Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Attorneys for 18 people caught up in last fall’s notorious raid on a South Shore apartment complex took the first step toward suing federal agencies involved in the operation.
🗞️ Plus: Politicians spend millions in campaign funds on meals, ComEd electric customers brace for a double-digit spike in bills and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to Atlanta, 4-1; the White Sox beat the Royals, 6-5; the Sky bested the Valkyrie, 69-63.
📧 Subscribe: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ☀️
Sunny with a high near 67.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔍
Apartment complex residents push to sue feds over military-style raid
By Sophie Sherry, Jon Seidel and Esther Yoon-Ji Kang
Ready to sue: Eighteen people caught up in last fall’s notorious military-style raid on a South Shore apartment complex took a key step this week toward holding the federal government legally accountable for “brutalizing and racially profiling” the building’s residents, attorneys say.
What they want: The MacArthur Justice Center and other legal groups said they’d submitted administrative complaints against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in pursuit of relief under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which offers a path to suing federal agencies. The 18 are seeking $5 million each, in addition to property damages. If the feds deny the claim or fail to respond within six months, attorneys can move forward with a lawsuit.
Key context: The Sept. 30 raid became an early flashpoint of Operation Midway Blitz. Agents descended on the complex from helicopters, used flashbang grenades to burst through doors and pointed guns at residents, according to the new filing. Residents reported seeing men, women and children dragged out of their apartments and zip-tied. Some U.S. citizens reported being detained for hours.
POLITICS 🍽️
Illinois pols spend millions in campaign funds on meals
By Robert Herguth
Fine dining?: Politicians, with Illinois campaign funds, have spent millions at restaurants for fundraising events, meetings and meals since the 1990s, according to a review of Illinois State Board of Elections disclosure records.
Where they’re eating: Dining establishments listed include Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse locations, Harry Caray’s, Rosebud restaurants, Erie Cafe, Petterino’s, Chicago Cut Steakhouse, Saputo’s in Springfiled, Hooters, Lou Malnati’s and Giordano’s.
Big spenders: Calumet City Mayor and state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, Lyons Mayor Christopher Getty and Elmwood Park Mayor Angelo “Skip” Saviano have spent large sums at restaurants in the Chicago area or in Springfield.
MORE IN POLITICS ✶
- Another DNC pitch: Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson are once again wooing Democratic leaders this week as they try to position Chicago to land one of the next two Democratic National Conventions.
- Mayor to meet pope: Mayor Johnson will travel May 26-30 to Rome to visit with Pope Leo XIV.
- Seeking more funds: School board members and union leaders want Chicago Public Schools to pressure the state for more funding as the district faces a $732 million budget deficit and expected staffing cuts.
- Paul Vallas fined: The former mayoral candidate was fined $214,000 for violating campaign finance rules by accepting excessive donations from individuals doing business with the city.
- New transportation commissioner: William Cheaks Jr., the veteran bureaucrat tapped to lead the city Department of Transportation, sailed through his confirmation hearing but got an earful from alderpersons about speed cameras, potholes and bridge closings.
PUBLIC SAFETY 🚨
Mayor Johnson expands alternate response effort for mental health emergencies
By Fran Spielman
Alternate response: Each of Chicago’s 22 police districts will have access to an alternate response team to assist nonviolent people with mental health challenges, under a long-awaited expansion unveiled Wednesday that may or may not last.
The plan: For now, Mayor Johnson is using $31 million from the final chunk of federal stimulus funding delivered to Chicago during the pandemic to check another key item off his progressive to-do list. After that, the mayor is counting on revenue from his controversial tax on social media companies.
Key context: The highly touted alternate response plan is currently confined to six police districts. Four vans, each staffed by one mental health clinician and one emergency medical technician, respond to nonviolent people in mental health crises on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- CTA touts crime drop: Two months into its security surge, CTA leadership boasted Wednesday that violent crime is decreasing on public transit. But statistics show serious attacks on transit remain historically high.
- Bus driver escapes kidnapping: A 57-year-old woman driving a CTA bus made a daring escape from a window early Wednesday when a knife-wielding man commandeered her bus. The man is in custody, police said.
- Person of interest arrested: A 17-year-old person of interest is being questioned in the double homicide of a man who was driving for Uber and his teenage passenger, according to a law enforcement source.
