Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th) speaks during a press conference at City Hall on Feb. 23, 2021, as Mayor Lori Lightfoot looks on. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

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 67 degrees. Similar conditions will continue into tonight with a low around 54. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with showers likely and a high near 63.

Top story

Lightfoot spars with Hispanic Caucus over hiring record

A defensive Mayor Lightfoot held a stormy meeting with the City Council’s Hispanic Caucus this week, pushing back hard against their complaints about a shortage of Latinos in leadership positions and the caucus’ demands that she roll back part of her property tax increase.

Last year, Lightfoot famously warned members of the Black Caucus who dared to vote against her 2021 budget, “Don’t ask me for s—t for the next three years” when it comes to choosing projects for her $3.7 billion capital plan.

Monday’s hourlong meeting with the Hispanic Caucus was similarly contentious, with one Council member saying it proved again how defensive Lightfoot can be and how unwilling she is to entertain proposals that are not her own.

“It was unnecessarily combative. … It showed that she takes things very personally. I don’t think those are good attributes for a leader to have. … The mayor is approaching government the wrong way,” said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th).

“In that meeting, the mayor said over and over again that she didn’t need to change. That she was doing everything correct. That she was the best in Latino hiring. That she was the best in investing in the Black community. I don’t think the data supports that. And I just don’t think that’s the way anyone should approach leadership. You have to be open to hearing other peoples’ suggestions, open to compromise and open to criticism.”

Ramirez-Rosa said he was particularly “shocked and taken aback” when Lightfoot talked about the heat she is getting for her $31.5 million plan to launch a year-long test of guaranteed minimum income in Chicago.

Fran Spielman has more from the contentious meeting here.

More news you need

Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., the Chicago cop wounded during the traffic stop altercation that also led to the killing of Officer Ella French two months ago, was released this morning from a rehab center where he was recovering, his father said. Yanez Jr. lost an eye and still has two bullets lodged in his brain from the incident in West Englewood.

A man arrested yesterday in connection to the murder of 7-year-old Serenity Broughton has been ordered held without bail in the latest development of a case that’s deepened the schism between the State’s Attorney’s office and Area 5 police detectives. Matthew Hendrickson has more on today’s news, and read his Sept. 27 story with Tom Schuba for more background.

A federal judge handed a three-and-a-half-year prison sentence today to the director of a disabled children’s charity who the feds say stole nearly $1 million from the organization. Stuart Nitzkin admitted earlier this year he submitted bogus invoices, receipts and other reimbursement requests to pay for luxury vacations, NBA tickets and other personal expenses.

A new playground at Arnold Mireles Elementary Academy in South Chicago aims to reduce flooding in surrounding homes. It was built using semiporous materials that will allow 200,000 gallons of rainwater to collect underneath the park’s surface instead of potentially seeping into homes.

Friends and family are mourning the loss of Marion Flynn, who died last week at age 69. Flynn, a corporate banker with a passion for community service, was a staunch advocate for women in the Catholic priesthood.

Gov. Pritzker today announced eight science-focused facilities statewide will receive a total of $15.4 million. The aim is to support the development of new research spaces focused on subjects like biology, botany and biochemistry, the governor said.

A new learning lab will give students and educators at Chicago Public Schools and City Colleges of Chicago expanded access to technology training and infrastructure. The Innovation One hub at Truman College features various learning spaces, as well as a podcast studio and a library with tech equipment that students can borrow.

A bright one

Joffrey Ballet celebrates ‘Home’ with debut at Lyric Opera House

The Joffrey Ballet opened its 2021-22 season yesterday with “Home: A Celebration” — an aptly titled program that carried timely meanings.

The first of 10 performances marked the company’s full-fledged return to the stage after nearly 20 months because of the coronavirus shutdown.

There was also another kind of celebration of home yesterday evening, as the Joffrey marked its debut at the Lyric Opera House — a move that was announced in 2017 and delayed by one season because of COVID-19.

Cheryl Mann
The Joffrey Ballet ensemble dances “Under the Trees’ Voices” at the Lyric Opera House.

Unlike the majority of story ballets the company presents the rest of the season, the emphasis last night was less on narrative and more on the movement itself and the skills of the dancers.

The performance featured a range of styles and moods among four works as well as an intermingling of solos, duos and larger ensembles.

It’s a well-chosen, often high-voltage program that may be just the thing for audiences hungry for live dance.

Read Kyle MacMillan’s full review of the performance here.

