Why the assault weapons ban might not hold up in court, the Gaming Board’s about-face and more in your Chicago news roundup

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a five-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

This afternoon will be cloudy with some snow showers and a high near 32 degrees. Tonight will also be mostly cloudy with a low near 25. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 36. Sunday is expected to be partly sunny with a high near 48.

Top story

Why Illinois’ new assault weapons ban might not hold up in court

Illinois’ new assault weapons ban is only days old, but it’s already on uncertain legal footing.

Republican lawmakers and gun shop owners say so. But so do constitutional law scholars.

Illinois Democrats who crafted the legislation — which took effect Tuesday and was enacted in response to the Highland Park Fourth of July parade mass shooting in which seven people were killed — say they’ve balanced safety concerns with Second Amendment arguments over individuals’ right to bear arms.

But a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year could upend the new law and other gun restrictions elsewhere, legal scholars say. In that ruling, justices said lower-court judges no longer can decide on the constitutionality of gun laws on the basis of modern concerns about public safety.

“The Supreme Court has completely transformed the way Second Amendment cases get litigated,” said Eric Ruben, a Southern Methodist University assistant law professor who focuses on gun issues.

Illinois is the ninth state to have passed a law banning assault weapons. Legal challenges to bans in California and Maryland are pending before federal appeals courts and would be the most likely ones to be heard by the Supreme Court, according to Andrew Willinger, executive director of the Duke Center for Firearms Law. Willinger said he thinks a Supreme Court vote on the constitutionality of assault weapons bans would be “a close one.”

“It seems highly likely there would be justices inclined to strike down” an assault weapons ban, Ruben said. “Whether there are five” — the number needed for the necessary majority — “is another question.”

There is also the question of if law enforcement agencies would enforce the ban.

“I would assume that someone soon will be filing a suit against the state of Illinois, alleging that this law violates the 2nd amendment of the U.S. Constitution, similar to the passage of the Safe-T Act, and it will be sent to the Supreme Court to decide on the constitutionality of the new law,” Greene County Sheriff Robert McMillen wrote. “Until that happens, and the constitutionality issue is decided, I am going to follow my morals, beliefs and obligations concerning protecting the rights of Greene County’s citizens.”

Ruben said there has been a similar response elsewhere. When New York banned assault weapons in 2013, sheriffs staged a revolt against that law, he said.

“The constitutionality is one thing,” Ruben said. “Law enforcement, in many ways, is going to be an even bigger issue here.”

Frank Main and Tina Sfondeles have more on the potential challenges facing the ban here.

More news you need

1. Gun violence on Chicago-area expressways declined in 2022 compared to the prior year, according to the Illinois State Police. Three people were killed in expressway shootings last year across the city compared to the 24 who died in 2021, police said.
2. After his daughter was accidentally shot during a firearm safety class — just months after he accidentally shot himself while cleaning a gun — doubts are being raised about Ald. Derrick Curtis’ skills as a firearm instructor. Our Andy Grimm on what gun instructors are saying here.
3. Federal authorities are probing a massive Illinois contract that provides health care to 36,700 foster children in response to an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project published by the Sun-Times in November. Insurance powerhouse Centene Corp. often failed to deliver basic medical care from dental visits to immunizations, the investigation found. Illinois Answers Project’s David Jackson and Rachel Hinton have more here.
4. More than 100 Woodlawn residents attended a community meeting last night to share their frustrations with the city’s plan to turn the former James Wadsworth Elementary School into a temporary shelter for new immigrants. “What about the people who have been here?” asked one longtime resident. “Why is it just now that it’s being fixed up?”
5. The Illinois Gaming Board recently OK’d a gaming license for clout-heavy lawyer James J. Banks — two years after denying Banks another coveted and potentially lucrative license. Our Tim Novak and Robert Herguth look into the board’s change of heart here.
6. RUSH University Medical Center today unveiled a new cancer and neuroscience facility set to open Feb. 7. The $450 million, 500,000-square-foot outpatient facility is being billed as a high-tech, one-stop outpatient treatment center for cancer, as well as neurological and digestive disorders.
7. A national recall has just been announced again for inclined sleepers for infants, products that were pulled off the market in 2019 and banned by Congress after being designated a safety hazard. The repeat announcement comes after 12 more babies died in inclined sleeper incidents. Our Stephanie Zimmermann has more here.
8. The Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative plans to build a walkable village in West Garfield Park, and its project will get $10 million from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation as part of the foundation’s 2022 Chicago Prize. The Sankofa Wellness Village will allow residents to be no more than 15 minutes from what they need — from health care and groceries to arts and entertainment.
9. Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to turn the “monoculture” of offices along Chicago’s historic La Salle Street into a “mixed-use corridor” where people live, work and play took a step forward yesterday. The City Council’s Finance Committee approved a $5 million grant program to entice neighborhood restaurants and “cultural” establishments to open new locations on the ground floors of La Salle Street buildings with high vacancy rates.
10. The Commission on Chicago Landmarks unanimously recommended yesterday that Promontory Point becomes an official city landmark. City parks officials assured residents that if the Point becomes a landmark after a City Council vote this spring, its historic limestone revetments will be preserved.

