Afternoon Edition: Oct. 5, 2021

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 cloudy with a high of 71 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low of around 61. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with a high near 74.

Top story

Kim Foxx says Lightfoot was ‘wrong’ to publicly discuss deadly shootout, says mayor should ‘tell the truth’

Facing heavy criticism after her office rejected charges against five suspects in a deadly shootout, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx today slammed Mayor Lori Lightfoot for raising alarms about the case and allegedly getting certain facts wrong.

During a news conference in Englewood, Foxx said it was “inappropriate” and “wrong” for the former federal prosecutor to publicly discuss details of the gang-related gunfight Friday morning in Austin that left one shooter dead and two suspects wounded.

Yesterday, Lightfoot publicly urged Foxx to personally get involved in the case and to reconsider charging two suspects who allegedly helped instigate the shooting. She and a group of five West Side alderpersons also sent a letter to Foxx voicing their concerns and making a similar request.

Foxx, however, claimed to reporters today that some of the statements Lightfoot made about the evidence in the case “simply weren’t true.”

“I was quite honestly mortified by what happened yesterday,” Foxx said, “particularly because the mayor as a former prosecutor knows that what she did yesterday was inappropriate.”

Though Foxx wouldn’t say what she believes Lightfoot got wrong, she noted that Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan conceded yesterday that the evidence was insufficient to bring the charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery against all five members of two warring factions of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang.

Tom Schuba has more on the fallout from last week’s shootout here.

More news you need

1. If the trial of Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson goes forward in two weeks as planned, it will be the latest criminal trial at Chicago’s federal courthouse that members of the public will not be allowed to view in person. Instead, video of the proceedings will be streamed for the public in a separate overflow room because of COVID-19 protocols.
2. “Windy City Rehab” co-host Donovan Eckhardt is ready for round two after his first suit against the television companies behind the show had been tossed by a Cook County judge. In a new defamation suit filed in California, Eckhardt says his false portrayal on the show was the worst humiliation of his life, causing sleeplessness and loss of appetite.
3. A 22-year-old DePaul University student is at the center of an unusual terrorism trial at Chicago’s federal courthouse, where prosecutors say he designed a computer program to help disseminate propaganda. The student’s defense attorneys say the case raises serious First Amendment issues.
4. City Council members from across the city aired their frustrations today with problem buildings that are repeatedly hauled into court, only to have judges grant “continuance after continuance.” The flood of comments from alderpersons came while the city’s new buildings commissioner testified at budget hearings.
5. The Chicago Marathon is back on Sunday, with more than 35,000 people from 50 states and 100 countries expected to compete. Even if you’re not running, chances are the race might affect your travel plans — so here’s a rundown of everything you need to know.

A bright one

Members of Cheap Trick treat Ravenswood residents to surprise performance at backyard concert

Last Friday night in Ravenswood, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, along with his son Daxx, who plays drums for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, surprised a small crowd at a backyard concert — even joining the scheduled band for a couple of songs.

The scene was the home of music lovers John Culver and his wife Kathy Tynus, who during the pandemic found a way to provide some income to bands while providing themselves and their friends a safe way to get their music fix — by hosting small groups at Culver’s home on Warner Avenue.

They asked their guests for voluntary $20 donations to the bands, providing a boost to musicians largely cut off from playing anywhere else.

Bob Chiarito/For the Sun-Times

Miles Nielsen and the Rusted Hearts, who played at Culver’s last spring during the shutdown, were playing the yard again Friday. But Miles Nielson had no idea his father and brother Daxx also were in town.

Earlier that evening, Culver’s friend Billy Jacobs, who co-owns the Chicago pizza restaurant Piece with Rick Nielsen, received separate texts, first from Daxx, then from Rick, both telling him they were back from a private gig in Seattle and asking if he wanted to get together.

“I said, ‘Yeah, let’s get some pizza and beer and head up to see Miles and surprise him.’ And that’s exactly what we did,” Jacobs said.

Bob Chiarito has the full story on the surprise set here.

From the press box

• Here’s the schedule for the ALDS between the White Sox and Astros.
• Matt Nagy keeps saying he’ll do what’s best for the Bears, but what is best for the Bears? Mark Potash says Justin Fields needs to start against the Raiders, and Nagy shouldn’t dismiss the possibility that the team can win games even with the rookie under center.
• Running back David Montgomery will be out at least four games with a knee injury.
• The Bears acquired kick returner Jakeem Grant from the Dolphins today for a 2023 sixth-round pick. Grant should help the coaches realign their depth chart with Montgomery sidelined.
• Only one win from the WNBA Finals, the Sky are trying to stay focused on the task at hand: Putting away a tough Connecticut Sun team.

Your daily question ☕

In honor of World Teachers’ Day today, think of a teacher who had a positive impact on your life — what would you tell them if you could talk to them today?

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’s your favorite James Bond movie? Here’s what some of you said…

“Absolutely ‘Goldfinger.’ I have vivid memories of watching it (several times) at the Uptown Theater with my friends when it was released. I still watch it annually.” — Kay Tee

“‘Casino Royale.’ It was such a refreshing shock to have Daniel Craig take on the Bond role and change the trajectory of the franchise. Fantastic realistic action, more believable and well put together. Set the tone for the next four movies. ‘Skyfall’ as well!” — Dan Y.

“‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ is a seriously underrated Bond Movie, already seen ‘No Time To Die’ over here in the UK and it’s excellent.” — Simon Shuter

“In the early 1960s, the first two Bond films were ‘Dr. No’ and ‘From Russia With Love’ and both were terrific. The third was ‘Goldfinger’ — that song and especially the film combined for the first real big Bond impact. So, yeah, ‘Goldfinger.’” — Mark Stearns

“‘From Russia With Love’ — Connery before he was sick of the role, the greatest set of villains ever (Lotte Lenya AND Robert Shaw), chases through the imperial cistern in Istanbul AND on the Orient Express, and Bond wasn’t quite gadget-ga-ga (just a Swiss Army knife of an attaché case). — David Nix

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

Sign up here to get the Afternoon Edition in your inbox every day.