Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: There are already more deaths in July with ties to heat-related causes than any month since at least 2015.
🗞️ Plus: How schools are coping with a rise in special education needs and costs, one man’s anti-mosquito mission and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs were trounced by the Tigers, 8-6; the White Sox routed the Rangers, 10-3.
📧 Subscribe: Get our morning newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a high near 84.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
6 heat-related deaths in Cook County make July deadliest month in 11 years
Reporting by Elvia Malagón and Elijah James
Deadly toll: Six people in Cook County have died from heat-related causes in July so far, marking the deadliest stretch of extreme hot-weather deaths since at least 2015. Four of those who died were younger than 60.
Lives lost: Victor Ferguson, 48, died July 2 from heat stroke with ethanol intoxication as a secondary cause, according to new records from the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Others whose deaths have been attributed to the heat, according to the medical examiner’s office, are Stephanie Rodriguez, 45; David Gonzalez, 44; Barbara Whigham, 71; Mike Rodriguez, 57; and Daniel Machnikowski, 69. One death happened in Evanston. The others who died were residents of Chicago’s South and West sides.
Key factors: Communities in the South and West sides are most vulnerable to extreme heat, according to one expert, who says some of that vulnerability is tied to socioeconomic factors, like not being able to afford an elevated electricity bill to cool a home or not having an adequate air conditioning unit. Neighborhoods with fewer trees also provide less shade during extreme heat.
EDUCATION 🍎
How CPS is coping with a rise in special ed needs and costs
Reporting by Sarah Karp
Specialized needs: A growing group of students in Chicago Public Schools has autism and needs special education — a new reality for the school district that has major academic and financial implications.
Rise in needs: As of this spring, almost 83,000 students qualified for an individualized education program, which legally requires school districts to provide students with specialized education services or to remove barriers to their learning. That’s 26% of CPS students, up from 20% in 2019. It’s a national trend that’s more pronounced in Chicago.
Separate rooms, more staff: The number of students with autism has doubled since 2019, according to CPS data. Many of them require intensive classroom support and therapy, and a growing number spend the majority of their day in separate classes. When CPS recently announced 1,500 staff layoffs and other drastic measures to close the district’s $732 million deficit, they stressed they were actually adding more special education staff.
LISTEN UP 🎧
Over the last eight years, Nash Elementary in Austin has seen a significant increase in students with disabilities and staff to support them. WBEZ’s Sarah Karp spoke with Nash principal Marcie Byrd about how the small neighborhood school, with its dwindling student body and staff, has adapted to educating these pupils.
ENVIRONMENT 🦟
When mosquitoes are biting, the ‘Sewer Monster’ is on the case
Reporting by Brett Chase
Buzz kill: Justin Harbison, a Loyola University Chicago researcher, helps fight mosquito populations that can carry diseases by treating Chicago-area sewers with insecticides aimed at killing recently hatched larvae before they become bloodsuckers.
Key context: The insects that everyone hates aren’t just annoying. In Illinois, they can spread the potentially deadly West Nile virus, an illness that sickens thousands of people across the country every year. There have been no human cases reported in Chicago this year, but health officials expect that might change. Harbison, who wears his “Sewer Monster” nickname on his shirt, is passionate about protecting public health.
LET’S HEAR FROM YOU 🗣️
Tell us your mosquito-fighting tricks!
Our journalists are evaluating whether various ideas for battling mosquitoes actually work. Please share your ideas and stories! We might contact you to follow up for a future story.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- 2 shot in hostage situation: A suspect was arrested Monday after he allegedly shot a Chicago police officer and another person during a hostage situation in Albany Park. Before he fired, police say the male suspect had barricaded himself inside a home with a woman and a teen girl.
- Shah drops Maine Senate bid: Illinois public health chief Dr. Nirav Shah, who oversaw a series of fatal Legionnaires disease outbreaks at the Quincy veterans home, has dropped his bid for the U.S. Senate in Maine.
- Cyclosporiasis update: As of Friday, Illinois has confirmed 309 cases of the diarrhea-causing illness, officials said. No definitive source has been identified for the Illinois cases. The FDA said initial testing for cyclospora in a sample of lettuce from Taylor Farms showed a false positive.
- Wrestling future uncertain: Months after the storied wrestling venue stopped hosting matches, the Berwyn Eagles Club has a new owner and new name: Destino — but its future in the sport remains uncertain.