A bright one

Lane Tech sophomore is Chicago’s only national master chess player under 18

Chess is not considered a typical teenage pastime, but it has earned Lane Tech College Prep High School sophomore Avi Kaplan national recognition and confidence.

Kaplan, 16, is the highest-rated chess player in Chicago Public Schools. He earned his national master’s title at the 30th Annual Midwest Class Championship, which was held Oct. 7–9, 2022, in Wheeling.

Anyone who achieves a U.S. Chess Federation rating of 2,200 is awarded the title of “national master” by the federation.

Kaplan, a longtime chess player, earned the rare title from the USCF, an accomplishment attained by less than 2% of rated chess players. Kaplan is Chicago’s only master player under the age of 18.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

Dan Lucas, senior director of strategic communications for the U.S. Chess Federation, says it is unusual for anyone, let alone a teenager, to achieve the national master title.

“Only 1.8% of all active players are masters, and only 10.8% of these masters are under the age of 18,” Lucas said.

Kaplan received the national master title after a decade playing chess. He began playing in first grade and has been practicing ever since.

“Chess has helped me gain confidence,” Kaplan said. “The confidence it gave me has made me a better player and person because your game is never perfect; it taught me that there is always room to learn.”

Vanessa Lopez has more with Kaplan here.

From the press box

• The Blackhawks, who won their third straight game last night, sent young forward Lukas Reichel back to the AHL earlier today.
• What grade would you give Matt Eberflus for his first season? What should the Bears do with the No. 1 pick? We posed the biggest questions facing the Bears to our beat writers. Mark Potash gave Eberflus a “B-.” Patrick Finley was less impressed, giving Eberflus a “C-.” Jason Lieser gave him a “C.”
• On the high school basketball front, Joe Henricksen previews the weekend’s biggest games, including St. Ignatius vs. Loyola and Oswego East vs. Joliet West.

Your daily question☕

What’s something you think your alderperson could do to improve your neighborhood?

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

Yesterday we asked you: What do you think the city could do to address heavy traffic in Chicago?

Here’s what some of you said...

“The city needs to stop prioritizing cars and start seriously investing in pedestrians, trains, and dense residential near L stations. The more transit options we have, the fewer people will drive. Chicago deserves safe, green transit!” — Travis Root

“Red light cameras on LSD to slow down speeders and directly fund pensions; remove Streeterville stoplight at Chicago avenue; bring courtesy conductors back on all buses and trains to make them safer and as more efficient way to move around; distribute free regional transit cards for free; require drivers’ ed traffic test every five years to reinforce patient and defensive driving; encourage more work and home in-town housing.” — Thom Clark

“Invest in bringing the CTA back up to speed. It is deeply satisfying to watch the bumper-to-bumper crawl on 90 from a Blue Line train, less so when you first had to stand outside for 25 minutes waiting for the thing to show up in the first place.” — Priya Dugad

“Provide incentives for employers to fully support hybrid work schedules and remote, when feasible for job responsibilities. The more people that fully or partially WFH the less the congestion will be.” — Kathryn Ann

“We have to think outside the box. Have some kind of lottery-type incentive for people to use public transportation; maybe if you take a cellphone photo of you on a bus or train, you can enter a photo up to once a day toward a monthly drawing for prizes. Maybe it’ll get some fraction of gas-spewing traffic off the roads, along us all to - literally and figuratively - breathe easier.” — Paul Lockwood

“They should make an upper and lower Kennedy and Eisenhower expressway. Just like upper and lower Wacker.” — David LaPlaca

“Greater access to light rail and buses. Adequate security for both.” — Adam Alton

“Stagger office worker shifts by industry. The problem is everyone starts and gets off at the same times. I know that would take generations to change if it was even an option but something has got to give!” — JaVonne Jennings

“Synchronize the lights so that they have greens through all the lights versus having to stop in the middle of the intersections.” — Penelope Danos

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