Afternoon Edition: May 3, 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 of 48 degrees. Tonight will be partly cloudy with a chance of showers and a low near 41. Tomorrow will be partly sunny with a high near 52.

Top story

Bally’s River West casino plan expected to get mayor’s nod: sources

Mayor Lori Lightfoot is preparing to turn over her cards in the Chicago casino, with all signs pointing to a winning hand for Bally’s Corporation and their River West bid, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times today.

The city signaled in a March report that Bally’s proposal for the Chicago Tribune printing plant site at Chicago Avenue and Halsted Street was the frontrunner over two other finalists for the casino. An official decision could come Thursday.

The publicly traded Rhode Island corporation was the only one to offer an upfront payment of $25 million for the license — and was projected as the top revenue generator over a Hard Rock casino proposed across DuSable Lake Shore Drive from Soldier Field, and the so-called “Rivers 78” plan backed by billionaire Neil Bluhm for the South Loop.

Those are key considerations for city officials desperate to start pumping casino tax revenue into depleted police and firefighter pension funds.

Also key — as demanded by union leaders and alderpersons at a City Council casino committee meeting last week — is a signed agreement with organized labor groups.

Bally’s was finalizing a labor agreement today, a source told the Sun-Times. Such a deal would put organized labor behind the Bally’s proposal, political support that could be needed to get it through the City Council.

The decision, when announced, sets the stage for what could be a contentious fight in the City Council, which must ratify the casino site before it goes to the Illinois Gaming Board, which has final say on issuing a casino license.

Fran Spielman, David Roeder and Mitchell Armentrout have more on the proposal here.

More news you need

1. Gov. J.B. Pritzker in a press conference today vowed the state would remain a “beacon of hope in an increasingly dark world” — a day after an explosive leak revealed the U.S. Supreme Court may be preparing to overturn Roe v. Wade. Abortion would be made illegal in 26 states, including neighboring Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin, if the landmark case is overturned.
2. A day after Mayor Lightfoot decried growing gun violence downtown, four people were wounded early this morning when two gunmen opened fire on an SUV stopped at a light in the Loop. The shooting follows several downtown attacks over the weekend.
3. Three teens have been charged in a string of recent robberies on Chicago public transit. Two of them — a 15-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy — are accused of stealing a local actor’s phone on a CTA Red Line train and striking him unconscious, police said.
4. More than 100,000 people have applied for the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot within the first days that applications were accepted. The new program aims to provide some Chicagoans with $500 monthly payments for 12 months.
5. City leaders are marking National Drinking Water Week with a “humorous” branding campaign to heighten awareness of the importance of Lake Michigan drinking water and the city’s history with the vital freshwater source. The new campaign, called “Chicagwa,” will feature a limited run of cans of Chicago drinking water featuring six different label designs.

A bright one

Sounds of celebration in Lincolnwood as Muslims celebrate end of Ramadan

In Henry A. Proesel Park yesterday, there were sounds of celebration.

People of all ages sat at long picnic tables, laughing with their neighbors and eating from plastic plates loaded with food. Kids ran about, faces painted with colorful butterflies and stars.

They gathered together to celebrate Eid al-Fitr — a 3-day holiday marking the end of Ramadan, a month observed by fasting from sunrise to sundown.

Muslims in Lincolnwood and across Chicago are observing Eid with family and friends. Many turned out to their mosques yesterday for early morning services.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time

Proesel Park’s event was organized by the Ojala Foundation in partnership with several other local groups.

After two years of shutdowns and COVID-19 restrictions, Alma Campos, co-founder of the Ojala Foundation, said Ramadan this year felt more normal. People were eating and laughing together again.

The Ojala Foundation brought enough to eat, Campos said, “but our community is so generous that everybody brings something, so right now it’s a full never-ending table of food and sweets. And this is just from the goodness of their heart, is bringing stuff to share with everyone.”

Cadence Quaranta has more from yesterday’s Eid al-Fitr in Lincolnwood here.

From the press box

• Rick Telander provides an update on former Bears lineman Steve McMichael’s fight with ALS while making a call for the legendary “Mongo” to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
• Former Bears center Olin Kreutz was fired by local sports media outlet CHGO after attacking colleague Adam Hoge yesterday in response to a flippant remark, sources told our Jeff Agrest.
• It’s North vs. South, Addison Street vs. 35th Street, blue vs. black, good vs. bad, bad vs. good. This week, we get another chapter in the Cubs vs. White Sox rivalry, Steve Greenberg writes.
• Days before their season opener, Sky star Candace Parker says the team needs to reinvent itself on the fly if it wants to compete for another championship.

Your daily question ☕

How do you feel about the mayor’s plan to build a casino in River West?

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: How do you think the Bears did in the NFL Draft over the weekend?

Here’s what some of you said…

“Loved the defense approach and the creativity to get additional draft picks.” — Omar Ramos

“On paper, I give GM Ryan Poles a B-, let’s see how these rookies play in the 2022 season. Go Bears.” — Pete Rodriguez

“I wish that they could have helped Justin Fields with some great wide receivers and offensive linemen but I guess this was the best that they could do. I hope Field can become that franchise QB that we’ve been looking forever for.” — Brad Baum

“Filled the best available positional needs. OL looks serviceable. A-.” — Shawn Mahoney

“I thought Poles did a fine job turning chicken s--- into chicken salad! Draft Grade B.” — De Aja Bradley

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