Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Gov. JB Pritzker wants to drastically change the way the state regulates — currently via the Illinois Gaming Board — its ever-expanding casino, video poker and sports betting industries.
🗞️ Plus: Emails show why the Cook County state’s attorney wouldn’t denounce the president, lawmakers try to keep the Bears in Illinois and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat the Phillies, 5-1.
📧 Subscribe: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌤️
Mostly sunny with a chance of late afternoon thunderstorms and a high near 75.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Will transparency fold under Pritzker’s plan to revamp the Illinois Gambling Board?
By Robert Herguth and Mitchell Armentrout
Shuffling oversight: Gov. JB Pritzker plans to revamp the Illinois Gaming Board in a dramatic reorganization, potentially eliminating key aspects of public transparency that have existed for decades.
Key context: Casinos as well as video and sports gambling have exploded across the state on Pritzker’s watch, and video poker could expand further if it happens in Chicago. Tasked with regulating it all is the gaming board, which reports to Pritzker and has struggled with a main task: Ensuring the integrity of the billion-dollar industry and keeping people with ties to organized crime out of it.
The plan: In short, there would no longer be members of the gaming board, nor of the Illinois Racing Board — their functions would be merged. Deliberations and voting on gaming licenses, qualifications, discipline and other gaming matters, as well as the racing board’s functions, would all be folded into a new or existing arm of state government, operating like a department of the executive branch.
IMMIGRATION ✶
O’Neill Burke wouldn’t denounce Trump, wanted to ‘maintain’ relationship with feds, emails show
By Jon Seidel and Sophie Sherry
Criticism quelled: Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke declined to criticize the Trump administration in the weeks leading up to Operation Midway Blitz because she wanted to keep her “excellent working relationships” with federal law enforcement, emails in newly filed court records show. An Aug. 11 email discussed an effort by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s office to get county agencies to sign onto a statement “responding to the recent actions and rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration.”
Calls for special prosecutor: It’s evidence that Cook County’s top prosecutor has a conflict that justifies the installation of a special prosecutor who could investigate the feds behind last fall’s deportation campaign, argues a coalition that is made up of more than 200 elected officials, clergy, attorneys and journalists, including the Chicago News Guild, which represents members at the Sun-Times.
What’s next: The fight over appointing a special prosecutor could come to a head as Cook County Circuit Judge Erica Reddick is set to hear arguments Friday. She is the presiding judge of the court’s criminal division. O’Neill Burke’s office promised a “comprehensive response.”
More:
- Six months after she blocked President Donald Trump’s efforts to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, a federal judge Monday confirmed the orders triggering the deployment are no longer in effect and dismissed the lawsuit that challenged them.
- For the second year in a row, the annual Cinco de Mayo parade in Little Village has been canceled due to immigration enforcement concerns, organizers said.
STADIUM SAGA 🏈
Lawmakers sweeten pot to keep Bears in Illinois with stadium bill
By Fran Spielman and Tina Sfondeles
Property tax relief?: Illinois hopes to take the lead over Indiana in the Chicago Bears stadium battle with a new proposal that would give the NFL team property tax certainty while also providing statewide property tax relief. State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, plans to brief Illinois House Democrats on the new amendment Tuesday.
The plan: The PILOT measure, shorthand for payment in lieu of taxes, would allow the Bears to renegotiate their property taxes with Arlington Heights. The property tax relief element, a new addition to stadium-related legislation in Springfield, is essential in getting support from lawmakers outside of Chicago, including Republicans.
What’s next: Buckner told the Sun-Times he would push for lawmakers to hold a committee hearing on the measure and get the proposal to the floor this week, depending on how much support, or resistance, he hears in the caucus.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- CTA security: The Chicago Transit Authority has ended a multimillion-dollar contract that paid for hundreds of unarmed security guards, saying it is redirecting those funds to officers and other trained professionals “better equipped” to keep riders safe.
- Man sentenced to life in prison: A federal judge on Monday told gang boss Labar “Bro Man” Spann that he would “die in jail” after Spann was convicted for a second time in a racketeering case.
- Information sought in dogs’ deaths: After six dogs were found dead in garbage bags in a ditch last month in unincorporated Crete, Will County authorities are offering $5,000 to anyone with information that could lead to arrests and charges.
- Titanic artifact for sale: The gold pocket watch of John Jacob Astor IV, the Titanic’s wealthiest passenger, will go up for sale Wednesday in an auction hosted by Freeman’s in West Loop.
- Remembering LaTanya Long-Sullivan: The Hyde Park crossing guard, less than 5 feet tall, was fierce and adored, shepherding students and parents across the street for 26 years. She died March 30 at age 64.
- Signs of spring: The spring bridge lift schedule resumes Wednesday along the Chicago River, with 27 bridges set to lift twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN 📐
Restoration starts on pergola at North Lawndale’s historic Sears garden
By Lee Bey
New chapter: A faded Mediterranean Revival-styled pergola that is the main feature of a North Lawndale garden created 120 years ago by Sears, Roebuck & Co. is being restored. Work began Friday on the 100-foot-long pergola at 3330 W. Arthington St.
