Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: A landmark study from Northwestern Medicine challenges the long-held notion that it’s too risky to transplant lungs into patients with advanced cancer.
🗞️ Plus: CTA’s crime drop, must-try dishes at this year’s Taste of Chicago and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat the Orioles, 9-7; the White Sox fell to the Red Sox, 5-0.
📧 Subscribe: Get our morning newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ☁️
Mostly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms and a high near 83.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Lung transplants extend lives of sickest cancer patients better than standard treatment, study finds
By Kaitlin Washburn
Landmark study: A new landmark study from Northwestern Medicine found that patients with advanced lung cancer are far more likely to survive if they receive a lung transplant compared to patients who undergo standard cancer treatment.
Key context: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. The medical community has long considered it too risky to transplant lungs into patients with advanced cancer because of the potential risk for cancer cells to spread to the new lungs. But the study published Wednesday challenges that notion, said study co-author Dr. Ankit Bharat, of Northwestern.
Zooming in: Jodi Graf, 61, is one of many patients who participated in Northwestern’s study, after her doctors in Houston found a cancerous mass on her lungs in 2023. Graf was too sick to undergo chemotherapy or surgery to remove it. Most hospitals won’t perform a lung transplant until a patient is cancer-free for at least five years — except Northwestern.
Key quote: “I went from thinking I probably won’t have a future, but now I am able to think about my future,” Graf said. “I’m really enjoying being able to breathe.”
TRANSPORTATION 🚆
CTA crime has dropped for past 6 months amid security surge, agency boss says
By David Struett
Crime decline: Crime on the CTA has fallen over the last six consecutive months amid a security surge to address a historically high number of violent attacks. CTA’s interim boss Nora Leerhsen boasted about those numbers during the agency’s board meeting Wednesday, pointing to a 30% decline in all reported transit crime over 2025.
On the Red Line: The drop was even more dramatic on the Red Line, where Chicago police and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office have focused increased patrols since March after a funding threat from President Donald Trump’s administration. The Red Line has seen a 47% decline in all crime and a 76% drop in violent crime through June compared to last year, Leerhsen said.
MUSEUMS AND MONUMENTS 🏗️
Johnson breaks ground on long-awaited memorial to Burge torture victims
By Fran Spielman
New monument: Mayor Brandon Johnson joined victims of torture by former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge, along with the survivors’ families and attorneys, Wednesday to break ground on a $4.7 million memorial in their honor in the Washington Park neighborhood. City Council promised to create the South Side tribute as part of the 2015 agreement that authorized $5.5 million in reparations to 57 victims. Johnson finally delivered on that promise. He also committed $1 million to the memorial and persuaded the council to subsidize the $4.7 million cost by selling city-owned lots in the 5500 block of South Martin Luther King Drive for $1.
‘Means everything’: Among those present was Anthony Holmes, who had his wrists and ankles shackled to a chair before being electric-shocked into confessing to a 1972 murder he did not commit and spending more than 30 years in prison. “The memorial means everything to me because it is about truth. It is about the torture Burge and his men committed and everything that the survivors suffered,” Holmes said.
POLITICS ✶
- Downstate Rep. indicted: State Rep. Carol Ammons, D-Urbana, schemed to direct state grant money to her daughter, took kickbacks on bogus campaign expenses and lied to the FBI about it all, according to federal prosecutors.
- Boutros due in court: Court watchers are waiting to see if U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros, Chicago’s embattled top federal prosecutor, will appear in court Thursday morning over “potential violations” of a judge’s order sealing criminal charges.
- Durbin in Turkey: Sen. Dick Durbin met Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the 2026 NATO Summit in Turkey during a trip centered on rebuilding European nations’ relationships amid President Trump’s comments.
- Chicago’s public health chief: Dr. Garth Walker, an executive at Rush Health and an emergency department physician who grew up on the South Side, has been appointed Chicago’s next public health commissioner.