- Tony Robinson trial: Jurors this week have watched hours of surveillance footage central to Cook County prosecutors’ case against Tony Robinson, a homeless man accused of fatally stabbing visiting grad student Anat Kimchi. But none of the videos captured the June 2021 attack.
- Fan falls into bullpen: A baseball fan was hospitalized after falling out of the stands and into the visiting team bullpen at Rate Field during the fourth inning Wednesday.
- ComEd bill spike: Customers will see at least a 12% jump in monthly charges starting in June as big data centers increase demand for power and an unrelated consumer credit ends.
- U. of C. free tuition: The University of Chicago is joining other top universities in offering free tuition for undergraduate students whose families make less than $250,000 a year.
PRESS BOX 🏟️
What to know in the Bears’ stadium saga
By Mitchell Armentrout
A five-year stadium odyssey could finally come to a head this spring for the Chicago Bears. The team has secured a sweetheart deal from Indiana lawmakers that would help them build a new dome in Hammond, leaving it up to Illinois legislators to decide on property tax incentives that could keep the team in their home state. Here’s what to know:
Why the Bears want to move: To make more money. Soldier Field is the smallest stadium in the NFL, and the Bears rent it from the Chicago Park District.
Where could they go?: Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana, are the only choices at this point, according to the team. But they’ve waffled on their preferred destination over the past few years.
Are they definitely leaving?: Yes, barring a sudden change of heart. Mayor Brandon Johnson cheered alongside Bears president Kevin Warren for their lakefront proposal in 2024, but Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders threw cold water on that expensive pitch.
The stakes: No Chicago legislator wants to be held responsible for letting the team leave the city. Yet the progressive wing of the Democratic supermajority are wary of giving any help to a multibillion-dollar corporation while everyday costs rise for average residents.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 2D: Popular firework spot (starting May 23rd!) ___ Pier
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
Pandemic-born KFire brings Korean barbecue to Chicago’s masses
By Amy Yee
KFire owners Ben Kim and Eddie Hwang launched their first location in Logan Square in July 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many restaurants struggled when government lockdowns crashed business, and grappled with challenges including soaring inflation and supply chain delays.
KFire weathered the turbulence, and in 2023 opened its Old Town location, where much of its catering business is now based. That business is growing at double-digit rates and accounts for one-third of sales.
“We were surprised at how big it got,” said Kim, who previously worked as a financial analyst in New York.
Customers want Korean barbecue, especially KFire’s signature dish: Kalbi, or beef short ribs. Korean food and kalbi have special significance for Hwang, who grew up in Morton Grove, and Kim, who’s from New Jersey.
“Some of my fondest memories as a child are family gatherings for special occasions,” Kim said. “Those were the times we’d bring out the kalbi. It was a special meal we shared when everyone was together, like at a family picnic or camping trip.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think e-bikes should be allowed on the Lake Shore trail?
Here’s some of what you said, edited for length and clarity…
“E-bikes, yes, with lower speeds. Electric motorcycles, no. Fat tire motor bikes, no — they are just too fast and dangerous.” — Tom Krajecki
“Yes, as long as they follow a speed limit of no more than 10-15 mph!” — D. Buerkett
“As an avid bike path user on e-bikes and pedal bikes, I’ve not seen any problems with the integration of e-bikes … In fact, I find that the bike paths along the lake have become more accessible … to those with physical challenges that preclude them from using a pedal bike.” — Nicole Cantello
“I think e-bikes should be allowed on the lakefront trail … Many people still do not feel safe riding their bikes on the street, so prohibiting e-bikes on the trail would reduce the number of people biking in this city. Better solutions would be widening the trail to allow for more cyclists or adding more protected bike lanes in the city to give people other routes.” — Andrea Bryson
“The problem with e-bikes is the same as the problem with cars. Most people ride responsibly, go at appropriate speeds, pay attention to those around them. On a nice weekend day in the summer when traffic quadruples, so do the number of idiots … Sadly e-bikes should be banned, at least on weekends.” — Jonathan Speigel
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
Hat tip: Sun-Times’ Joel Carlson for today’s subject line, which you’ll find on the front page of today’s newspaper — on newsstands and online now.
The Chicago Sun-Times is a nonprofit supported by readers like you. Become a member to make stories like these free and available to everyone. Learn more at suntimes.com/member.