Key context: The structure is the centerpiece of the nearly 2-acre garden built in 1907 as a rest spot for employees at what was then Sears’ sprawling campus headquarters. The $1 million restoration is being funded by a grant from the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation — the first step in a larger effort to revive the entire garden, an idea launched by the North Lawndale Community Coordinating Council’s Greening, Open Space, Water, Soil and Sustainability committee in 2021.
MUST-READ COMMENTARY ✍️
- Ellery Jones: No, my Sun-Times colleague Violet Miller and I are not the same person. Many people can’t tell us apart because they don’t know or understand trans women, a deficit that fuels policies and rhetoric that harm us all.
- Rummana Hussain: Ahmed Shihab-Eldin excels at exposing injustice. His overseas arrest deserves the same scrutiny.
- Rich Miller: Illinoisans overwhelmingly want to impose strict rules on data centers.
- Kashyap Rajesh: I grew up on Zoom and social media. Protect Illinois’ little kids and teens from the dangers of AI.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Post-Blitz: Despite fears of immigration enforcement, business owners in Belmont Cragin are figuring out how to collaborate. And new data reveals Chicagoans’ perception of Operation Midway Blitz and its impact on the economy. Guests Brian Fabes of University of Chicago and Melissa Quintana of Hermosa-Belmont Cragin Chamber of Commerce will discuss.
- Earth connections: Chickasaw poetry and folk music invite us to consider our connection to the Earth. Composer Jerod Impichaachaaha’ Tate, poet Lokosh and Kirsten Hedegaard of EcoVoice Project weigh in.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- William Shakespeare’s birthday: Ahead of the Bard’s April 23 birthday, cast members of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater production of The Merry Wives of Windsor perform a scene, followed by a conversation about the writer’s modern relevance — all before a live audience.
- ‘Riding the Rails’: WTTW host Geoffrey Baer discusses his new documentary and his collaboration with Chicago A Cappella singers, who will also perform before the studio audience.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈🏀
- Kmet to return: Bears TE Cole Kmet will be back for a seventh season. “Never really felt I would be playing anywhere else,” he said.
- Sky’s limits: Days before their first preseason game against the Mercury, the Sky are racing to lay a foundation amid training camp injuries and absences.
- Bulls search: The Bulls have received permission to talk with a handful of candidates to lead the front office. A source indicated several mystery candidates, too.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 4A: Sculptor Lorado, whose Chicago workshop is a National Historic Landmark
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Pilsen artist’s poetry snippets are painted around Chicago and the country
By Genevieve Bookwalter
You’ve probably seen her poetry by now.
Maybe it was spray-painted on the sidewalk outside a coffee shop or record store, or wheat-pasted on a utility pole that you walked by. Maybe you found the words within a giant heart painted inside an abandoned, run-down building you decided to explore.
The Pilsen artist known as Boots, whose real name is Kimberly Brown, has painted thousands of her original poetry snippets on sidewalks and elsewhere around Chicago since she began sharing her words with the world just before the pandemic.
Now, you can find her painted poetry while walking through towns in all 50 states, part of a project that Brown says has “become bigger than me at this point.” All of them are tagged @poetrybyboots, which is her Instagram handle. The biggest number by far are in Chicago.
“It’s always extra special when my hometown appreciates it,” says Brown, who receives tags, photos and messages nearly every day from fans who found her work. “It still blows my mind how many messages I’ll get.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Yesterday, we asked you: Should Illinois ban cellphones in classrooms during school hours?
Here’s some of what you said…
“I think such a law, while popular, may be unenforceable. A better solution would be to jam the signal in classrooms; that way students cannot access distractions on their phones.” — Patricia Boughton
“I am a former Illinois student … I believe with all the school shootings that go on around the country, these students need their phones. What if something happens to the teacher and no one else has a phone to call for help in that classroom? … One more phone could save countless lives!” — Gregory Bell-Bey
“I do think that cellphones should be banned during school hours. They provide a distraction from education and a barrier for teachers trying to communicate … Schools should also ensure that students will have easy access to an office phone if they need to call their parents or guardians.” — Margaret McCoy
“I’m finishing my 22nd year as a CPS high school teacher. Brain rot is real. Critical thinking has atrophied. Attention spans are measured in seconds. Students are addicted to the dopamine hits endless scrolling or game-playing … provide. I was an early adopter of Google Classroom, which I still use … However, I now make paper copies and direct students to put their Chromebooks and phones away. It’s a daily battle. I can’t tell you how many times a student has told me, ‘I’m talking to my mom.” — Sharon Marzano
“Absolutely! As an educator for more than 40 years, I can say … It distracts students from focusing … even if the phone is in a backpack and on silent, the temptation to check it is overwhelming. It fractures concentration, and over time leads to decreased attention span. It also contributes to diminished social skills, as kids are more focused on their devices than on human interaction. When phones are not allowed in school, teachers report students are way more engaged with learning and with one another.” — Anita Caref
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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