Afternoon Edition: April 5, 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 mostly cloudy with a high near 55 degrees. Showers and thunderstorms are expected tonight with a low around 45. Tomorrow will be cloudy with a high near 57 and a chance of showers.

Top story

Racist video at Lincoln Park H.S. sparks difficult conversations among CPS students

Teens from different racial and ethnic backgrounds may go to the same high school, but there’s little guarantee that some students will get beyond the stereotypes about each other.

That became painfully clear a few months ago when a student at Lincoln Park High School made a video asking classmates what race they wouldn’t date. Most of the answers were racist and offensive, with many kids laughing and talking comfortably about how people of other races smell, are ugly or even carry diseases — all of it right in the school hallways with other students watching.

The video was covered by WBEZ and other news outlets and was quickly taken down, thrusting this hurtful episode at Lincoln Park into the public eye.

It turns out there are a lot of “Who wouldn’t you date?” videos posted to social media from all over the country, and, not surprisingly, teens say lots of schools struggle to help kids from different backgrounds relate. To figure out what’s driving this, WBEZ reached out to high schoolers from across the city and asked them to fill out a survey and sat down with several of them for in-depth conversations about race. Most said they reject stereotyping and they shared ideas for how schools can help.

“A huge misconception that a lot of kids have is that racism is just a joke,” said Alexa Avellaneda, a junior at Lincoln Park. “It’s not a joke. It’s bigotry. And it can really harm someone’s mental health.”

Consuela Hendricks, a nonprofit leader, helped home in on an issue highlighted in the Lincoln Park video: teens of color making biased comments about each other. That’s familiar to Hendricks, a co-founder of People Matter, an organization that helps to bridge the divide between Black and Asian residents in and around Chinatown.

“Schools don’t have the tools nor do they talk about race enough,” said Hendricks, who graduated from a majority Latino CPS in 2013. “I was bullied severely because I was one of the only Black kids. [There were] a lot of conversations that my teachers and the principal weren’t willing to have.”

Communities of color have long faced their own separate battles with systemic discrimination, she said, and that’s also forced them to compete against each other.

“There are a lot of tensions between many communities of color, and a lot of this is because we just don’t understand each other,” Hendricks said.

WBEZ’s Susie An and Adriana Cardona-Maguigad have more on what Chicago public high schoolers have to say about race, stereotypes, dating and what schools can do better here.

More news you need

1. A second juvenile has been arrested and charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a 70-year-old woman in the Hegewisch neighborhood last year. The 16-year-old was arrested yesterday in Roseland after police identified him as the second gunman in the Aug. 16 murder of Yvonne Ruzich, authorities said.
2. The United States Postal Service is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for tips leading to the arrests of four people for robbing a letter carrier at gunpoint last year. The suspects wore ski masks when they confronted the letter carrier around 6:40 p.m. Nov. 22 in Park Manor, according to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
3. Chicago police have released video of three people beating and robbing the director of the Chicago Film Office, then using his credit card to buy clothes at a mall. Kwame Amoaku, 51, was attacked last Wednesday morning after he approached the three going through his car, police said.
4. A Chicago law firm leveled a damning set of accusations today against “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne, accusing her of acting as the “frontwoman” for a “criminal enterprise” in a racketeering lawsuit it previewed in federal court here. Expanding on allegations it first made in a lawsuit filed last December, Edelson PC claims a California law firm founded by Jayne’s husband, Thomas Girardi, stole more than $100 million from its clients, co-counsel, vendors and others.
5. We’re inviting kids from pre-K through high school in Chicago and the suburbs to create and send us a work of art to fit the theme “Spring ahead.” It’s for our newest Sun-Times art contest — part of what we call The Imagination Project, which began during the early days of the pandemic. More details on the contest and how to submit artwork here.

A bright one

Chicago restaurants honored with 2022 Michelin stars

Twenty-three Chicago restaurants are among the list of Michelin-starred eateries for 2022, it was announced today.

This year’s Chicago list is again topped by Alinea, the Grant Achatz restaurant (1723 N. Halsted St.) that retains its three-star award — the highest number of stars possible — for the 12th consecutive year. It is the only Michelin three-starred restaurant in the city.

Among the restaurants who retained two Michelin stars for 2022 are Ever (1340 W. Fulton Market), Moody Tongue (2515 S. Wabash Ave.), Oriole (661 W. Walnut St.) and Smyth (177 N. Ada St.).

Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images

Restaurants like Boka (1729 N. Halsted St.), Goosefoot (2656 W. Lawrence Ave.), Porto (1600 W. Chicago Ave.) and more retained their one Michelin star for 2022.

Four Chicago restaurants joined the guide for the first time this year, each receiving one star: Claudia (1952 N. Damen Ave.), Esmé (2200 N. Clark St.), Galit (2429 N. Lincoln Ave.) and Kasama (1001 N. Winchester).

In addition, seven Chicago restaurants were added to Michelin’s “Bib Gourmand” list this year, which recognizes area restaurants serving “great food at reasonable prices,” generally two courses and a beverage for $40 or less, in most cases.

Miriam Di Nunzio has the complete list of Chicago restaurants honored this year here.

From the press box

• The club keeps talking about “the next great Cubs team,” but they have yet to commit to a timeline. When will that team arrive?
• The White Sox bolstered their pitching staff by signing Johnny Cueto to a one-year contract.
• The Public League football schedule is changing this fall. Mike Clark has more on that and other news in high school sports.

Your daily question ☕

In honor of National Deep Dish Pizza Day, we want to know — who has the best in Chicago?

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 venue to see a live music show in Chicago?

Here’s what some of you said…

“The Auditorium. The best acoustics ever!” — Sandra Robinson

“The Uptown Theater (may it shine again). Grateful Dead, Bob Marley, Dire Straits, etc.” — John Green

“Joe’s on Weed Street! Saw Luke Bryan, Chris Young, Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw there!! My fav memories.” — Shannon Bavido

“Old Town School. Followed by Thalia Hall.” — Cassie Wancata Wagner

“Lyric Opera House.” — Candy Bucyk

“Kingston Mines has amazing blues performances. Try to go on a night with Joanna Connor, she’s incredible!” — Aubrey Shombert

“Park West, hands down.” — Robert McCarthy

“Old Town School, Space, Thalia, Chicago, Northerly Island on a perfect summer night.” — Eileen Kilroy

“Easy. Without a doubt Jazz Showcase. Finest music in the world. Laidback and generous patrons and artists. I will go there regardless of who is playing because the Jazz Showcase always attracts the best talent.” — Tim Noonan

“Old Town School of Folk Music, Sleeping Village, Empty Bottle, Beat Kitchen, Cobra Lounge.” — Kenneth Helin

“The Hideout Inn, The Whistler, or Constellation Chicago. Hard to say which one is my #1, but every single show I’ve been to at either of them has been magic. Truly progressive programming.” — Chris Geatz

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