Afternoon Edition: May 6, 2021on May 6, 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 mostly cloudy with a high near 55 degrees. A chance of isolated showers is in the forecast for tonight, which will have a low around 43 degrees. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 58 degrees and a slight chance of more rain.

Top story

Chicago Police Department raids on homes plummet, City Hall inspector general finds

The number of Chicago police raids on homes has steadily fallen since 2019, when officers conducted a bungled search on the apartment of Anjanette Young, who was naked and crying as she told them they were in the wrong place, according to a report today from City Hall’s inspector general.

In 2019, police searched 1,424 homes, compared with 523 in 2020.

The inspector general didn’t give a reason for the drop in the number of residential raids, but there has been increased scrutiny of the Chicago Police Department as a result of botched search warrants and decreased police activity overall during the coronavirus pandemic.

Inspector General Joseph Ferguson’s report also found that the city’s electronic tracking system for warrants doesn’t record raids the police mistakenly made at the wrong address. Also, about a quarter of the searches that were logged in the police database had incomplete information about the targeted address.

In raiding homes, the police department has disproportionately gone after people of color, the report said. Between 2017 and 2020, Black men were targeted 4.6 times more than Latino men and 25 times more than white men.

The department’s residential searches were done mostly on the West Side and South Side.

Read Frank Main’s full story on the reported decline in CPD raids on homes.

More news you need

  1. Improving coronavirus infections numbers mean Illinois will see more business restrictions lifted next week — and barring another case surge, the state will fully reopen June 11, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced today. With the statewide positivity rate dipping to 3%, the governor confirmed Illinois will advance to the “bridge phase” of his reopening plan on May 14.
  2. Mayor Lori Lightfoot tried today to convince investors she has had “a lot of successes” financially and put Chicago on the road to financial solvency. The mayor made her comments in hopes of minimizing borrowing costs when $1.4 billion in general obligation bonds are sold to bankroll her capital plan.
  3. A boil order was issued this afternoon for thousands of people, mainly in Morgan Park and Beverly, after a Southwest Side pumping station shut down for about an hour. The order’s expected to last until tomorrow morning because testing takes about 24 hours, officials said.
  4. A lawsuit filed by an Adler Planetarium astronomer against American Girl for creating a doll in her likeness without permission was dismissed this week. Lucianne Walkowicz sought unspecified damages and wanted American Girl to stop selling the doll. It appears she got neither.
  5. Cynthia Erivo, Brian McKnight and the Joffrey Ballet are among the artists set to perform at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park this summer. Check out more highlights from the outdoor venue’s upcoming schedule, which kicks off July 1.
  6. “Saturday Night Live” comedian Michael Che’s new HBO Max series will make you laugh a lot … and squirm a little. Read Richard Roeper’s positive review of the new comedy sketch show, which is available now on HBO Max.

A bright one

Ben Coupet Jr.’s journey from Simeon freshman phenom to SIU

Ben Coupet Jr. has always had the name.

Coupet entered high school as the top prospect in the state of Illinois way back in 2012. He headed to powerhouse Simeon which was coming off its third straight state championship.

Simeon was also where his father, Ben Coupet Sr., became a Public League star before he went off to play collegiately at Illinois and, eventually, at Bradley.

Coupet Jr. was expected to be the next big thing at Simeon. As a 6-7 freshman with the type of talent, upside and pedigree that Coupet possessed, the hyperbole surrounding him as a young player was probably too much, even unfair.

Simeon’s Ben Coupet Jr. (1) drives down the court against Bloomington.
Sun-Times file photo

After an up-and-down career at Simeon and a tough three years at UNLV — “it was a dark time for me,” he said — Coupet transferred from UNLV and found his way at Arkansas-Little Rock, producing in a way that showed the talent he possessed. He went from being a no-namer riding the bench to a legit difference-maker.

With everyone in college basketball being granted an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, the biggest beneficiary of Coupet’s rise just might be Southern Illinois. Coach Bryan Mullins and the Salukis will be getting the best of Coupet for one year after the long, athletic forward announced he is transferring to SIU.

Read Joe Henricksen’s full story on a former local phenom who’s finally coming into his own on the basketball court.

From the press box

The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers reportedly wants to be traded, and the Bears and their fans are excited about Justin Fields. Where are we? How did we get here? And what did you put in this brownie? Here’s Rick Morrissey on a strange new dynamic between the two longtime rivals.

After missing his scheduled start last night due to a cut on his right thumb that put him on the injured list, Cubs starter Jake Arrieta expects to be back in action soon. The team plans for the right-hander to return to the mound next week against the Tigers.

Turner Sports’ addition of NHL coverage, which will include longtime Hawks broadcaster Eddie Olczyk as lead analyst, gives the cable giant its best lineup of sports content ever – and that includes the years of “NFL on TNT” in the ’90s, Jeff Agrest writes.

Your daily question ?

What song do you most associate with your childhood? Tell us why.

Email us (please include your first name and where you live) and we might include your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: Has the pandemic prompted you to move? Tell us why, and how it’s worked out. Here’s what some of you said…

“Yes! Couldn’t stand the open floor plan anymore once COVID hit. We needed separation and space to do other things away from each other.” — Tina Maltese Gio

“Yes! Because the winery we were working at kept having to close and a lot of other things were closed. So we had to go to where there was and still is work. It has worked out amazingly! Things couldn’t be better! And especially when you have kids you do what you have to! Now we are not struggling to pay bills. We had no problem getting an apartment.” — Rebecca Nichols

“Yes, interest rates were amazing so my husband and I bought our first home in the middle of the pandemic” — Kimberly Cunningham

“It put me in a depression, which put me to change my behaviors and lifestyle. Leaving Chicago and headed towards Clearwater, Florida. Accepted a job today.” — Tiffany Dunlevy

“I moved to a farm in Michigan and haven’t left and it was the best decision of my life.” — Ricky Lee

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