- Community framework plan: Garfield Ridge-raised Danny Villalobos has created its first comprehensive community plan, Garfield Ridge 2050, to provide a framework for how residents think the neighborhood should look over the next 25 years. Stakeholders believe the plan is the first step toward improvements.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- World reads the Declaration: Newberry Library on Wednesday was among more than 1,000 sites worldwide participating in a simultaneous reading of the Declaration of Independence. The event commemorated America’s 250th birthday and the first public reading of the document in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776.
- Family fundraises in kids’ memory: Relatives of Caleb Oswald, 6, and Abigail Oswald, 7, killed when a boat capsized in Lake Geneva last week, are raising money to donate to charity in the children’s memory.
- Man sentenced for Trump threat: A federal judge Wednesday sentenced Trent Schneider, of Winthrop Harbor, to more than three years in prison for threatening President Donald Trump and others, saying she found it “rich” that prosecutors sought an even stiffer sentence after Trump pardoned scores of Jan. 6 rioters.
- Cash App settlement: Illinois will get $1.1 million of a $45 million, 45-state settlement with Block Inc., Cash App’s parent company, which was accused of misleading customers about the app’s security.
- Did you feel that?: Some parts of the Chicago area felt a bit of rumbling Wednesday afternoon as the United States Geological Survey reported a 2.9-magnitude earthquake off the Lake Michigan shore by Kenilworth.
- UChicago Press workers vote to unionize: The vote by University of Chicago Press Workers Guild members is the latest in a wave of local cultural institutions organizing.
- CPL Foundation CEO: The Chicago Public Library Foundation has named Eva Giglio as its next CEO to lead the entity that raises private funds for programs and activities at city libraries.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- SNAP cost: The federal government is continuing its efforts to put more of the burden of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on states and local governments. Nolan Downey of the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Illinois State Rep. Dagmara Avelar and Carolyn Barnes of the University of Chicago discuss.
- Sox fans feeling good: The Sun-Times’ Robert Herguth and Jeff Agrest, along with WBEZ’s Micah Yason — all three major White Sox fans — talk about their beloved team’s banner year.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- America’s temperature: How are Americans feeling about the U.S.? Jane Ruby of the League of Women Voters Chicago and callers weigh in.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏒⚾🏀
- See you in November: Connor Bedard, the Blackhawks’ best player, will be sidelined about four months after undergoing successful surgery Wednesday on his left shoulder, the team’s physician said.
- Short(stop) list: With the No. 1 pick in the MLB Draft on Saturday, the White Sox are eyeing shortstops Roch Cholowsky and Grady Emerson.
- PCA back in 20-20 club: The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong kept doing All-Star things Wednesday, homering twice and clinching a second straight season of at least 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
- Will the real Sky stand up?: After lineup and roster upheavals, the team’s identity is unclear, writes Alissa Hirsh.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 1A: Competition show that recently featured the Jesse White Tumblers (abbr.)
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Must-try dishes at this year’s Taste of Chicago
By Ambar Colón
The Taste of Chicago kicked off Wednesday morning with more than 80 vendors from across the city — from booths by local restaurants to food trucks to featured pop-ups.
And while there are plenty of Chicago classics up for grabs, including Connie’s Pizza, Eli’s Cheesecake and Harold’s Chicken, this year’s festival also shows off the city’s international flavors, from Senegalese cuisine to Argentine empanadas.
Nearly 38% of the participating restaurants are setting up shop at the festival for the first time, according to the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
If it’s been a while since you last attended the Taste of Chicago, you’ll find the ticket system is gone for good. The entire event, which is free to enter, is cashless. Instead of presenting tickets to food vendors, you’ll now pay them directly using credit cards or mobile pay.
We’ve got a list of standout dishes to try at this year’s festival, which you can find here or via the button below.
Among our reporter’s favorites: Jerk Jollof Rice Platter from Badou Senegalese Cuisine, Mangonada from Esperanza Kitchen Delights and Georgia Peach Pudding from The Sole Ingredient Catering.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Today’s daily question comes from Wednesday’s Say More segment.
Calling all transplants: What keeps you in Chicago?
Reply to this question via email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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