How volunteers are preserving the history of Black Chicagoans, shelter animals rescued from Ian arrive and more in your Chicago news roundup

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a five-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 75 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and a low near 55. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with showers likely and a high near 72.

Top story

Volunteers archive key burial records — preserving the histories of tens of thousands of Black Chicagoans

Once a week, month after month, for a decade, the five volunteers would go to work.

Sifting through boxes at a South Side funeral home, surrounded by caskets in a side room, they sorted and organized the paper burial records of thousands and thousands of Black Chicagoans, determined to preserve those important pieces of history.

“It was spooky,” Lettie Sabbs, now 80, said of working near the caskets. “Some of them may have had someone in them; you didn’t know.”

They started in 2009. Many of those paper documents at the Charles Jackson Funeral Home were in disarray, thrown haphazardly into cardboard boxes. When the funeral home at 7350 S. Cottage Grove Ave. closed in 2012, the records eventually were moved to the Bronzeville Historical Society. Later, they added to their workload, getting access to burial records from another defunct South Side mortuary, Carter Funeral Chapels, 2100 E. 75th St., which also closed in 2012. By the time they were done, in 2019, one volunteer estimated they’d gone through at least 400 boxes — more than 140,000 funeral records in all. But it was, Sabbs said, a labor of love to save the histories of tens of thousands of people.

Now, their work will be preserved for generations and accessible to the public, thanks to a new, permanent home at the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection at the Carter G. Woodson Regional Chicago Public Library, 9525 S. Halsted St.

That news was celebrated yesterday at the historical society, 4455 S. King Dr. The volunteers said they were driven to continue so that future Black Chicagoans would one day be able to find out where they came from.

“Death records are one of the most important records in terms of tracing people back,” said Sabbs’ twin sister, Nettie Nesbary, who pitched in along with Laura Bibbs, Sylvia Rogers and Doris Morton.

Most importantly, they contain the names of the deceased’s parents, allowing for further research. “If you don’t know that, you can go no further,” Nesbary said.

The records join the Midwest’s largest biggest trove of materials on African American history, said Sherry Williams, founder of the Bronzeville Historical Society, which helped support the volunteers’ efforts and connected them with the library.

The database allows many Black Chicagoans to find out more about their roots, she said, and discover potentially forgotten details — such as whether the deceased belonged to a fraternity or sorority, or what role they played in church or the community.

“This is the only way that many of us can get details on early arrivals in the city,” Williams said.

Michael Loria has more on this valuable work here.

More news you need

1. At least one Chicago officer shot a man inside a West Side police station this afternoon, according to authorities. Our Sophie Sherry and Tom Schuba have the latest on this developing story here.
2. Gov. J.B. Pritzker today announced a disaster declaration for the Austin apartment building that collapsed after an explosion rocked the structure in September, killing one man and injuring seven others. The declaration will allow residents, condo homeowners and businesses to apply for low-interest loans for damages not covered by insurance.
3. And you might recall when we asked you last week to put on your screenwriter’s hat and tell us where two lovebirds would meet in a Chicago-set rom-com. We got hundreds of responses — ranging from creative to real-life testimonies — and compiled some of our favorites for you here.

A bright one

Saved by shelters in Florida, cats and dogs get a chance at forever homes in Chicago

Volunteers with PAWS Chicago returned from Florida yesterday with more than 50 pets from shelters in areas hit hard by Hurricane Ian.

Most of the 53 animals were already in shelters when the storm struck. PAWS partnered with Humane Society Naples in Collier County, which operated as the nerve center for animal shelters from the area, to bring the 12 dogs and 41 cats to PAWS Medical Center in Little Village.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Now that the pets are in their new home they will be treated for any medical conditions they may have, though most of the animals were in “pretty good shape,” Fasseas said. Then they will be made available for adoption.

“I would say within the next two days we’ll have some of them at the adoption center,” Fasseas said.

Susanna Wickham, chief executive of PAWS Chicago, said the importance of PAWS being a no-kill organization means every one of the pets will get a chance at a forever home.

“It means we guarantee the life of every pet,” Wickham said. “So all of these pets will get everything they need to ensure a long and successful life.”

Emmanuel Camarillo has more on PAWS Chicago’s efforts here.

From the press box

• Is Jose Abreu closing in on the end of his White Sox career? Daryl Van Schouwen looks at the slugger’s situation ahead of free agency.
• Rick Morrissey on Aaron Judge hitting No. 62 and the cynicism he can’t ignore: “You’d think that after what baseball went through with the steroid era, after the embarrassment of Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, after Barry Bonds and his enormous head, after the congressional hearings, someone might stop and ponder the phenomenon of one person hitting 23 more home runs than his closest competitor in the AL this season.”
• Justin Fields earlier today discussed his decision-making in the pocket and whether he’s taking off running too early and too often.
• Did you see the recent viral video of a drone flying through Wrigley Field? Here’s more on how it was made.

Your daily question☕

Think about the best neighbor you’ve ever had — what made them the best?

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: What’s something every Chicagoan should know how to do?

Here’s what some of you said...

“Eat a hot dog.” — Brianna Wellen

“Turn down a shot of MALORT!” — Tom Kief

“How and when to use Rt. 41, I-57, I-55, I-94, I-90, I-290 and I-294 to get around and through Chicago, and know the names Lakeshore Drive, The Stevenson, The Eisenhower, The Kennedy, The Dan Ryan, and the Tri-State.” — Bob Long Jr

“Order a hot dog and drive-in the snow.” — Patsy Kalivoda

“Parallel park.” — Don Kirchenberg

“Go to the Jewels.” — Joe Spizzirri

“To memorize where the speed cámaras are!” — Alejandro Rodriguez

“Ride the Metra, Blue Line, Red Line and connect to a bus if necessary to get to work or go on the Metra to Union Station and walk North and East, just follow the crowd! Only a Chicago commuter will understand what I’m describing!” — Barbara Crowley

“Find the auto pound hidden below Lower Wacker Drive.” — Jason Epperson

“Know how to figure out distance based on the city street grid system.” — Shari Brandli

“To dress appropriately for a three- sometimes four-season weekend.” — Marie Ruisa

“The rule of dibs on parking spots.” — Alexandra Argoudelis

“How to defrost a car door lock — and heat a door key with a hair dryer.” — Bruce Lorenzana

“Wait for the bus at the stop correctly. Sounds dumb, but when I first moved to Chicago in 2010 there was no Uber, etc and I took the bus/train everywhere. I was waiting for the bus on Damen and Grace with several bags of groceries in the cold, when I sat down on a bench near the stop. I didn’t realize you needed to be at the sign and the driver blew right past me and that was a lesson I never forgot!” — Kristina Walton Zapata

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