Airport of using the Gene & Georgetti name to secure an airport contract — only to terminate the agreement to make way for airport slot machines.
- New transparency: The federal court in Chicago now requires public notice of a grand jury “no bill” on the docket in certain circumstances, a new rule that could help the public better understand how often the secretive panels refuse to hand up indictments.
- NU president: Northwestern University has named Mung Chiang, the current head of Purdue University, as its next leader. Chiang, a first-generation immigrant from China, will be Northwestern’s first Asian American president.
- Housing milestone: A developer cut the ribbon on a fourth residential building in Garfield Park — the 2,500th completed home acquired through the Cook County Land Bank Authority.
CHICAGO HISTORY ⏳
How the Black Chicago accent retained its Southern roots
By Arionne Nettles
Curious listener: A listener asked WBEZ’s “Curious City” program: Why have Black Chicagoans kept so many features of Southern dialect? Contributor Arionne Nettles, a South Side native with a defined accent of her own, answered the question in a recently aired episode.
Great Migration beginnings: The answer goes back to the Great Migration, roughly between 1915 and 1970, during which a half-million Black people moved from Southern states to Chicago, creating a Black Chicago English you can hear in the dialect of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Community connection: Why the Southern accent has remained so prevalent in the city can be attributed to a few reasons, according to researcher Sharese King. Among them are Chicago’s segregated communities and multiple generations living in the same neighborhood. Another reason is that many families are still connected with their southern kin. This all manifests shared speech patterns.
WATCH: CHICAGO ACCENT HISTORY ▶️
MUST-READ COMMENTARY 🗣️
- Neil Steinberg: Brad Schwartz, a Glenview lawyer, turned a horrific medical tragedy resulting in the loss of his limbs into outreach to other amputees.
- Rummana Hussain: A new school, funded by and named after the Chicago clothing and accessories line Wear The Peace, opened its doors in Gaza City.
- Rich Miller: Bills for AI, data centers, energy and gaming are circling the drain in Springfield.
- Louis Martinez: Drones are everywhere, but rules governing them remain invisible.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- After 2020: Monday marks the sixth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police. Danielle Robinson Bell of Northwestern’s Medill School and Onnie Rogers of University of Chicago unpack what racial progress in America looks like today.
- Vote tour: A restored suffrage-era car rolled through Chicago this week for the “Driving the Vote for Equality” tour, retracing a 1916 cross-country campaign for women’s voting rights. Rev. Janette Wilson of PUSH for Excellence, Laura Welch of the National Organization for Women and Maureen Hellwig of the Chicago Women’s History Center all discuss.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Managing money: Christine Benz of Morningstar talks about personal finance and gives retirement tips in times of economic uncertainty. Callers weigh in.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏀⚾
- Rickea Jackson’s season ends: An MRI revealed a torn ACL in the Sky forward’s left knee, which she suffered last weekend against the Lynx. There will be no easy answers for the Sky without her.
- PCA is fined $5K: Major League Baseball has fined Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong $5,000 for “comments made to a fan” at Sunday’s Cubs-White Sox game, according to industry sources.
- Tristan Peters finds his groove: The former dancing Savannah Banana has provided reliable defense all season, and now he might be onto something in the Sox’ batter’s box.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1D: Like some food at Big Jones or Luella’s
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Vocalo, WBEZ’s sister station, refreshes lineup after almost shutting down
By Stefano Esposito
Vocalo, the local music radio station that helped make Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa household names, is launching a live call-in show in hopes of “shaping what comes next.”
“The Vocalo Hotline,” a weekly show debuting 8 p.m. May 29 on both WBEZ 91.5 FM and Vocalo 91.1 FM, is part of a major refresh for the music station, which has struggled in recent years to attract an audience and generate sufficient revenue to cover expenses.
The call-in show is part of WBEZ’s renewed focus on Chicago-based programming, which includes the morning shows “In the Loop” and “Say More.”
“Hotline,” hosted by Vocalo DJ Nudia Hernandez, is set to be a one-hour radio broadcast built around listener requests, shout-outs and conversation.
The show almost didn’t happen. Two years ago, facing a worsening financial situation, CPM announced plans to discontinue Vocalo broadcasts, part of a broader series of cuts at the news organization.
Now, with a new show ready to premiere at the end of the month, Vocalo’s voice is growing again.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Where in the city can you find the strongest Chicago accents?
Reply to this email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
Yesterday, we asked you: How do you feel about entertainment venues asking audiences to check in their phones for a device-free experience?
Here’s some of what you said…
“I’ll have to admit, it’s a bit challenging. Experienced this at a concert last fall – and found myself constantly reaching for my now ‘phantom’ phone in order to take a photo. Spent the first 30 minutes aggravated but finally settled in and was able to enjoy the concert. Lesson learned? It’s not the end of the world!” — Derek D. Forest
“Restricting device use at live shows is perfectly sensible out of respect for the performers and others in the audience. They already do this at the comedy clubs in New York, even going as [far] as having guests remove smart watches. It forces us to be fully present for the experience.” — Christine Lopez
“I would love to! Unfortunately, as the director of the Peoria International Airport, I have to be constantly available in case of emergency, so having my phone available is mandatory. One day I’m going to chuck it into a lake!” — Gene Olson
“As someone who occasionally acts onstage, I’d love to be guaranteed that nobody’s phone is going to interrupt the performance. As long as nobody accidentally, or on purpose, walks away with someone else’s device, that is.” — Paul Lockwood
Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Morning Edition!
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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