Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: A deal offered by prosecutors would have required Ivy Kelly to admit guilt following a murder trial tainted by a corrupt detective. Our reporter met him in jail to hear why he refused.
🗞️ Plus: Chicago Public Schools’ board breaks with the district, women’s pro baseball comes home to Illinois and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat the Cardinals, 4-2; the White Sox bested the Yankees, 2-1; the Sky snuffed out the Sun, 94-88.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ☀️
Partly sunny with showers likely and a high near 83.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
After decades behind bars, man was given a choice: Walk free or keep fighting to clear his name
Reporting by Chip Mitchell
Freedom fight: Ivy Kelly, 51, has always insisted he’s innocent of the 1999 killing that led to his decades-long prison sentence inside Cook County Jail. In 2014, an appeals court raised doubts about his trial’s fairness. Eventually, prosecutors made Kelly an offer: He could walk free — if he just admitted guilt. Kelly has refused to do so.
Key context: Kelly was convicted of killing a man he calls his best friend in 2000 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. In the fight to clear his name, Kelly has argued that his trial lawyer made mistakes so severe that it violated his constitutional rights. He also has raised concerns about the detectives involved in his case: One pleaded guilty to taking cash to protect a drug dealer and another had an assault charge.
Inside the fight: WBEZ reporter Chip Mitchell and Sun-Times photojournalist Pat Nabong met Ivy at the county jail’s “super max” division, in a cramped room where detainees usually see their lawyers.
EDUCATION 🍎
School board rejects layoffs, OKs plan reliant on shaky state funding
Reporting by Sarah Karp and Emmanuel Camarillo
CPS surprise: The Chicago Board of Education made the unprecedented decision to reject the budget proposed by Chicago Public Schools’ superintendent Thursday and instead approved a revised plan that cancels more than 1,000 layoffs.
Shaky funding: To do that, school board members are counting on the state to provide $150 million that has yet to be committed, a move school district officials said was illegal and in violation of board members’ duties.
Funding vote delayed: The Board also on Thursday postponed a vote that would have provided extra funding for the school formerly known as the Chicago High School for the Arts, putting its professional arts training program in limbo a few weeks before the start of the school year.
HOUSING 🏠
Renters’ rights are at stake in dueling City Hall proposals
Reporting by Mariah Woelfel and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang
Renting climate: Tenants face sky-high rents, bidding wars and piles of fees. They struggle to track down landlords when problems arise in buildings. Landlords themselves face rising costs and property taxes that can make it hard to keep rent affordable. Many agree the city’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance is due for a renovation, but can’t align on approaches.
Dueling pitches: Mayor Brandon Johnson has pitched a plan backed and crafted by tenants rights groups and housing advocates. A group of City Council members has pitched an alternative, more landlord-friendly version. Both sides agree “98%” of their proposals are the same. But the 2% where they diverge mark key differences. For example, one plan requires landlords to disclose reasons for not renewing a tenant’s lease and to pay relocation assistance if the tenant isn’t at fault — the other does not.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Woman killed in boating crash: Magdalena Jablonska, 48, was killed Saturday after a speeding boat slammed into hers while in a “no wake zone” of the Fox River in McHenry. The speeding boat’s operator, Richard Stevenson, faces homicide and DUI charges.
- Supporters dispute police narrative: A lawyer for Malik Wrightsell, who was wounded in what officials have described as a shootout with Chicago police, said authorities’ version of events was “absolutely not true.”
- Tornado count rises: The National Weather Service confirmed two more tornadoes from Monday’s storms, bringing the total to seven, as Cook County issued a disaster proclamation due to “significant damage and disruption” caused by the storms.
- Trump stops carp project: Gov. JB Pritzker is calling on the Trump administration to immediately reverse a work stoppage on an embattled project needed to keep invasive Asian carp out of the Great Lakes near Joliet. Work was slated to begin this week.
- Workers sue ICE: Two suburban cemetery workers arrested by federal immigration agents last fall are suing the federal government, part of the American Civil Liberties Union’s effort to hold U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees accountable.
- Custodial cuts pushback: After the Art Institute decided to outsource the jobs of its custodial workers, it faced backlash from the Art Institute of Chicago Workers United. Union members and the museum’s human resources department held their first bargaining session Thursday.
- Help after SNAP: Thousands of people who lost federal food assistance due to expanded work rules will receive a one-time $400 benefit starting Saturday, according to state officials.
LOLLAPALOOZA RECAP 🎶
Reporting by Selena Fragassi, Dorothy Hernandez, Erica Thompson and Morgan Ciocca
A beautiful, warm Lollapalooza 2026 opened Thursday with a big draw early for later-in-the-day headliners Lorde and Naperville’s own John Summit.
Other artists performing included multi-instrumentalist Blood Orange, Ireland’s Kingfishr, SB-19 — the first Filipino boy band to play the fest — and local band The Braymores.
Early on, a sizable number of festivalgoers lined up for key attractions like the Snapchat Charm Bar for custom keychains, the massively popular artist merch tents and the fest’s new Ferris wheel.
Keep your eye on our site for festival coverage through Sunday.
Here’s some more on Day 1:
- Charli xcx meets fans: Ahead of her headlining set Friday and showstopping appearance during Lorde’s set, the British pop star did a meet and greet with fans in Wicker Park’s Reckless Records.
- Sombr turns up: With a margarita in hand, the 21-year-old overnight rockstar strutted into Lollapalooza like he owned the place.
- John Summit delivers: For his headlining set, Summit pushed his usual high energy performance past the max.
- Day 1 photos: Get a glimpse of the day’s performances and scenes inside the festival’s gates.
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Weekly news recap: WBEZ’s Dave McKinney, Chicago Tribune’s Talia Soglin and WTTW’s Heather Cherone break down the week’s top stories.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Parents at Lollapalooza: With Lollapalooza underway in downtown Chicago, we discuss tips and tricks for taking your children to a music festival, and callers weigh in on the best and worst stories of intergenerational music experiences.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 📺⚾🏀
- Mark Giangreco lets loose: Five years after being unceremoniously fired from ABC 7, the longtime Chicago sports anchor explained himself to the Sun-Times.
- Cubs’ roster: Ahead of the expected trade-deadline pitching adds, the Cubs starters are rolling.
- Recruiting scene has changed: When the doors initially opened seven years ago to watch players at Illinois high school and scholastic events, college coaches at all levels flocked to them. That wasn’t the case last month, writes Joe Henricksen.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: ___ Gate (sculpture a.k.a. The Bean)
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Women’s pro baseball comes home to Illinois, paving way for next generation of players
Reporting by Violet Miller
Seven years ago, Amira Hondras made a list of goals for her baseball career. The biggest among them was making the women’s national team and playing professionally.
This Saturday, the 18-year-old will bat for the L.A. Queens as they face the New York Heights at Robin Roberts Stadium in Springfield for the Women’s Professional Baseball League’s opening day.
Hondras’ loved ones already made the 100-mile trip from the south suburbs with a cardboard cutout of her face to cheer her on last weekend, and plan to continue through the WPBL season.
It’s all taking place in Illinois — where women’s baseball flourished more than 70 years ago — as a new generation of professional players steps up.
“I don’t think it gets more full circle than that,” Hondras told the Sun-Times. “This could be anywhere in the world, and having that support there in the stands makes the experience so much better. It makes it feel like home.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What restaurant should first-time visitors try to get a “real Chicago” experience, and why?
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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