Afternoon Edition: April 5, 2021

The approximate location where Chicago police killed 13-year-old Adam Toledo (shown in photo), in an alleyway near 24th and Sawyer, Thursday, April 1, 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.

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Afternoon Edition

Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. Plus, a bonus issue on Saturdays that dives into the city’s storied history.

This afternoon will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms with a high near 75 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 57 degrees. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 76 degrees.

Top story

Lightfoot vows to hunt down adult who put gun in Adam Toledo’s hand

Mayor Lori Lightfoot vowed today to hunt down and hold accountable adults responsible for “putting a gun into the hands” of a 13-year-old shot and killed by Chicago police last week.

In promising to hold adults accountable for the circumstances surrounding Adam Toledo’s death, Lightfoot went further than the Chicago Police Department has been willing to go.

CPD has said only that a gun was found near Toledo’s body. Neither police nor the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which is investigating the shooting, has said Toledo was holding the gun or aiming it at police when he was chased, shot and killed.

“Let’s be clear. An adult put a gun in a child’s hand. A young and impressionable child. And one who should not have been provided with lethal force. A weapon that could and did irreparably change the course of his life,” the mayor said.

“This happens way too often in our city. And it’s way past time for us to say, ‘No more.’ I have directed the superintendent and the chief of detectives to use every resource to track down the origins of this gun — through tracing, fingerprinting and DNA and any other means — and to find the person responsible for giving it to Adam. I want to bring that person or persons responsible for putting that gun in Adam’s hands to justice.”

Keep reading this story from Fran Speilman and Frank Main here.

More news you need

The city saw 34 people get shot, eight of them fatally, over Easter weekend, according to police. There was only one death Saturday before seven people were killed in shootings on Sunday.
A Chicago police officer pleaded guilty today to his role in a multi-million dollar gambling ring in the case that led to January’s pardon of Mettawa Mayor Casey Urlacher by then-President Donald Trump. Nicholas Stella, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to conduct an illegal gambling business.
Former state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is taking an early lead in fundraising in his bid to succeed Jesse White as Illinois secretary of state, adding $1.4 million to his campaign war chest less than a year before voters will decide which Democrat they want to move on to the general election. Giannoulias now has over $2.1 million cash on hand for the race.
Illinois now has 110 dispensaries licensed to sell recreational pot — more than ever before — after state regulators issued a slew of permits in recent weeks ahead of a critical deadline. Here’s where new pot shops are expected to open in Chicago, and the location of every other dispensary in Illinois.
It’s National Deep Dish Pizza Day, and a self-guided Chicago deep dish walking tour debuting today takes participants to three classic spots: Gino’s East (162 E. Superior), Pizzeria Uno (29 E. Ohio), and Lou Malnati’s (439 N. Wells).

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A bright one

Longtime Chicago stagehand Jolly Roger to get a new smile with help from his friends

A legendary stagehand who has worked for decades in the Chicago independent music scene will get a second chance at a new smile.

Jolly Roger, whose real name is Chris Shaw, has toured with acts such as Ministry, Ozzy Osbourne, Cheap Trick and the Pixies. He’s worked for Jam Productions, a Chicago-based concert promotion company that hosts shows at the Vic, Riviera Theatre and Aragon Ballroom for over 40 years.

Health care benefits such as dental insurance aren’t something 73-year-old Roger had access to throughout his career. Over the decades he’s had to have teeth pulled because he “did some things wrong” — like smoking for 45 years. He kicked the habit 18 years ago, but he’s now down to four teeth.

Screen_Shot_2021_04_05_at_10.32.32_AM.png — Chris Shaw, better known as Jolly Roger, has worked in the Chicago music scene for decades.

“I can’t eat nuts, can’t eat apples unless they’ve been cut up. My daughter keeps trying to feed me kale,” Roger said, chuckling. “Not because of anything other than there’s no way to chew it.”

Though Roger was initially hesitant, Geno Byrnes, one of Roger’s friends, persuaded him to create a GoFundMe campaign to pay for his dental work. They said the page reached $20,000 on its first day.

“He’s been in the industry since the ’70s. I met him in 1978,” Byrnes said. “There’s so many bands and people he’s worked with from when they were unknown. He’s beloved.”

Created on March 21, the GoFundMe campaign has raised over $47,000 from close to 400 donors. Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons donated $5,000 to the cause. Most of the donations are coming from Roger’s colleagues in the industry, other stagehands, producers and sound and lighting technicians.

Read Grace Asiegbu’s full story here.

From the press box

The NCAA men’s basketball championship between Gonzaga and Baylor tonight (8:20 p.m., CBS-2) is the best matchup that college hoops lovers could ask for. “It’s Goliath vs. Goliath, great on great. Pull up a chair and prepare to jump out of it repeatedly,” our Steve Greenberg writes.

And while the Cubs only scored 12 runs in their three-game series against the Pirates over the weekend, the team’s patient approach at the plate paid off with 14 walks – a positive sign after the club often struggled in that area in recent years, Russell Dorsey writes.