Afternoon Edition: July 9, 2021Matt Mooreon July 9, 2021 at 8:00 pm

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 75 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 64. Tomorrow there will be partly sunny with a chance of showers and a high near 77.

Suspect who escaped electronic monitoring killed in standoff with Chicago police, federal marshals and sheriff’s deputies

Three Chicago cops and a federal marshal opened fire while serving an arrest warrant in West Garfield Park this morning, killing a man who was facing more than a dozen counts of aggravated sex assault and had cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet.

The suspect, 33, was in a black Jeep when he was confronted by federal marshals and Cook County sheriff’s deputies around 9:40 a.m. in the 100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue, Chicago Police Supt. David Brown told reporters.

They approached the Jeep and ordered the man to get out, but he refused, Brown said. They then called for help from Chicago police.

The suspect displayed a gun and three police officers and a marshal opened fire, Brown said. The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

A handgun was recovered at the scene, police said. Brown said it was unclear if the man had fired shots at the officers.

No officers were shot, but five police officers were taken to hospitals for evaluation, he said. Brown did not elaborate.

The suspect was wanted on 15 counts of aggravated sex assault with a firearm, and had violated his electronic home monitoring by cutting off the bracelet, Brown said. A warrant for his arrest was filed on Dec. 4, he said.

David Struett has more on the developing story here.

More news you need

1. The body of a Loyola University grad from Chicago has been recovered from the rubble of the Surfside condominium tower in Florida, authorities said. When the building crumbled, Juan Mora Jr., 32, had been staying with his parents, who are still unaccounted for.
2. Asian American history will soon be woven into public school studies across Illinois under a bill signed into law by Gov. Pritzker today. It’s a move he said sets a “new standard for what it means to truly reckon with our history.”
3. Vaccinated teachers and students don’t need to wear masks inside Illinois schools this fall, officials announced today after the CDC relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines for education facilities. Nader Issa, with help from AP, has the latest on how schools plan to handle bringing back students later this year.
4. Pritzker yesterday said he would ban local jails from detaining people facing deportation by signing the Illinois Way Forward Act into law. He spoke to a crowd of about 500 outside during a downtown rally organized to push Illinois leaders to support immigration legislation.
5. Target won’t be coming to Water Tower Place anytime soon after an alderman said today the company’s no longer considering leasing the former Macy’s space. The prospect drew debate over whether a discount retailer was suitable for a historically high-end mall.
6. The owner of car-shredder General Iron has filed another complaint against the city — this time in state court — after a federal judge tossed out a similar lawsuit last month. The suit aims to force the city to issue a final permit for a new scrap-metal operation and seeks more than $100 million in damages due to the delay.
7. West Side faith leaders gathered yesterday on the corner where a CPD commander was recently shot and urged religious institutions — including their own — to do more to stop gun violence. Rev. Marshall Hatch said it is time for political leaders, CPD’s top brass and the courts to accept some responsibility and realize what they’ve been doing has been ineffective.
8. The city today launched its “Summer Kickback Series,” a $1.3 million program aiming to create safe spaces and programs for youth on the South and West sides. Community groups will hire young people to promote and host youth-focused activities and vaccine advocacy initiatives during a nine-week period.

A bright one

Humboldt Park murals might be the city’s oldest, but their messages remain relevant

Humboldt Park claims a distinction that no other urban neighborhood shares: It is believed to be home to the oldest surviving outdoor community murals in the nation.

The three murals date to 1971, during the early years of the Chicago-born contemporary or community mural movement, which had been launched in 1967 with the creation of the “Wall of Respect” in Bronzeville by a group of Black artists and activists. The movement soon spread across the country.

John Pitman Weber / Chicago Public Art Group

As they mark their 50th anniversary, these classic Humboldt Park/West Town street murals resist being labeled aging relics from a bygone activist era.

Though they largely depict events and issues that were current at the time, the murals remain relevant, reflecting the hopes, struggles, heritage and resistance of the Puerto Rican community — and of the community at large.

“They speak to issues that impacted directly on the community, like housing, police brutality — all the issues that we continue to address today,” says Jose Lopez, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.

Jeff W. Huebner has the full story behind the murals here.

From the press box

Your daily question ?

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Reply to this email (please include your first name and where you live) and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: If you could have had a brief one-on-one with President Biden, what would you have talked to him about? Here’s some of what you said…

“I would thank him for the job he has done so far and wish him well in the future. I would ask for help for our seniors and our education throughout our land for our children. I would also hope that he will bring all the guilty people in the Jan. 6 assault to justice including the instigator of this heinous crime. Our Capital Police deserve justice too!” — Joni Moore-Dougherty

“All the campaign promises he made and hasn’t kept.” — Niki Brown

“To make sure Trump and his administration are fully investigated and held accountable for any and all illegal activity while he was president. Don’t. Be. Weak.” — Bill Slayton

“I would have thanked him for coming to McHenry County. Also thanked him for praising Rep. Lauren Underwood — the freshman that initiated and passed multiple pieces of legislation! Joe needs to stump for all of the Dems, and he is still good at it. Yes, the losers were out yesterday. Remember: there are more of us, than there are of them!” — Pete Culver

“I would have urged him to do everything in his power to pass and sign the two very important voting rights bills that are currently stalled in the Senate.” — Christopher B. Alexandrov

“I’d ask him what his concrete student debt plans are, and how he plans to execute more progressive policies in a bi-partisan government. What will he compromise on, how can he bring people to the table?” — Connor Blackwood

“Guns and immigration.” — Diane Oconnor

“I would have told him he needs to do more for those of us who are still struggling since getting COVID-19 back in 2020. Many of us are still battling the after-effects of Post Acute Sequelae of COVID-19. We need proper treatment for all of us to get better physically and financially, as many of us can’t work anymore.” — Monica Christophe

“That more needs to be done for low-wage working adults and for safety issues at a job.” — Andrew Ritterman

“Educational issues. Teaching science as a mandatory class or classes. Withholding money from states if science isn’t taught, alone with real American history.” — Sabrina M. Holiday

“Where the f— are my stimulus checks?” — Pablo G Negron

“A job for my granddaughter.” — Stella Black

“I would tell him to get rid of the Postmaster General before it’s too late.” — Ronald Pasko

“What kind of ice cream did you have for breakfast?” — Don James

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