Afternoon Edition: May 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 mostly sunny with a high near 59 degrees. Tonight’s low will around 46 with a chance of showers. Expect rain tomorrow, mainly before 2 p.m., with a high near 57.

Top story

Adam Toledo shooting: First assistant state’s attorney resigns after probe into statements underling made in court

First Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Coleman is resigning after the office’s investigation of an in-court statement a fellow prosecutor made about the deadly Chicago police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

In a statement today announcing the conclusion of its review, the state’s attorney office said the investigation “revealed a breakdown of communication in how information was shared, which ultimately did not get elevated to State’s Attorney [Kim] Foxx before, nor in a timely manner following, the bond court hearing.”

The statement made no mention of Coleman’s resignation, which Foxx announced separately in an internal email to staff.

The investigation stemmed from a proffer prosecutor James Murphy read in court during an April 10 bond hearing for Ruben Roman, who was arrested at the scene of Adam’s shooting, during which Murphy described the events leading up to the officer firing his weapon.

“The officer tells [Adam] to drop it as [Adam] turns towards the officer. [Adam] has a gun in his right hand,” Murphy told Cook County Judge Susana Ortiz about the March 29th incident.

“The officer fires one shot at [Adam], striking him in the chest. The gun that [Adam] was holding landed against the fence a few feet away.”

Today, the office said Murphy “did not intend to give the impression that Adam Toledo was holding a gun when shot” and “The investigation revealed that the language the attorney used in court was inartful, leaving an unintended impression.”

Attorneys in the office will have to undergo new training about presenting facts in court, and new, unspecified policies and procedures will be implemented to ensure checks and balances work as intended, the state’s attorney’s office said.

Murphy will return to his previous assignment as a result.

Read Matthew Hendrickson’s full story here.

More news you need

1. The head of the agency that investigates police misconduct in Chicago announced she is resigning after serving as leader of the organization for three years. Sydney Roberts announced her resignation from her post today as the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.
2. A security guard and mother of five was wounded in a drive-by shooting as she helped a senior citizen in the lobby of a Park Manor apartment building yesterday. Keiona James, 37, was “just doing her job and they started shooting,” James’ sister told our David Struett.
3. More charges could be on the way in the federal bribery case involving former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan’s inner circle. A defense attorney said today that prosecutors are preparing a superseding indictment that could mean more charges and defendants in the corruption case.
4. More than 60% of Illinois adults have gotten at least one coronavirus vaccine dose so far, public health officials said today. It took nearly five months for the state to cross that threshold with nearly 4.2 million people fully vaccinated.
5. Only people who’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can attend the Protect Chicago Music Series, an initiative announced by the city today to bring monthly musical events to both indoor and outdoor venues. Those planning to attend any of the shows will be required to show their CDC vaccination record card and a matching photo ID.
6. The parent company of Skittles filed a series of lawsuits, including one in federal court in Chicago, this week alleging marijuana edibles sold by a series of shady online retailers are infringing upon their trademarks. Mars Wrigley is trying to push back against a common practice in the marijuana industry: using trademarked names for pot varietals, such as the popular Girl Scouts Cookie strain.

A bright one

Mayor Lightfoot announces ‘Open Culture’ in-person summer, fall events indoors and out

Summer in the city — there’s much to do and see — in person.

That was the message from Mayor Lori Lightfoot this morning announcing “Open Culture,” the next phase in the Open Chicago initiative that will safely and ultimately fully reopen the city to in-person outdoor events and indoor venues.

The announcement of the in-person events was made in conjunction with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events and Choose Chicago, the official tourism website for Chicago. The cultural affairs department is reviewing applications for outdoor festivals, street and art/craft fairs, and athletic events.

© Todd Rosenberg Photography

The Open Culture initiative highlighted many events, including some that had been announced previously:

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts at Symphony Center, beginning May 27

• “Planting and Maintaining a Perennial Garden: Shrouds by Faheem Majeed,” through July 24, Hyde Park Art Center

• Melvin Taylor & the Slack Band, May 7, Rosa’s Lounge

Read Miriam di Nunzio’s full story on all of the events included so far in the city’s “Open Chicago” initiative.

From the press box

Zach LaVine doesn’t know how many minutes he’ll play when he finally returns tomorrow night, but the Bulls guard discussed what it was like in quarantine, how COVID-19 affected him and the team’s dying playoff push ahead of the matchup against the Hornets.

Bears single-game tickets for the 2021 season will go on sale May 12 at 8:30 p.m.

Now the 1990s Bulls have been drawn into Aaron Rodgers’ ongoing feud with the Packers: The superstar QB reportedly has, in group chats with teammates, compared Green Bay’s GM to Jerry Krause, the former Bulls GM whose role was often publicly questioned by Michael Jordan during the team’s ‘90s heyday.

Your daily question ☕

Has the pandemic prompted you to move? Tell us why, and how it’s worked out.

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 was it like when you saw a “Star Wars” movie for the first time? Here’s what some of you said...

“The way back seat of a station wagon at the local drive-in movie theater. I was 4 and still remember the experience, it was my first movie!” — Lyssa Schwarz

“I took my 10-year-old brother to see it. 10 times!” — Mary Ann Wong

“I saw the original ‘Star Wars’ on opening weekend in New York as a teenager. The theater gave out buttons to those of us in line saying ‘May the Force be with you’ and we had no idea what that meant.” — Lance, Chicago (South Loop)

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