Afternoon Edition: April 28, 2022

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 chance of showers and a high near 49 degrees. Tonight will be mostly cloudy with a low around 46. Tomorrow will be mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and a high near 62.

Top story

South Side soldier, missing since 1950, finally comes home

Chicago-born David B. Milano was his sister Delores’ protector — that was until he went off to war in Korea and never came back.

A private in the Army, David Milano was declared missing in action in December 1950.

David Milano finally came home this week — his remains returned to the family in a flag-draped casket. His funeral is tomorrow. His sister won’t be there. She died seven years ago, not knowing his remains had been found.

“For some reason, my mom, in her heart and mind, she always thought they would find him,” said Kevin Jordan, one of Delores Milano’s three sons, who lives in Layton, Utah.

In 2018, then-President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The summit didn’t lead to a lasting de-escalation of tensions. But, as a gesture of goodwill, 55 boxes of the unidentified remains of U.S. servicemen were flown to Hawaii.

Two years ago, David Milano’s family learned — thanks to DNA testing — that Box No. 24 contained a femur and other skeletal remains belonging to the lost serviceman.

On Tuesday, those remains arrived at Salt Lake City International Airport. Kevin Jordan, his brother and his sister, Delores Bittion, were on the tarmac under cloudy skies when an American Airlines plane eased up to the gate. The pilot politely asked passengers to remain in their seats while a military honor guard removed Milano’s casket.

David Milano’s funeral is tomorrow. He’ll be given a 21-gun salute. His sister’s second-grade rosary from her first Communion will be placed in the casket with his remains, Jordan said.

Stefano Esposito has more on Milano’s return here.

More news you need

1. Intending to make it “official” some time “soon,” Lori Lightfoot told our Lynn Sweet today that she will seek a second term as Chicago’s mayor. That Lightfoot is running for another term is certainly no surprise, Sweet says.
2. In other mayoral election news, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley announced this morning that he will not enter the race to try to unseat Lightfoot next year. Read Fran Spielman’s analysis on Quigley’s decision to join Arne Duncan in taking a pass on the 2023 Chicago mayoral race.
3. Cook County prosecutors rejected felony charges today against a man who allegedly admitted he was involved in a Near North Side shootout Sunday evening in which 68 shots were fired. The 20-year-old was instead charged with a misdemeanor for having a gun without a valid FOID card, Cook County court records show.
4. A 16-year-old girl has been charged with carjacking four separate drivers at gunpoint this year as well as stealing a car with a young child in the back seat. She was arrested yesterday on the Lower West Side and charged with four felony counts of aggravated vehicular highjacking with a firearm, Chicago police said.
5. A UPS driver has been charged with stealing $187,000 worth of high-end retail packages from his route and dropping them off at his South Side home, according to Chicago police. The 26-year-old allegedly stole packages of Louis Vuitton merchandise over a two-week period this month.

A bright one

Logan Square furniture shop owners to take center stage in new HGTV home rehab show

Meg and Joe Piercy learned the thrift and ingenuity that will be on display in the upcoming Chicago-based HGTV show “Renovation Goldmine” when the couple found themselves nearly broke and about to have a baby 10 years ago.

“A neighbor gave us a piece of furniture and Meg and I painted it, we listed it on Craigslist the next day and sold it for $80 and we were like, ‘Holy cow! Let’s do this again,’” Joe Piercy said.

The couple began foraging every place they could from alleys to Salvation Army stores.

Brian Rich/Sun-Times

Eventually, they opened a tiny storefront near Montrose and Ashland avenues before moving to their current location at 2728 N. Elston Ave.

Their store, which flourished into a full-service home decor shop, is called MegMade — two words that Joe Piercy said were a natural fit and constant refrain as he bragged about his wife.

A regular stream of updates and DIY ideas posted to their Instagram account provided the exposure that led to the HGTV opportunity. The show will feature the couple working with homeowners and contractors to rehab and redecorate up to five rooms of a home.

Mitch Dudek has more on the Piercy pair’s new show here.

From the press box

• The NFL Draft is here! Unfortunately, the Bears don’t have a first-round pick, so tonight will likely be uneventful unless the team decides to trade up. Here’s Jason Lieser on the fresh approach GM Ryan Poles is bringing to the draft.
• A weak quarterback class should make the Bears grateful that they traded up to pick Justin Fields last year instead of waiting to select one of these passers, Patrick Finley writes.
• Now eliminated from the playoffs, the Bulls’ key players made it clear in their exit interviews that they hope to run it back with the same group next season, Joe Cowley writes.
• With the Big Ten negotiating its next round of big media-rights deals, Jeff Agrest looks at landscape.

Your daily question ☕

What’s one way to be a good neighbor?

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: In addition to rising gas prices, what is an issue that you as a Chicagoan want the mayor to address?

Here’s what some of you said…

“Affordable housing. Fully funded schools.” — Kathleen BeeMee

“The speeding tickets are predatory and an unfair tax burden on working people.” — Junior Pierre

“Carjacking, shooting and potholes.” — Linda Bedar

“The CTA running more regularly and for it to be cleaner.” — Keyser Söze

“Escalating property taxes used as a Band-Aid rather than prioritizing and prudently funding government. Institute alderperson term limits to a maximum of three.” — Victoria Gordon

“Raising the minimum wage.” — Courtney Wilbanks

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