From the press box

Bears-Packers predictions for Week 6.
Ben Pope on how the Blackhawks’ ugly season-opening loss to the Avalanche sketches the blueprint for the ways this season could go wrong.
Tim Anderson says he’s fully behind White Sox manager Tony La Russa: “For me, yeah, I want him to be back.”
Dante Maddox, Jeremiah Williams and Darius Burford are among former local high school basketball stars who are primed for breakout seasons at the collegiate level.
Bears fans tend not to be very positive about Aaron Rodgers, but he hopes Chicago — a city he enjoys quite a bit — will like him more once he’s done with the Packers.

Your daily question ?

In honor of #NationalDessertDay today, we want to know: Where can the best desserts in Chicago be found? Local businesses only.

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: What is most underrated about your neighborhood? Here’s what some of you said…

“The pizza joints. Obbie’s, Triano’s, Vince’s, Cipriani’s — we got it good here in Clearing/Garfield Ridge.” — Jimmy Davey

“Tryzub Ukrainian Kitchen — a hidden treasure in Ukrainian Village — is a unique ethnic restaurant/museum/art place.” — Nataliya Kupriy

“The rib tips on Roosevelt.” — Rigo Banuelos

“Nueva Italy Pizzeria in Rogers Park.” — Jonathan B. Rivera

Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

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If you don’t serve food, you shouldn’t have a valet parking license, said Ald. Brendan Reilly. “There is no reasonable explanation for issuing valet permits to serve taverns and nightclubs that have built a business model around bottle service and rounds of shots,” Reilly said Thursday. | Sun-Times file

“There is no reasonable explanation for issuing valet permits to serve taverns and nightclubs that have built a business model around bottle service and rounds of shots,” said Ald. Brendan Reilly, whose goal is to prevent patrons of Chicago’s lively bar scene from driving home drunk.

Last winter, downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) was waiting outside a River North Bar for friends inside to give him a ride home after a night of drinking when he was suddenly attacked by two men in what Reilly called a case of mistaken identity.

Now, Reilly is proposing a valet parking crackdown that just might prevent someone else from being similarly attacked and, more importantly, prevent patrons of Chicago’s lively bar scene from driving home drunk.

At Thursday’s City Council meeting, Reilly introduced an ordinance stating: “No valet parking operator license or renewal thereof shall be issued to any person for the purpose of providing a valet parking service at any establishment that holds or is required to hold a tavern license.”

The only exceptions: hotels and businesses that hold or are required to hold a tavern and consumption on premises or incidental license.

In an email to the Sun-Times, Reilly said “everyone understands” why restaurants rely heavily on valet parking services. It’s a “convenience for people dining out,” he said.

But, he wrote: “Given Illinois’ DUI laws, I do not understand why the city would encourage people to drive to and from taverns and nightclubs that don’t offer food. The only product being consumed there is alcohol — and usually lots of it. … There is no reasonable explanation for issuing valet permits to serve taverns and nightclubs that have built a business model around bottle service and rounds of shots.”

Pat Doerr, managing director of the Hospitality Business Association of Chicago, said he is “unaware of any research that connects the kind of liquor license” Reilly wants to target and prevent from renewing its valet parking license to an “elevated risk of drunk driving.”

He pointed to the “boom in ride-share use by bar and restaurant patrons.”

“We oppose every city restriction that lacks any kind of objective basis. I mean — there’s no basis I’m aware of for anything to support this,” Doerr said.

“There are absolutely problem licensees who should be strictly regulated and denied those opportunities and those permits. But it’s not an across-the-board situation. The Hospitality Association would fully support any effort to limit valet and loading zone services for problem licensees that are well along in the city’s nuisance licensee process.”

Drunk driving wasn’t Reilly’s only legislative target. So was boat noise.

He introduced yet another ordinance stating: “No person operating a vessel, craft or float on the Chicago River, on the Ogden Slip or within the breakwater of the Chicago Harbor north of a line extending east into Lake Michigan from E. Grand Ave. shell employ any device that creates or amplifies sound.”

That includes loudspeakers, bullhorns, amplifiers, public address systems, musical instruments, radios or any other device that plays recorded music louder than “average conversational level at a distance of 10 or more feet” measured vertically or horizontally.

Reilly was forced to suspend the rules to rescue both of his ordinances — and a slew of others, including budget amendments — from the Rules Committee, where legislation opposed by the mayor normally goes to die.

