Afternoon Edition: April 6, 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 mostly sunny with a high near 81 degrees. Tonight’s low will be around 58 degrees. Tomorrow will be partly sunny, with a chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening, and a high near 76 degrees.

Top story

2-year-old critically wounded in road-rage shooting on Lake Shore Drive near Grant Park

A 2-year-old boy was shot in the head during an apparent road-rage incident late this morning on Lake Shore Drive near Grant Park.

The boy was at Lurie Children’s Hospital in critical condition, police said.

A dispute over one car not letting another car into a lane of traffic about 11 a.m. on northbound Lake Shore Drive just south of Soldier Field apparently led to the shooting, Chicago Police Cmdr. Jake Alderden said at a news conference this afternoon.

Both cars continued north and shooting began on Lake Shore Drive just west of the Shedd Aquarium. Bullet casings were recovered over a two-block stretch as the cars proceeded north, he said.

The vehicle the 2-year-old was in crashed at Monroe Street and Lake Shore Drive, near the Chicago Yacht Club and Maggie Daley Park.

A good Samaritan in a passing Tesla saw the crashed car and drove the boy and a male and female occupant to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. The boy, who was shot in the temple, was later transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital, police said.

A handgun was recovered from an occupant of the crashed vehicle, though police couldn’t immediately say if it was used in the shooting or if it was possessed legally.

Alderden expected information about the other car involved in the shooting, which fled the scene, to be released soon.

Read the full story from David Struett, Sam Kelly and Mitch Dudek here.

More news you need

1. Seven people were wounded during a fight that escalated into a shootout last night in Englewood. Multiple shooters exchanged gunfire, but no one has been arrested, police said.
2. A steady, monthlong surge in COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations took its latest troubling step up in Illinois today as officials reported 2,931 new cases of the virus, and positivity rates soared to levels not seen in months. The latest infections were diagnosed among 51,625 tests, meaning 5.7% of samples came back positive.
3. Four years after the Illinois race for governor broke national records for self-financing candidates, next year’s contest is shaping up to be another duel of the deep pockets. Millionaire businessman Gary Rabine has donated enough of his own cash to his campaign to lift all fundraising caps on the race.
4. Citing her husband’s health and unfinished business in her current position, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough said she will not run for Illinois secretary of state and will instead throw her support behind Ald. Pat Dowell. “I’m going to run for re-election,” Yarbrough said. “I haven’t finished the work I’ve started with in the office.”
5. A five-month jury trial suspension ended this week in federal court, clearing the way for judges to slowly begin clearing a backlog of cases that has built up in the year since the coronavirus pandemic took hold. But safety protocols mean the work could be slow going.
6. Metra is adding service on three lines beginning Monday to accommodate increased ridership as more people return to the city for work and for pleasure. Trains will be added the BNSF, Milwaukee District North and North Central Service lines.

A bright one

There’s a shot! Mass vaccination site opens next to Wrigley Field

Want to catch the Cubs and do your part to try to avoid catching — or spreading — COVID-19?

Beginning this week, eligible Chicagoans can head to Wrigleyville to get vaccinated. The American Airlines Conference Center at Gallagher Way, next to Wrigley Field, is one of two new mass vaccination sites opening in the city; the other is at Chicago State University.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times

The North Side facility is expected to offer up to 2,000 shots daily, according to the mayor’s office. Chicago State is expected to offer up to 1,200 walk-up and 1,000 drive-thru vaccination appointments daily. Shots at either site are available by appointment only. To register, go to zocdoc.com/vaccine.

As vaccinations kicked off yesterday at the North Side site, organizers there said they hoped the proximity to good public transportation and Wrigley Field itself would encourage people to come get vaccinated — particularly young adults, who, it is believed, are fueling the current surge in cases in the city.

Read Stefano Esposito’s full story here.

From the press box

As much as Porter Moser loved coaching at Loyola, Joe Hendrickson explains why the popular former Ramblers coach could not pass up Oklahoma’s offer.

The new Loyola coach, Drew Valentine, got a high recommendation this morning from his brother, Bulls guard Denzel Valentine.

And the New York Jets traded quarterback Sam Darnold to the Carolina Panthers for three NFL Draft picks. Patrick Finley explains how that move could affect the Bears.

Your daily question ☕

Have you gotten your COVID-19 shot yet? If so, what’s changed for you since getting vaccinated?

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 place to get deep dish in Chicago? Here’s what some of you said…

“I love Lou Malnati’s with its wonderful Plum Tomato Sauce and Corn Meal crust. The best I ever had was a supreme pizza one afternoon at Pizzeria Uno. I could still taste it days later, it was that good.” — Mark Farina

“Pequod’s because of how the cheese chars on the sides. Giordano’s meat and more meat is also a solid deep dish pizza.” — Chris Goebel

“In the ‘60s it was Gulliver’s on Howard. Their onion soup was good too. Now it’s Giordano’s because I’m old and they are close to home. Lou’s in Elk Grove Village was it in the ‘70s.” — Lisa Urquhart

“Palermo’s on 63rd is the very best.” — Liam Whitney

“Connies on Archer is # 1 for me.” — Robert Braun

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

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