Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: How some Chicagoans used tax season to protest the Trump administration.
🗞️ Plus: A major tax break for Illinois weed companies, a widespread indie bookstore crawl, the last wrestling shows at a historic club and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat the Phillies, 8-7; the White Sox beat the Diamondbacks, 4-1.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER 🌧️
Mostly cloudy with afternoon showers and a high near 74.
TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎
Some Chicagoans aren’t paying federal taxes in protest of Trump policies
By Mariah Woelfel
‘War tax resistance’: Organizers say they’re seeing a barrage of interest in the longstanding movement that involves not paying federal taxes. Some Chicagoans point to the government’s aggressive deportation efforts, the United States’ support for Israel in the war in Gaza and the U.S.-Israel war against Iran as reasons for engaging in this kind of civil disobedience.
Getting organized: “This definitely is our busiest tax season that I’ve witnessed,” said Lincoln Rice, a Milwaukee organizer with the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, who hasn’t paid most of his federal taxes since 1998. The group provides training on tax resistance and consequences, which include threatening letters from the Internal Revenue Service, a monthly fine, and, in extreme cases, wage garnishment or prison time.
Zooming in: Local attorney Rachel Cohen decided to not pay federal taxes, instead putting the owed amount into a high-yield savings account and paying only her state taxes. “I was thinking about my willingness to be hit with chemical weapons,” Cohen said. “And I couldn’t square giving the federal government $10,000 with being willing to get arrested or put my body on the line.”
CANNABIS 💨
Trump administration’s shift on weed classification gives Illinois cannabis firms major tax break
By Kade Heather
The shift: The Trump administration’s reclassification of medical marijuana will offer some Illinois weed companies a massive tax break.
Reclassification: The order shifts state-licensed medical cannabis from Schedule I — meant for drugs without medical use and a high potential for abuse — to the more loosely regulated Schedule III. It also applies to cannabis products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The new policy offers significant tax relief by allowing medical marijuana operators to deduct business expenses on their federal taxes. It also lowers the barrier for more cannabis research.
All not well: Reclassifying all types of cannabis isn’t going far enough to reform cannabis laws or to fund actual research, industry leaders said.
WRESTLING 🤼♂️
Berwyn Eagles club will stop hosting wrestling, to fans’ dismay
By Ambar Colón
Final bow: The operator of the beloved indie wrestling venue Berwyn Eagles Club says it will stop hosting shows after more than 20 years, leaving members of Chicago’s wrestling community stunned. The final events this weekend include a sold-out show Friday hosted by AAW Pro Wrestling and a lucha extravaganza from All Star Lucha Libre on Saturday.
Key context: Wrestling fans say the Eagles Club offered budget-friendly prices and free parking. Some of the world’s biggest wrestling stars have shed blood, sweat and tears in the west suburban venue, making it a cornerstone for a sport that combines athleticism, entertainment and sometimes raw brutality.
Fight night gone wrong: The plans to end wrestling come after a fight broke out between an unnamed fan and a wrestler, Mads Krule Krügger, at a March 28 Ruthless Pro Wrestling show. Videos posted to social media showed wrestlers and attendees punching and kicking the fan.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️
- Man pleads guilty in shot cop case: The mother of Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera, who was fatally shot by her partner, told a judge Thursday that Jaylin Arnold, who pleaded guilty to charges related to Rivera’s death, “deserves a sentence that reflects the truth of their role — not the burden of institutional failures beyond his control.”
- Former ‘Home Alone’ house owner dies: John Abendshien was found dead, apparently by suicide, Wednesday at a nature preserve, according to Lake Forest police, who had been investigating after discovering he engaged in possession, manufacture or distribution of child sexual abuse material.
- Far right influencer sued: The criminal case against Nick Fuentes has been dropped months after he was set to complete a deferred prosecution agreement — but the woman he is accused of battering said he didn’t complete the agreement and is now taking him to civil court instead.
- House punts on millionaires’ tax: Despite a late push by top state Democrats, the Illinois legislature will pass on a millionaires’ tax amendment until at least 2028. The tax would have raked in $4 billion yearly by tacking a 3% surcharge on personal income of more than $1 million.
- JCPenney to exit Ford City Mall: As Ford City’s last department store anchor sets sail, the fate of the deteriorating shopping center is all but sealed.
- Doc10 film fest returns: A running theme of this year’s event, which opens Friday, is “collective courage.” Expect political heavy hitters, immigration themes and Oscar preludes.
BOOKS 📖
Booksellers get ready to celebrate Independent Bookstore Day
By Cindy Hernandez
Bookstore crawl: Book lovers will have the chance to explore local shops across the Chicago area Saturday during the annual Chicagoland Bookstore Crawl, held on the national Independent Bookstore Day. Eighty-four stores are participating, double the number last year, organizers said.
Key context: Large book-selling retailers are continuing to expand in Chicago, including Barnes & Noble, which will open its largest location here in June. Independent booksellers say their stores offer a “third space” for the neighborhoods in which they’re embedded via community engagement programming, like Saturday’s book crawl.
Interactive map: We’ve mapped out all bookstores participating in this year’s crawl — explore here:
ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
- Weekly news recap: WBEZ’s Sarah Karp, NBC 5’s Christian Farr and WBBM’s Geoff Buchholz break down the week’s top stories.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
- Health care: Affordable Care Act premiums are rising 25% in Illinois, hitting Chicago-area residents hard. The Sun-Times’ Elvia Malagón discusses while callers share stories about paying for health care for themselves and their families.
FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈⚾
- NFL Draft: The Bears picked Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman at No. 25. While Thieneman checks all the boxes at safety, the Bears had more pressing needs, writes Jason Lieser.
- Halfway to the Hall?: Cubs skipper Craig Counsell, 55, is nearing the not-so-mini-milestone of 900 wins — and he has no plans of stopping any time soon.
- Bryan Hudson settles in: The Southern Illinois native hasn’t given up a run this month and figures to stick around the Sox’ high-turnover bullpen.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭
Today’s clue: 2D: Garden grower available for free at many CPL branches
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
UNESCO International Jazz Day puts spotlight on Chicago music
By Erica Thompson
All on Tuesday, jazz lovers can hear a world premiere by Ernest Dawkins in Englewood, or a tribute to Randy Weston and Melba Liston in Hyde Park. And on the West Side, they can enjoy a set by trumpeter Victor Garcia in Austin, or a retrospective of Chicago jazz at the Garfield Park Conservatory.
And that’s only a sample of shows on “Neighborhood Jazz Night,” which is part of UNESCO International Jazz Day programming.
Chicago is a first-time host for the celebration, which culminates in the All-Star Global Concert on Thursday at Lyric Opera House. That performance will feature more than 40 artists including Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling, Dianne Reeves and Dee Dee Bridgewater.
But the large-scale show only captures some of Chicago’s jazz scene. Happening all month, a wealth of events — many of them free — have been exploring the history of jazz in the city, honoring homegrown talent and supporting local venues.
See our list of Jazz Day highlights for must-attend events.
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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