Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: The grim discovery of the remains of more than 100 people at South Chicago Chapel has lawmakers calling for changes to how Illinois regulates funeral homes, crematories and embalmers across the state.
🗞️ Plus: Residents file police reports for feds’ alleged Midway Blitz crimes, a North Side “cat tour” and more.
📝 Keeping score: The Sky fell to the Storm, 97-88.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌧️
Mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms, wind gusts as high as 25 mph and a high near 82 degrees.
CHICAGO JIGSAW PUZZLE 🧩
Piece together history to reveal more about today’s photo from the Sun-Times archives.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Horrific discovery raises questions about Illinois funeral home oversight
Reporting by Mitchell Armentrout, Mawa Iqbal, Fran Spielman and Michael Puente
Calls for reform: A macabre discovery in a South Deering funeral home is once again revealing gaps in government oversight of facilities like South Chicago Chapel, where authorities found 56 decomposing bodies and 56 boxes of cremated remains, according to lawmakers now calling for state-level reform.
Key context: Clark and Johanna Morgan, operators of South Chicago Chapel, are accused of mishandling the remains of more than 100 people. The Morgans also ran a Chicago Heights crematory that was shut down by the state last year for mishandling the remains of about 100 other people.
Who’s responsible? After the Morgans’ Chicago Heights crematory closed, a new state law expanded the regulatory authority of the Illinois comptroller’s office, which oversees crematories. But Comptroller Susana Mendoza’s office doesn’t regulate funeral directors or embalmers, who are licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation under Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration.
‘Bad actors’ blamed: Apparently, no state agency oversees funeral homes themselves, at their physical locations, officials said. At an unrelated event Monday, Pritzker said, “the comptroller’s office did what they should do with the crematory. IDFPR did what it is supposed to do with regard to a funeral home and funeral directors, and so those, I think, seemingly were handled properly. … We’re talking about some really bad actors.”
PUBLIC SAFETY 🚨
Cop who fatally shot man ‘ignored any opportunity to de-escalate,’ family alleges
Reporting by Kaitlin Washburn
Family sues: A Chicago police officer was in a “reckless and uncontrolled state of mind” when he fatally shot Derek Jordan earlier this year in Humboldt Park, his family alleges in a lawsuit, which names the city of Chicago and the police officer who shot Jordan as defendants.
The scene: According to police, Jordan, 42, was fleeing officers in a car on March 9 when he got boxed into an alley. Jordan kept trying to drive off, crashing into a bus and a police vehicle, video footage shows. Within seconds of arriving at the scene, one officer drew his gun, screamed at Jordan, “get out of the f—— car, or I’ll kill you,” then 20 seconds later, fired six shots into Jordan’s car.
Key quote: Officers already on the scene were “working to de-escalate the situation,” the family’s attorney said. But the officer who shot Jordan “ignored any opportunity to calm the scene, to de-escalate and do what police officers are supposed to do.”
IMMIGRATION ✶
Group files police reports against Midway Blitz agents in new push for accountability
Reporting by Sophie Sherry, Mariah Woelfel and Jon Seidel
New effort: Nearly a year after President Donald Trump launched his “Operation Midway Blitz” deportation campaign in the Chicago area, a group of residents began a new effort Monday to hold federal agents accountable for alleged crimes by filing police reports and demanding investigations.
Shooting survivor: The group of residents includes Marimar Martinez, who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent last October. Despite early hints of a federal investigation into the circumstances of her shooting, Martinez said she has yet to be interviewed by the feds. So for the first time Monday, Martinez called on state and local authorities to act instead.
Key context: No federal agent has been charged with an on-duty crime connected to the Midway Blitz campaign despite widespread calls for accountability. A Cook County circuit judge previously denied a request for a special prosecutor, who might have investigated the agents, after asking whether anyone had actually filed a police report.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- 2 fatally shot in school: Two custodians were fatally shot inside Mark Twain Elementary School in Garfield Ridge on Monday afternoon in an apparent murder-suicide, according to preliminary police radio transmissions.
- ‘Time served’ for gun turn-in: Nakia Smith, a volunteer for an anti-violence group, made a deal with Cook County prosecutors Monday to plead guilty to felony gun charges in exchange for not going to prison. Smith says he was trying to turn in a gun at a police station when he was arrested in 2023.
- Bailey’s abortion stance: Though GOP gubernatorial hopeful Darren Bailey has dialed back his stance on abortion, even omitting it from his policy platform, his running mate, Aaron Del Mar, declared during a rally Saturday that abortion is a “sin against God.”
- Wilson enters mayoral race: Chicago businessman Willie Wilson on Monday joined the race for mayor of Chicago — his fourth go at the position.
- Treasurer pitches abolishing fund: City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin wants to disband a fund created to jump-start development on the South and West Sides, and use the remaining $57 million to prevent a midyear budget shortfall from triggering police and fire department layoffs.
- City to keep pools open: With high temperatures expected, the city will keep 20 community pools, 23 beaches and more than 200 water play features open through Labor Day.
- Downtown mall makeover: The Shops at North Bridge will receive a $40 million facelift and a new strategy to entice what developers are calling experiential, or interactive, retailers to open at the sprawling six-block mall.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Regulating social media: Illinois is joining a growing number of states regulating how social media companies interact with minors. Experts join the show to talk about what families need to know about these new regulations.
- Rare bird: This year, when small bobolink songbirds made their annual trek through Chicago, a rare half-female, half-male bird was sighted. The conservationist who spotted the bird stops by the show to discuss.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- The many languages of Chicago: Callers weigh in about their experiences learning a language and why it’s meaningful to them.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏈
- Tim Anderson retires: Anderson made his announcement on a Zoom call with Chicago media, during which he said baseball brought him a lot of good moments but also a lot of pain. “It gives me anxiety just talking about baseball,” he said. The White Sox plan to honor him Sept. 17.
- ‘It’s on your mind every day’: The Cubs, still chasing the division-leading Brewers, say they’re driven to go deeper than last year’s playoff exit.
- Bears got depth: The Bears’ offense hasn’t been this stacked in more than a decade, and it’s built to withstand injuries, writes Jason Lieser.
- High school football forecast: Here’s a look at some of the top high school football stars set to dazzle on defense this season.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1D: ___ Wacker (famous underground roadway)
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
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‘Cat tour’ brings a day of whimsy to Lincoln Square
Reporting by Erica Thompson
On Saturday, a large crowd formed in Lincoln Square for an inaugural social gathering.
Among them was Nox, a sweet, shy Pisces who loves cuddles. There was also Diane, a fierce Tennessee native who loves long naps and cleanliness. No, they weren’t two singles at a dating event but two felines on the Lincoln Square Cat Tour.
For two hours, attendees hopped from house to house to view more than 125 residents’ cats on porches, or in windows and yards. They wore cat ears and cat patterns on their clothes. They carried cat-themed posters and cardboard cut-outs. One participant rolled her own cat in a stroller. Some used the official Google Map to go rogue, while others joined one of four guided routes with relevant names: Chonk, Zoomies, Primordial Pouch and Toe Beans.
More than 60 people, including some from out of state, showed up for the Chonk course.
From Minneapolis to Toronto, cat tours have become an international phenomenon, but the Lincoln Square soiree on Saturday — branded “Caturday” — was the first of its kind in Chicago. Organizers and attendees said they relished the opportunity to not only build community with their neighbors but be whimsical and escape the burdens of everyday life.
“This is a free, fun event that’s good for any age to get out there and do. It’s joyful, it’s silly, and I think people need it,” said Christine Blevins, who helped organize the cat tour with her neighbor Kalin Webber.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Edited by: Satchel Price
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