The rescue became necessary after Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), one of the mayor’s most outspoken Council critics, blocked every item introduced by his colleagues to retaliate for the brick being placed on his efforts to empower the Council to hire its own attorney and raise the threshold for speed cameras.

“Madame President, I’d like to move to re-refer all of the items just sent to the Rules Committee to their originally-assigned committee,” Reilly said.

When Lightfoot banged the gavel to affirm the move, Beale rose in protest.

“Our rules state that, when you send something to Rules, it has to go to the Rules Committee. You cannot change the rules once again to suit yourself,” Beale told Lightfoot.

“There needs to be a Rules Committee [meeting]. That has been our procedure. It has been that way since the beginning of time. And we are, once again, changing the rules. That motion is totally out of order.”

Reilly acknowledged Beale had correctly stated the rules. But, he added: “This body voted to suspend the rules to allow for that motion. And that motion was approved.”

The mayor upheld that ruling.

The City Council also approved Lightfoot’s appointment of Cole Stallard as Streets and Sanitation commissioner and Aileen Velazquez as chief procurement officer. But a final vote was deferred on the mayor’s plan to empower the Chicago Police Board to hear appeals from people who want their names removed from the Chicago Police Department’s error-plagued gang database.

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The Cardinals fired manager Mike Shildt on Thursday. | Kyusung Gong/AP

Cardinals president John Mozeliak said the firing was “something that popped up recently,” but he declined to expand on what he called “philosophical differences.”

The Cardinals fired manager Mike Shildt over philosophical differences within the organization Thursday, just one week after St. Louis lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League wild-card game.

Cardinals president John Mozeliak said the firing was “something that popped up recently,” but he declined to expand on what he called “philosophical differences.” He did point out that Shildt was heading into the final year of his contract but that it wasn’t the sole reason for parting ways.

Shildt replaced current Royals manager Mike Matheny on an interim basis in August 2018, then took over the permanent job the following season. The Cardinals won 91 games that season, earning Shildt the NL manager of the year, and advanced to the NL Championship Series before getting swept by the Nationals.

The Cardinals went 30-28 during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, losing the wild-card game, before using a franchise-record 17-game winning streak to reach the wild-card game again this season.

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Open House Chicago will feature a host of new and old sites to see this weekend. The Forum, at 324 E. 43rd St. in Bronzeville, is making a return as a city-favorite this year. | Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

While favorites like The Forum in Bronzeville will make a return visit, The OHC app brings new self-guided walking tours to this year’s event.

Put on your walking shoes and get ready to travel around the city this weekend because Open House Chicago is back in person this year.

The annual event, hosted by the Chicago Architecture Center, features more than 100 sites spread across 30 neighborhoods, North Shore suburbs and Oak Park.

While last year’s open house was virtual, this year historical buildings, repurposed spaces and renovated halls will open to the public Saturday and Sunday.

“The big thing of the weekend is always architecture,” said Hallie Rosen, CAC director of program operations and head of Open House Chicago 2021. “But I think now the theme is really exploring Chicago’s neighborhoods — not only thinking about architecture but thinking in terms of historical context and even cultural contexts.”

Even though things are back in person this year, masks will be required at all indoor locations. Events start at 10 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. both days.

Visitors can start their weekend off on the Far Southwest Side’s Beverly-Morgan Park area, where Chicago’s only castle resides.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Beverly’s Givins Castle was built as a gift to owner Robert C. Givins’ wife and in the hopes of bringing residential growth near the Rock Island Line, according to CAC.

The Givins Castle, known to neighbors as the “Irish Castle,” at 10255 S. Seeley Ave. was built in 1887 for $80,000 for Robert C. Givins’ wife.

Today, the castle is home to the Beverly Unitarian Church. The castle will be open all day Saturday.

For a more modern feel, visitors can head over to The Plant at 1400 W. 46th St. This Back of the Yard’s research building is home to 20 small food businesses. Indoor and outdoor farms, beer and kombucha breweries and a bread bakery are some of the businesses inside this former meatpacking plant.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, food production spaces normally closed to the public will be open, and food and drinks made and grown at The Plant will be available for purchase.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
This 100,000-square-foot former meatpacking plant in Back of the Yards is home to 20 small food businesses.

But it wouldn’t be Open House Chicago without the return of some favorites, like The Forum in Bronzeville.

According to CAC, the red brick building at 324 E. 43rd St. is Bronzeville’s oldest assembly hall. It was built by and for Black Americans in 1897 and became an epicenter of the Black Metropolis.

