Highland Park shooting victim’s fight for survival, Larry Hoover’s bid to undo life sentence, more in your Chicago news roundup

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 partly sunny with a high near 84 degrees. Tonight will mostly cloudy with a chance of thunderstorms and a low near 70. Tomorrow will be cloudy — also with a chance of thunderstorms — and a high near 74.

Afternoon Edition

Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. Plus, a bonus issue on Saturdays that dives into the city’s storied history.

Email

Submit

By subscribing, you agree with Revue’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Top story

Highland Park Fourth of July mass shooting left boy, 8, in critical condition, his spinal cord severed

An 8-year-old boy remains in critical condition after a bullet from the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park severed his spine.

Cooper Roberts is in “critical but stable” condition at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital. After being shot in the chest at the parade, he was airlifted Monday after being initially treated at another hospital near the incident.

Cooper was with his mother Keely Roberts, Zion Elementary School District 6’s superintendent, who also was shot and is recovering, according to a statement from the family.

His twin brother Luke was treated for shrapnel wounds to a leg.

Cooper’s situation is more dire.

“After several surgeries, the little guy is fighting as hard as he can,” according to a GoFundMe set up to help the family pay medical costs. “His medical bills will be significant as will the therapy that will follow.”

Reporter Brett Chase has more on Cooper here.

More news you need

1. As the fallout of the Highland Park July 4 shooting continues, we’ve created a list of the seven victims killed by this horrible tragedy. While no person’s life can be captured in a single story, this list shows how each person lost was beloved by their family, friends and colleagues.
2. Larry Hoover, once labeled as “one of the most notorious criminals in Illinois history” has renewed his bid to undo the life sentence he’s serving in the federal supermax prison in Colorado. Hoover claims to have renounced the violent street gang Gangster Disciples that he once led.
3. A jury awarded a record $5.2 million to a woman who was told she had had a miscarriage only to realize later the baby was alive — but ultimately did not survive. The award is the highest reported in Illinois for a miscarriage case, our Mitch Dudek reports.
4. Mayor Lori Lightfoot will lead an 18-member delegation of city officials and business leaders to London and Paris next week on a five-day trip to pitch Chicago as a great place to do business. Our Fran Spielman has more on the mayor’s goals for the trip here.
5. In his latest column, Neil Steinberg sits down with Robert Feder, who after decades spent as a trusted chronicler of Chicago media, retired this week. Chicago is losing a keen, experienced eye — watching the watchmen, Steinberg writes.
6. Actor James Caan, known for his roles in “The Godfather” and beloved Chicago-set movies such as “Brian’s Song” and “Theft” has died. He was 82.
7. A new vehicle charging station was unveiled today in Bronzeville — the first of five ComEd has committed to installing in the area. It’s part of the utility’s plan to invest millions in getting Illinois drivers to switch to electric-powered vehicles.
8. Mayor Lightfoot has apparently given NASCAR the green flag to hold three straight years of stock-car races through the streets of downtown Chicago — if she wins a second term. The Athletic disclosed the apparent agreement between the Lightfoot administration and NASCAR with no mention of the specific route.

A bright one

Club 100 members — age 100 and older — get to attend White Sox game

Longtime Chicago White Sox fan Fredonia Bey had never been to the team’s stadium to watch them play before.

“I’ve only watched them on television, heard about them on the radio or talked about them in conversations,” Bey, 100, said.

That changed yesterday, however, when she was finally able to get the in-person baseball game experience and see the White Sox play against the Minnesota Twins.

“It’s a real treat,” Bey said.

Bey and three other women, who live in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, were able to see yesterday’s game, thanks to the White Sox communications team and community activist Andrew Holmes, who is also the executive director of Club 100, an organization that celebrates people living in the Chicagoland area who are 100 and older.

Jordan Perkins/Sun-Times

Club 100 members Callie Lott, 102, Clara Washington, 102, and Juanita Mitchell, 110, arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field in custom White Sox t-shirts that displayed the team’s logo and had their names and ages embroidered on them. The women also received free Sox hats from the team.

Holmes said he started Club 100 almost nine years ago because he found that some people in assisted living facilities had family members who did not visit them often, or they had no living relatives. So he started the club as a way to get them out of their residences to enjoy outings and even throw birthday parties for them.

Mary Muse, who attended the game with her mother, Juanita Mitchell, said her mother was no stranger to the Sox’s home field, as Mitchell and her late husband were longtime Sox fans.

After more than 30 years, she took in a Sox game in person yesterday, Muse said. “This is her first time in quite a while being at the stadium since my father passed,” she said.

Jordan Perkins has more with the Club 100 members here.

From the press box

• Bears wide receiver David Moore was reportedly arrested on drug and weapons charges in Texas. He is the third Bears player arrested since Ryan Poles was hired as GM in January.
• White Sox CF Luis Robert told our Daryl Van Schouwen that he’s striving to be an everyday player.
• Outfielder Oscar Colas will be the Sox’ sole representative in the Futures Game on July 16 at Dodger Stadium.
• The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong has been selected for the 2022 MLB All-Star Futures Game.
• Joe Henricksen looks back on June’s breakout high school basketball teams and players.
• Ahead of tonight’s NHL draft, the Blackhawks are still trying to trade into the first round.

Your daily question ☕

What is the greatest Chicago-set movie of all time? Tell us why.

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

Yesterday, we asked you: Have recent local and national tragedies changed how you feel about large gatherings?

Here’s what some of you said…

“Nope! I was already scared from previous shootings, so just confirms my fears.” — Colleen O’Donnell-Pitts

“Yes. I did not attend the fireworks at Gilsen Park in Wilmette because I felt the crowd was too large. I let my boys and wife go but it will not happen again.” — Chuck Feeney

“If we give in, they win.” — Hilda Emperado

“It does stop me, yes. Even before the Highland Park parade shooting, I’d stopped going to large outside gatherings — Millennium Park, Taste of Chicago, even Ravinia. Gun violence is too volatile and too dangerous and no one seems to have an effective solution to control the problem. Everything is political these days, meanwhile, people are getting killed...” — Darlene Gordon

“No, always be careful but I’m from West Pullman, been dealing with this for decades.” — Charles W. Johnson

“I hate that the first thing I do at every venue and event is to search out the emergency exits, not for fear of fire, but out of fear of firearms.” — Alyssa Hart

“It is very scary that it can happen anywhere — but I say we still have to keep living our lives and just be very cautious.” — Myrna Kar

Thanks for reading the Chicago Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.