CPD’s suicide problem, the latest on the mayor’s race and more in your Chicago news roundup

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

— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)

This afternoon will be cloudy and unusually warm — with a high near 41 degrees and wind gusts as high as 30 mph. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a low near 25. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 44.

Top story

Despite troubling rise in suicides, CPD falling short on getting help for officers, inspector general finds

Carrie Steiner still remembers the day in 2009 when a Chicago police officer called and told her he had a gun in his lap and wanted to kill himself.

A Chicago cop herself who got a doctorate in psychology while working on the force, Steiner said she encouraged the officer to seek help from the department’s counseling staff. He had just left them, he told her, and didn’t believe they could understand him. Still, the officer decided not to end his life.

The encounter spurred Steiner to leave the department and open a practice staffed by therapists with backgrounds as first responders. Steiner hears about their long, odd hours of persistent contact with violence. Policy decisions that lead to exhaustion and burnout. The stigma within the department over seeking mental health treatment. The fear of losing their gun and ability to make a living. And she sees a department that, after a troubling rise in suicides in the last four years, still struggles to provide enough qualified counselors.

“To be honest, I think the people in charge really don’t care,” Steiner said. “I think that’s exactly how Chicago police officers feel.”

Her complaints are reflected in a little-publicized report released by the city’s inspector general at the end of last year, weeks before the Chicago Police Department saw another cluster of suicides that brought the total for 2022 to seven. More than a dozen Chicago police officers have died by suicide since 2018.

The inspector general criticized the department for failing to properly train supervisors tasked with identifying officers in need of mental health services. The city’s wellness strategies rely heavily on supervisors and fellow officers identifying officers who need mental health services. But supervisors interviewed by the inspector general’s office said they “lacked key knowledge” to do their job, and many of them acknowledged needing additional training.

The inspector general concluded the department “does not adequately prepare its supervisors to identify members in need of wellness services, and CPD does not ensure that supervisors remain up to date on their supervisory responsibilities relating to officer wellness.”

Matthew Hendrickson has more on the IG’s findings here.

More news you need

• A Chicago community is rallying to raise funds for the family of Ruben Olivares, an organizer and activist who was slain in Humboldt Park last month. Olivares was known for stepping up to help others in a manifold of ways. “He was always there, he was always dependable, he always showed up, he always helped,” one friend told the Sun-Times.
• Chicago mayoral candidate Paul Vallas said yesterday he would give away a contribution his campaign had accepted from a retired city police detective named in the costly civil litigation stemming from the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald. WBEZ’s Dan Mihalopoulos has more on Vallas’ decision here.
• A fire at Sims Metal Management in Pilsen over the weekend is raising more concerns about the operation as it seeks a new city operating permit, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) said yesterday. Sigcho-Lopez’s office fielded complaints Saturday from neighbors who reported “strong chemical smells that are causing headaches and nausea.” Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul sued the scrap metal yard over environmental violations in 2021.
• NASCAR officials claimed today the series’ first-ever street race in Grant Park this summer could infuse $113 million into Chicago’s local economy. The race should also attract many people from out of town — 65% of the expected 100,000 attendees — and fill up downtown hotel rooms, the company told the CST Editorial Board.
• Ahead of the Feb. 28 election, we sat down with each candidate vying to be your pick for mayor. Get the full story behind the names on your ballot and read our profiles of each mayoral contender here.
• Kate Foley, a sophomore at Rolling Meadows High School, will be among First Lady Jill Biden’s guests tonight when President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. Kate, 15, was part of a roundtable with Biden and others last November to discuss the Career Pathways program at the school.
• Following the address, freshman Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., will make her national speaking debut, delivering the Working Families Party response to the SOTU. Ramirez’s response will also follow the GOP rebuttal from the new Arkansas governor, Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
• After two years in low gear, the Chicago Auto Show returns in full effect this weekend through Feb. 20. Expect two halls, seven indoor test tracks, more than 175 production and debut vehicles and more. The Daily Herald’s Marni Pyke has more on what to expect here.
• Mayor Lori Lightfoot broke ground yesterday on a $100 million South Shore film studio that aims to make Chicago the “Hollywood of the Midwest” and bring hundreds of jobs to neighborhood residents. The 222,000-square-foot Regal Mile Studios is projected to open next year on a 7-acre parcel at the intersection of South Chicago Avenue, Stony Island and 77th Street.
• With James Cameron’s “Titanic” set to sail back onto the big screen for a 25th-anniversary re-release on Friday, Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper takes a look back at its legacy. The 1997 historical romantic disaster epic has grossed more than $2 billion, won 11 Academy Awards and to this day remains one of the most beloved (by many) and loathed (by more than a few) blockbusters of all time, Roeper writes.

