Afternoon Edition: July 2, 2020

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

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Max Garcia and Louis Martinez remove the hedges in front of businessman Michael Tadin Jr.’s home in Lakeview.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

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 86 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low near 70 degrees. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 86 degrees.

Top story

Some digging — and a little hot dogging — end hedge hogging of parkland on Lake Shore Drive West

Today, Michael Tadin Jr. surrendered.

In the face of public uproar over bushes he planted that cordon off public parkland in front of his home, Tadin said he had reached agreement with the city and Park District to remove the offending hedgerow.

Workers were on the scene early this morning to dig up the bushes, and Tadin said he expected the work to be done by the end of the day. Sod will be planted Friday where the bushes stood, he said.

“It will be back to all grass,” Tadin told me. The exception will be the sidewalk leading to his front gate for which Tadin received special City Council permission in 2017.

Tadin continued to defend his decision to plant the bushes in the first place and said he believed he did everything legally, despite a recent Park District inspector general report that accused him of stringing along park officials for five years in the face of demands that he remove the hedges. Tadin said he thought the dispute had been resolved.

“I didn’t need any issues like this,” Tadin said Thursday in explanation of his change of heart.

“It really wasn’t a big deal,” Tadin said. “I thought it looked nice.”

Tadin said he never considered the land in front of his property to be his front yard, even though it looked like it after he landscaped the lot by enclosing it with the bushes.

The old boundaries of Lincoln Park extend west of Lake Shore Drive West from Diversey to Belmont, creating a narrow strip of public land that in many cases has been encroached upon by the adjacent property owners.

But nobody has encroached quite as noticeably as Tadin, whose home is the only one on his block that fronts on Lake Shore Drive West. Tadin built the mansion in 2014 on property once owned by an order of nuns.

Read the full story by columnist Mark Brown here.

More news you need

  1. Suburban and city schools across Illinois will have to embrace a new normal under strict state guidelines this fall. One-way hallways, daily temperature checks and quarantine rooms are among the requirements included in the state’s reopening plan.
  2. Anti-violence groups, security firms, business owners, faith leaders and elected officials gathered in Englewood today to announce a plan for a “homicide-free” Fourth of July weekend. Police records show there were no murders recorded over the last two Fourth of July weekends in the neighborhood.
  3. Flanked by images of children recently gunned down in Chicago, a group of local DJs also made a clarion call this morning to cease the violence across the city. “These kids did not deserve to die,” DJ Phantom said at an anti-violence rally featuring over a dozen popular DJs and community activists.
  4. Two men from Aurora and Elgin were arrested for allegedly selling commercial-grade fireworks and explosives over social media to undercover detectives. The investigation was prompted by an uptick in complaints of firework explosions.
  5. Newly obtained federal records show that the FBI’s Chicago office began investigating deals concerning O’Hare Airport during the Daley administration. The case ultimately fizzled out, however, and no one was ever charged.
  6. Computer whiz Madhu Arambakam had hoped for years to build a start-up company in Chicago, but America’s outdated immigration system is holding him back. The backlog for employment-based green cards is like a straitjacket on aspiring immigrants, Marlen Garcia writes.

Editor’s Note: Yesterday’s Afternoon Edition incorrectly stated the police chief of Oak Park is retiring. Timothy McCarthy, police chief of Orland Park, is retiring. We regret the error.

A bright one

This year’s long Fourth of July weekend won’t be the same as past years absent the big fireworks displays that typically punctuate the patriotic celebration, but there are still some cool things to do around the area this weekend.

For those looking to reconnect with nature a bit, Lincoln Park Zoo has reopened to the general public from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily with required reservations. Face masks are mandatory and the indoor exhibits are all closed, but the zoo remains free.

Brookfield Zoo has also reopened to members ahead of welcoming the general public back next Wednesday.

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Visitors stand outside Lincoln Park Zoo on June 26, 2020.

Pat Nabong/Sun-Times

Other events to enjoy over the long weekend include the Pilsen Community Market, which takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at Plaza Tenochtitlan, and jazz at The Green Mill Cocktail Lounge, which is attempting to become one of the first venues to offer live music again.

A gorgeous weather forecast for the weekend including warm temperatures and sunny skies should also help make this an enjoyable one, even if you don’t have any big plans.

Read our full breakdown of local entertainment options to enjoy this weekend here.

From the press box

The Cubs’ pitching staff has taken an unexpected blow as left-hander Jose Quintana suffered an injury to his pitching hand last weekend while washing dishes at home in Miami. He underwent surgery today and is expected to resume his throwing program in two weeks.

Your daily question ☕

Fun question on whatever the hot topic of the day is.

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

Yesterday, we asked you: Have your neighbors started their 4th of July celebrations early with fireworks this week? Do you plan to join them? Here’s what some of you said…

“Nope. Though the light shows are nice the noise is much more annoying. The reason behind them on the 4th has been forgotten and has become no longer special.” — Michelle Becker

“Around my neighborhood, fireworks and M-80s has been going off ever since May. Especially on a work day. I can’t remember how many melatonins I went through each night just to get to sleep.” — Cloria Clotoyou D. Copeland

“Last week, the week before, the month before, it must’ve been a non stop pyrotechnic show of patriotism since Memorial Day.” — Jacob Peters (@ArchiJake)

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

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