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 72 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 54 degrees. Tomorrow will feel like summer again: sunny with a high near 81 degrees ahead of a beautiful weekend.
Top story
Pride and politicking as Foxx, Stratton, Kelly, Yarbrough watch ‘history maker and a glass ceiling breaker’
Watching her daughters watch Sen. Kamala Harris made Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx “proud” last night.
“I have a 17-year-old who rarely wants to watch TV with her parents — she’s sitting between me [and my husband],” Foxx said. “She’s cheering — watching her watch Sen. Harris makes me proud.”
Yesterday, ahead of her debate appearance, the first-term Cook County prosecutor made the case for why the vice presidential nominee who’s been mentoring her on “some of the biggest challenges” deserved to be elected.
“She understands, she gets it,” Foxx said.
The freshman Democratic prosecutor joined Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough for a Zoom program before and after the debate to watch Foxx’s friend and mentor put her prosecutorial skills to work going head to head with Republican Vice President Mike Pence.
All four Illinois elected officials urged local residents to vote and, if possible, to do so early and by mail. Stratton called Pence a “complicit party in the death and destruction that is taking place throughout Trump’s America” in his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The historic nature of Harris’ appearance in the vice presidential debate wasn’t lost on the four Black women, who occupy some of the state’s top offices, too. Kelly called Harris “a history maker and a glass ceiling breaker.”
“Thanks to her, and Carol Mosely Braun before her, Black girls now grow up knowing that they could be a U.S. senator and hopefully, that they can be part of a winning presidential ticket,” the Matteson Democrat said.
Harris is the first Black woman, and the first person of Indian descent, to be nominated for a presidential ticket by either of the major parties.
The California senator has achieved many other firsts. She was the first South Asian American to serve in the U.S. Senate when elected in 2016. Harris previously served as California’s attorney general, and was the first African-American and first woman to serve in that position when elected in 2010.
She was also the second African American woman in the U.S. Senate — Chicago’s Carol Moseley Braun was the first.
Read Rachel Hinton’s story here.
More news you need
- U.S. Senate candidate Willie Wilson will self-quarantine for more than a week after testing positive for the coronavirus, his campaign said today. The prominent Chicago businessman said he’s “experiencing mild symptoms.”
- A new report issued by the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation found that the vast majority of sexual harm complaints brought to the Chicago Police Department between 2010 and 2019 did not result in an arrest. Arrests were made in just 10% to 20% of complaints filed in that time frame, according to the report.
- Armed with $25 million in “initial” philanthropic contributions and “corporate commitments,” the Chicago Community Trust announced a plan today with the goal of making sure Black and Hispanic communities that bore the brunt of the coronavirus can make a strong comeback. Here’s how Together We Rise aims to ensure “equitable economic recovery.”
- Public health officials reported 3,059 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Illinois today, the state’s biggest caseload since the initial peak of the pandemic nearly five months ago. The state last topped 3,000 daily coronavirus cases on May 14, when 3,239 people were infected.
- Cook County officials announced a $20 million mortgage assistance program today designed to help keep roofs over the heads of cash-strapped suburban residents reeling from the financial impact of COVID-19. The program is funded by money from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
- The new Netflix series “Emily in Paris” has dished out a “heartless” jab at Chicago’s beloved Lou Malnati’s pizza, and the iconic deep dish pizza chain’s owner is not très amused. “This is a very special time in the world where restaurants are doing everything to keep their doors open,” owner Marc Malnati said. “It was just very poor taste.”
- Two weeks after being rescued from brutal conditions at a south suburban home, 20 pit bulls have found foster homes all over Chicago thanks to dog rescue Players for Pits. They’re now affectionately known as the #Furever21Crew, counting one pup that was dead when officers found them.
A bright one
North Lawndale restaurant owner Louise ‘Momma Lue’ Harper retiring after 60 years
Louise Harper, who took over North Lawndale’s New Pine Valley Restaurant in 1975, is retiring after working from 3 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week for the past 60 years.
“I ain’t gonna never forget it here,” said 77-year-old Harper, a Mississippi native who came to Chicago in 1962 looking for work and a better way than what she’d been doing — picking cotton.
Known as “Momma Lue” to longtime customers, Harper worked at the old-school restaurant in various capacities, including waitressing, learning to cook as she worked her way up. Some of her favorite dishes to prepare are chicken and dressing, hamhocks, collard greens, macaroni and cheese and peach cobbler.
“I’m going to miss her,” said Rodney Dorsey, a cook at New Pine Valley since 2016. “She’s known me since I was 10 years old. Everyone in the neighborhood respects her.” He said when looting broke out earlier this year, the restaurant emerged unscathed: “No one was going to mess with her. She’s been in the neighborhood too long.”
Harper has served generations of West Siders. She’s also gotten to meet a few luminaries — like Muhammad Ali (he ordered a cheeseburger) and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who briefly lived in the neighborhood.
Once she shifts from business owner to retiree, she plans to visit family in Florida and Los Angeles. After that, for the first time in decades, her schedule is pretty much wide open.
“I saw six generations grew up over here, and they are fond of me — they call me ‘Momma,’” Harper said. “All the kids around here call me ‘Momma.’ I know I’m going to miss them. But I got to get on with my life.”
Read Evan F. Moore’s full story here.
From the press box
The Blackhawks announced today that veteran goalkeeper Corey Crawford will not return to the team next season. Crawford was a member of a player core that brought three Stanley Cups to Chicago, but after three straight losing seasons, the team has committed to rebuilding through youth.
Mark Potash wrote about the matchups and trends to keep an eye on when the Bears face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight at Soldier Field (7:20 p.m., Fox-32, NFL Network, Amazon Prime).
And you know those in-game interviews with baseball players and managers? Jeff Agrest says they add nothing to the broadcast, and should be dumped.
Your daily question ☕
Who do you think won last night’s vice presidential debate? 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: If you could ask Mike Pence and Kamala Harris one question during tonight’s debate, what would it be? Here’s what some of you said…
“What is your prospective plan to restore America after a cure is available?” — Rigoberto Campos
“For Pence: You were in charge of the coronavirus task force that resulted in millions of infections and over 200k deaths, so why should we trust you with four more years?” — Robin Bellerby
“What would you say to Americans on either side who are terrified of the outcome of this election?” — Sarah Hewitt
“Question for both candidates: What would you do shrink the divide between the rich and the average working person?” — Brian Taylor
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