“It survived what I call the ‘Dark Days of Bronzeville’, where much of Bronzeville’s commercial life shut down because we’d lost so much of our population and because of all the disinvestment and the lows that affect our community,” said Bernard Loyd, president of Urban Juncture, which owns the building.

Loyd said the building is currently undergoing renovations: since last year’s Open House, the two main roofs have been replaced and now work on windows and the halls are underway.

On Saturday and Sunday, visitors can see the most “iconic” part of the building: Forum Hall.

“It’s just a space that reeks with history,” said Loyd. “When you walk in, you can feel the layers of history. … Everything from Nat King Cole playing on that stage, major civil rights activities in the space, dances over the decades — all of that has happened in the hall.”

While in Bronzeville, visitors can also use the Open House Chicago mobile app to find self-guided tours. Paths can also be found in Chinatown, Logan Square and Oak Park.

The app, which launched last year, has become an integral part of this year’s event, Rosen said.

“We have less sites than we’ve had in the past, but there’s actually much more to do in a neighborhood once you get there,” she explained. “You can visit a site — or two — and then you could go do a self-guided tour in that neighborhood. If you get hungry or you’re thinking “What else can I do?” we also have another section on the app that’s called ‘Explore like a local.'”

New sites at this year’s events include The Penthouse in Hyde Park and the Pullman National Monument Visitor Information Center, which opened in September.

New self-guided tours through the app include “Obamas in Hyde Park,” which takes visitors through where the Obamas lived in the Kenwood-Hyde Park area, and a Great Chicago Fire tour recognizing the 150th anniversary of the legendary fire.

Chicagoans can continue to use the app after the weekend’s events to find more CAC virtual events taking place all month, such as Tuesday’s “In Case You Missed It: New Buildings From Our Pandemic Year.”

A full list of sites, self-guided tours and upcoming events can be found at openhousechicago.org/sites/.

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Serenity Broughton, left, and her sister Aubrey, who were shot in a car on Aug. 15. Serenity died of her wounds. | Provided

“There were 29 shots fired here — 29 shots,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said during Aireon Luster’s bond hearing Thursday. Luster and the second gunman “lit up that block. They did not care who was out there in the middle of the afternoon,” Murphy said.

When Aireon Luster was arrested in connection to Serenity Broughton’s murder last month, Cook County prosecutors cited a lack of evidence and rejected charges against him, deepening a schism between State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office and Area 5 police detectives.

Luster, 24, was eventually released from custody and couldn’t be found shortly after, a source told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Luster was located and arrested again Wednesday on a warrant at his grandmother’s home in Riverside. He was charged with the Serenity’s murder and the 7-year-old’s younger sister’s attempted murder later that day.

Thursday, Luster was ordered held without bail for the Aug 15 shooting.

The west suburban man is accused of being one of two gunmen who opened fire as Serenity’s mother was putting her and her sister Aubrey, 6, in a parked car in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue.

Both girls were struck in the chest and Serenity later died at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood. Aubrey survived.

A relative of the girls was believed to be the intended target of the shooting, CPD Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan said Wednesday.

“There were 29 shots fired here — 29 shots,” Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said during Luster’s bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Thursday. Luster and the second gunman “lit up that block. They did not care who was out there in the middle of the afternoon,” Murphy said.

Chicago police
Aireon Luster

Murphy briefly mentioned Luster’s previous arrest Thursday but didn’t go into detail about the resulting tension that simmered between police and prosecutors.

A witness saw Luster exchanging threats with Serenity’s uncle just a half hour before the shooting, Murphy said. Witnesses also identified Luster as the driver of a silver Chevy Impala that was recorded driving on the block where the shooting took place before he parked in a nearby alley, Murphy said.

Luster and a passenger who was in the Impala were then allegedly seen getting out of the car and walking down a gangway. Seconds later, the volley of shots rang out and Luster was seen running back to the car, Murphy said.

Shell casings that were recovered showed that two different weapons were used in the attack, Murphy said.

Luster owns an Impala and cellphone records shows he was in the area at the time of the shooting, prosecutors said.

The license plates captured on surveillance cameras at the time of the shooting had been stolen and were not on Luster’s car when it was located later, Murphy said.

An assistant public defender disputed the quality of the evidence against Luster, saying the cellphone records unlikely pinpoint exactly how close his mobile had been to crime scene. The defense attorney also said there could be issues with the witnesses’ identification of Luther and the quality of the surveillance recordings.