A bright one

Chicago Tool Library opens new location, in West Side warehouse

Wilson Wallace’s wish list of tools and household items cost far more than the 24-year-old could afford, but that didn’t stop him from getting everything he wanted.

At a warehouse on the West Side last Wednesday, Wallace picked out a saw, clamps, a straight edge and two sawhorses, as well as a cake tin and stand mixer — which alone would cost several hundred dollars — and made off with all of it, free and legal. That’s how it works at the Chicago Tool Library, where all those items and more, from croquet sets to projectors to tortilla presses, are available for city residents to borrow.

Library membership is open to all Chicago residents on a pay-what-you-can basis. There are no late fees.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The library, in a warehouse near the Pulaski stop on the CTA’s Green Line, opened Jan. 28. Formerly located on the South Side in Bridgeport, the atypical library moved to the West Garfield Park location, 4015 W. Carroll Ave., to be closer to public transportation. There’s also off-street parking. At 7,200 square feet — six times larger than the old space, which closed in November — the warehouse can accommodate the library’s expanding inventory.

Out of about 3,500 members, roughly 1,500 are active borrowers, but co-founder Tessa Vierk hopes the new location will help expand its reach.

The library is open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Michael Loria has more on the Chicago Tool Library here.

From the press box

• Patrick Finley caught up at the Super Bowl media proceedings with Matt Nagy, who said he didn’t know what he wanted to do after the Bears fired him as head coach last year. Now he’s about to coach in the Super Bowl. Finley also spoke with Robert Quinn, who didn’t want to leave the Bears — but made the Super Bowl once he did.
• How does Dick Butkus feel about never having played in postseason, let alone the big game? Rick Telander hears from Bears legend here.
• After the departures of major stars on the court, Annie Costabile explains, Kahleah Copper will lead the Sky’s new faces.
• The Bulls won against the Spurs last night, but questions are growing as the trade deadline looms, Joe Cowley writes in his latest.
• Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks are both preparing for all possible trade scenarios, Ben Pope reports.
• In high school basketball, Joe Henricksen lists the five breakout juniors in the midst of big seasons.

Your daily question☕

What’s one way you comfort friends who are in a time of need?

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: You’ve been tasked with selecting the official anthem of Chicago. What song will you choose?

Here’s what some of you said...

“Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Chicago.’ Always jam out to this driving down LSD.” — Sean Castner

“‘Chicago’ by Graham Nash. An anti-establishment/anti-war song from 1971. Although the situation has changed, the sentiment remains the same. It looks like no matter who is elected mayor this month, not much will change.” — Howard Moore

“‘Why do you build me up, buttercup baby, just to let me down?’ The absolute theme song of die-hard Chicago sports fans!” — Dave Krasula

“Smashing Pumpkins’ ‘Tonight Tonight.’” — Dan LaBuda

“My Chicago anthem is ‘Lake Shore Drive’ by Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah. It is a quintessential song and the quintessential Chicago road.” — Mark Gast

“‘Crook County’ by Twista.” — Charles Burnes

“‘My Kind of Town’ by Frank Sinatra! What a beautiful way to say, ‘welcome.’ Like open arms to all who come here.” — Vincent DAngelo

“As a former Chicagoan whose heart is still there, I have to go with ‘My Kind of Town’ because the lyrics really do describe the great people and the city’s ability to call us home.” — Amy Jackson

“Wesley Willis’ ‘Rock N Roll McDonalds.’” — Ruben Barba

“‘Mannish Boy’ by Muddy Waters. It’s spirited, hopeful and tough — just like Chicago.” — Craig Barner

“‘Percolator’ by Cajmere.” — Joe Valenzuela

“‘Born in Chicago!’ By the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Because it’s a cool blues song, that sings about what it takes to survive in Chicago!” — Stanley Koskiewicz

“‘Love Sosa’ by Chief Keef.” — Chris Gambla

“‘Take me Back to Chicago’ by the band Chicago. It a good tune to reminisce about Chicago.” — Mike Messina

“The Empire Carpet jingle, obviously.” — Brendan Murphy

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