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.
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Top story
Highland Park parade mass shooting haunts return to school for traumatized kids, parents
When the first shots were fired at the Highland Park Fourth of July parade, Dana Ruder Ring remembers barking orders like a drill sergeant, guiding her young children to safety.
“I was screaming, ‘Eyes straight, eyes down, eyes straight,’ ” Ruder Ring said, not noticing that a bullet fragment had hit her foot. “I was so nervous that, if they saw what was happening around us, any more than just focusing on what I was telling them to do immediately, that any added delay would mean the worst for us.”
She and her husband Greg got their 8-year-old twins Jackson and Zoe and 4-year-old daughter Millie safely home.
But they couldn’t protect them from what they saw and heard when a gunman fired two bursts of semi-automatic gunfire from a rooftop, killing seven people and wounding 48, including eight children.
The twins still have panic attacks, Ruder Ring said. About a week or so ago, her son suddenly said, “I am so scared right now, I don’t know why ... I haven’t felt this scared since we were at the parade.”
Like many parents in Highland Park and the surrounding area traumatized by the shooting, Ruder Ring worries how she and her children can return to the normal life of school days.
“It’s strange to even think about getting prepared for a school year, realizing that this sort of thing doesn’t ever necessarily leave you or stop affecting you by a certain date,” she said.
Starting Wednesday, Ruder Ring’s twins will be going to Braeside Elementary School, the same school and the same grade as their friend Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old who was shot in the abdomen at the parade and was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Read Sophie Sherry’s full story here.
More news you need
- A new school year in Chicago kicked off today with the first day of classes for CPS. Stefano Esposito spoke to parents and students on the big day.
- How do you stop thieves from stealing catalytic converters off vehicles? Chicago police have an idea: Paint them pink. On Sept. 11, police in the 14th District, which covers Logan Square and Wicker Park, are offering to paint residents’ converters pink as part of an effort to deter thefts.
- A Chicago police recruit was arrested over the weekend after she allegedly attacked a Schiller Park cop during a traffic stop in the northwest suburb, authorities say. The Schiller Park officer opted not to pursue criminal charges.
- After Darren Bailey called Chicago a “hellhole” last week, residents took to social media to take jabs at the comment by showing off the city’s beauty. Chicagoans clearly do not agree with the GOP candidate’s assessment.
- Woodlawn could see significant development under a plan by the Apostolic Church of God, which owns eight acres in the neighborhood near 63rd Street and Dorchester Avenue. The church wants to offer ground leases to allow for construction of new buildings as part of a redevelopment plan that could cost as much as $800 million.
A bright one
Loyola Red Line plaza renamed for ‘world famous’ Sister Jean on her 103rd birthday
When new students step off the Red Line to make their way to Loyola University Chicago’s Rogers Park campus, they’ll be greeted with a reminder of the school’s most recognizable figure.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, celebrated her 103rd birthday on Sunday with a clout-heavy bash and a dedication at the Loyola Red Line plaza, which was renamed in her honor. The area is now marked by a large sign as the “Home of the world famous Sister Jean.”
She greeted fans, accepted gifts and hobnobbed with Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Ald. Maria Hadden (49th).
“She really kind of ascended kind of the craziness and the fun of March Madness and just was this icon for goodness,” Lightfoot said. “Sister Jean, I think, really awakened the spirit in the city.”
Sister Jean first rose to fame during the Loyola men’s basketball team’s historic 2018 NCAA tournament run, when it smashed the odds and busted brackets en route to the Final Four. While she has long been a celebrity on campus, Sister Jean has more recently cemented herself as a widely known symbol of both the school and the city.
“We showed her the copy for the plaque,” said Jane Neufeld, who works in Loyola’s advancement office and used to head student development. “It said ‘national celebrity.’ She corrected us to say ‘world famous.’”
Mary Norkol has more from the celebration here.
From the press box
- White Sox starting pitcher Michael Kopech left the team’s game against the Royals this afternoon with a sore left knee.
- Meanwhile at the minor league level, the White Sox are aiming to innovate on their development process with “Project Birmingham,” an endeavor that’ll see many of the team’s top prospects promoted to the Double-A level for the final weeks of the season.
- Joe Henricksen on what the return of top talent Jeremy Fears Jr. to Joliet West means for the area’s high school basketball scene.
- The Sky’s James Wade has been named the WNBA’s Basketball Executive of the Year.
Your daily question ☕
How do you feel about the early start to the school year for Chicago Public Schools?
Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.
On Friday, we asked you: What’s something Chicago does better than anywhere else? Here’s what some of you said...
“Chicago does hot dogs and pizza better than any other place in the world!” — Todd Ekstrom
“Free cultural events for its people throughout the year. I’m a lifelong Chicagoan and lived in Boston for a few years before moving back here during the pandemic. The lack of great free things to go to organized by the cities of Boston/Cambridge/Somerville was mind boggling.” — Gordon Bentley
“By far and away Chicago is better than any other place in the world at: lakefront trails, parks, hot dogs, pizza and corrupt politicians.” — Gene Tenner
“Union labor.” — Bill Truty
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