What took place before Serenity’s murder “started as part of some social media or dispute between two individuals, member of rival street gangs,” Judge David Navarro said.

“It is the tragic reality of gang violence that unintended victims are often caught up in those violent and careless acts.”

Luster is expected back in court Nov. 3.

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A 2010 oil spill near Lockport harmed protected wetlands and a habitat for the federally protected Hine’s emerald dragonfly, officials say. | Paul Burton / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The release of 1,800 gallons of oil next to the Illinois-Michigan Canal damaged rare wetlands and threatened an endangered dragonfly species.

A pipeline owner from Lemont and its Texas partner agreed to pay $8.7 million for an oil spill that damaged protected wetlands and threatened an endangered dragonfly species near Lockport almost 11 years ago, federal prosecutors said.

A buried pipeline owned by West Shore Pipe Line Co. dumped more than 1,800 barrels into an area next to the Illinois-Michigan Canal in December 2010. The company along with its operating partner, Houston-based Buckeye Pipe Line Co., agreed to pay pollution fines and costs for restoration of the area damaged by the oil release, the Justice Department said in a statement late Wednesday.

The companies, which have also been involved in cleanup efforts over the past decade, harmed a habitat for the federally protected Hine’s emerald dragonfly, federal officials said. Much of the money will be used by federal and state officials to restore the wetlands.

“Pipeline companies have the responsibility to protect our waters, people, wildlife and diverse habitats from oil spills and will be held accountable for the harms they cause,” Todd Kim, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department, said in a statement. “This major settlement will not only deter future oil spills but also help restore and enhance the diminishing habitat of an endangered species.”

West Shore representatives didn’t respond to requests for comment. West Shore transports crude oil between Illinois and Wisconsin through a 650-mile pipeline system, according to the company’s website.

A spokesman for Buckeye said the company was “pleased that we’ve reached an agreement” and said it will work with the government officials to “ensure the ongoing ecological restoration” of the area.

The companies agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty for violating the federal law protecting waterways and another $7.2 million in damages and for mitigation to resolve alleged state and federal pollution violations. The larger amount, officials said, is being assessed for the “injury to the Hine’s emerald dragonfly and other natural resources in the wetland.”

“Illinois wetlands are some of our most valuable natural resources that provide residents and visitors with opportunities for recreation and study, as well as providing scarce habitat for some of Illinois’ endangered species,” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said in the statement.

Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.

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The classic breakfast pastry with Czech roots comes to Chicago.Read More

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Carlos Yanez Jr. (left) with his parents at his swearing-in ceremony on Navy Pier. | Photo courtesy of Carlos Yanez Sr.

Carlos Yanez Jr., shot four times, lost an eye and still has two bullets lodged in his brain, his father previously told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Chicago Police Office Carlos Yanez Jr. was released from the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab Thursday morning where he was recovering from several gunshot wounds he suffered during a traffic stop in West Englewood two months ago.

“We are beyond thrilled that he continues to make a steady recovery,” said Thomas Ahern, a Chicago police spokesman. “He offers his sincere gratitude to the medical professionals who treated him and to the overwhelming love and support he has received from the Chicago Police Department.”

Yanez Jr. was with two partners in early August when they pulled over a gray SUV at 63rd Street and Bell Avenue for having expired license plates. The stop turned violent when one of the passengers pulled a gun and fired multiple shots at the officers.

Yanez Jr. was shot four times and as a result lost an eye and still has two bullets lodged in his brain, his father previously told the Sun-Times. His partner Chicago Police Officer Ella French was killed during the altercation.

Chicago police said at the time of the shooting that Yanez was “fighting for his very life” and in critical condition.

Yanez Jr., who was in a wheelchair, was greeted with a live mariachi band, family and fellow police officers when he left the rehabilitation center Thursday morning, according to ABC 7 Chicago.

“All my family and friends, thank you for all the support. From the officers that saved my life — you know driving me to the University of Chicago — and the medical staff,” Yanez Jr. told several news stations outside the facility. “All the nurses and [Patient Care Technicians], you know, especially here at this facility. It’s the best in the country.”

Yanez Jr.’s father, Carlos Yanez Sr., also gave thanks to the outpouring support his family received.

“He’s come a long way but he’s got a long way to go,” Yanez Sr. said. “Thank you all.”

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