ANIMALS 🐳
Four beluga whales are on way to Shedd from closed Canadian park
Reporting by Stefano Esposito
Whales on the way: Four beluga whales from a shuttered aquatic park in Niagara Falls, Canada, were on their way to Shedd Aquarium on Monday as part of an “unprecedented rescue effort,” according to Canadian media. It’s the first phase of a plan to move up to 30 belugas over the next few weeks from Marineland to several U.S. aquariums and to Oceanografic Valencia in Spain. Shedd announced it could receive as many as 10 belugas.
Key context: The future of the belugas has been in doubt since Marineland closed to the public in 2024. Marineland has previously threatened to euthanize the sea mammals, citing a lack of funding to care for them. Twenty whales have died at Marineland since 2019, AP reported.
Controversial move: Some animal rights advocates argue that the whales are being exported potentially in violation of a 2019 Canadian law that bans the breeding of marine mammals in captivity.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Addressing heat: How do we keep residents in the hottest neighborhoods cool during heat waves? Nedra Sims-Fears of the Greater Chatham Initiative, Max Berkelhammer of University of Illinois at Chicago and Lindy Wordlaw of the Chicago Department of Environment explain.
- WNBA All-Star Weekend: Twenty-two of the league’s best players take over the Bulls’ court this weekend. WBEZ’s Cheryl Raye-Stout and Somer Van Benton break down what you need to know.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Maintaining friendships: A lot can happen and change during adulthood. Sometimes friendships are put on the back burner. How can we maintain our friendships? Jason Washburn of Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine and callers weigh in.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏒⚽
- Hitting the right notes: The Cubs’ Alex Bregman is feeling more comfortable at the plate thanks to a simpler approach that has paid dividends.
- Teel on IL: Back only a month, the White Sox’ Kyle Teel left the game Monday after an ugly ankle injury.
- Bedard pitches to Kane: Newly re-signed Blackhawks star Connor Bedard said he’s happy with his new deal but he’d love to see Patrick Kane return.
- Where to get your soccer fix: Though the World Cup is over, there are plenty of chances to see the tournament’s biggest stars play with their clubs in new seasons. Here’s a guide to some of the biggest leagues in the world.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1A: Meteorologist Skilling who had a cameo in “The Bear.”
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Graffiti artists reunite decades later to paint Evanston wall
Reporting by Genevieve Bookwalter
Four friends who grew up graffitiing Evanston walls returned to their hometown this month to add more color and to celebrate the addition of a new “permission wall” for the next generation of writers.
Garrett Munski, Ole Flores, Alex Mendoza and Jordan Nickel grew up tagging walls, viaducts, underpasses and more as kids in Evanston in the 1990s and early 2000s. Nickel built his adult career around creating art, working under the artist name POSE. Munski went on to work as a mechanic while Flores is a CPA. Mendoza owns his own sign company.
The four reunited this time to legally paint a wall on Green Bay Road at Simpson Street. Johnny Cash and Buena Vista Social Club blasted while the four created their individual panels with color and spray cans.
The wall is the precursor to a permissible graffiti wall scheduled to open later this summer on the other side of the same wall, facing an overgrown empty lot.
The four men reminisced about their high school days while they completed the strokes and shading with their cans.
Flores said the new mural was the first piece he had painted in 20 years. “Time passes. The passion doesn’t,” he said.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What tips do you have for fighting off mosquitoes?
Reply here with your answer (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
On Monday, we asked you: What’s the best way to make a new friend as an adult?
Here’s some of what you said…
“I had great luck finding friends as an adult when I reached out to my child’s friend’s family members. We were able to do things together, with and without our children. Also, through volunteering locally.” — Christine Bock
“Find a club, church, activity or team that interests you. You’ll find others [who] share your interest so you automatically have something to talk about. No pickup lines necessary — unless you’re at a truck show!” — Paul Lockwood
“Think of an interest you have. Go to a ‘how to’ class on that interest. Music? Old Town School of Folk Music. Comedy? Second City … Running? Oak Park Running Club.” — P. Teodo
“Salsa classes!” — Ronnie Saso
“Join an adult sports league or do group travel.” — Noah Buckwalter
“Go to your local watering hole the same day and time for a few weeks; you will start to recognize people and before you know it, you will have new friends.” — Tom Carter
For some more ideas, listen to callers’ suggestions on Monday’s Say More with Mary Dixon & Patrick Smith.
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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