Chicago family sues after separation at border, meeting the mayoral candidates 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.

— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)

This afternoon will be sunny with a high near 27 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low near 17. Tomorrow will be a little cloudy with a high near 29.

Top story

Chicago family files federal lawsuit following separation at border

Nearly five years after Selvin Argueta and his then-teenage son began a journey to leave their native Guatemala to seek asylum, there’s still a part of him that feels like he hasn’t recovered from it.

Hours after turning themselves over to U.S. immigration agents, he and his eldest son, Selvin Najera, who was a minor in May 2018, were separated without much explanation. It would be more than a year and half before the father and son would see each other again.

“There’s still a wound in your heart,” Argueta said in Spanish this week. “We don’t want it to happen to anyone else because it was a very difficult moment and no one — as a human — deserves it.”

Argueta and his son, who is now 21 years old, said they don’t want any other family to go through what they experienced. It’s one of the reasons why they filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court against the government to seek monetary damages for their separation and detention. The lawsuit alleges claims of intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, abuse of process and harboring a minor.

Their separation was prompted by a so-called zero-tolerance policy instituted by former President Donald Trump’s administration that sought to prosecute any adult crossing the border for illegal entry. If the adult had a child with them, they were separated and taken into custody by Health and Human Services, the Associated Press previously reported.

Argueta, who has since been reunited with his other six children and wife, and his son are now living in Chicago as their asylum case snakes through immigration court. Argueta and his son are represented in the recently filed lawsuit by the University of Chicago Law School’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic.

The lawsuit is part of a wave of similar litigation happening across the country from parents who were separated from their children during that time period, said Jace Lee, one of the student attorneys representing the family. The family is also represented by attorney Nicole Hallett, director of the law clinic. Lee said families have tried unsuccessfully to settle their claims with the government, which is why some like Argueta are moving forward with the federal lawsuits.

Allison O’Connor, another student attorney representing the Argueta family, said they expect the government will try to have the lawsuit dismissed, but they see it as a way to hold government entities accountable for the separation.

“It was such a traumatic experience,” O’Connor said. “It was also a really dehumanizing experience. They often talk about how shocked they felt that they were treated like criminals.”

Elvia Malagón has more on the lawsuit here.

More news you need

• Surveillance footage released yesterday shows Chicago police officer Enrique Delgado Fernandez repeatedly punching a man in a holding cell more than three years ago. The video was released by activist William Calloway, who called for the firing of the officer and his partner in the beating of Damien Stewart in May of 2019.
• A former Chicago police officer is facing felony charges for allegedly getting out of paying dozens of tickets by repeatedly claiming his car had been stolen. Jeffrey Kriv backed up his false claims with fake documents, an investigation by the city’s Office of the Inspector General found. In all, Kriv avoided paying $3,665 in fines to the city, prosecutors said yesterday.
• A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted Thomas Girardi, the lawyer husband of embattled “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne. Girardi, 83, is charged with allegedly stealing more than $3 million in legal settlement money from family members of Lion Air Flight 610 crash victims.
• Chicagoan Joseph Pavlik, 65, is facing federal criminal charges for allegedly participating in an hours-long siege during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Our Jon Seidel has more on the charges facing Pavlik here.
• Gov. J.B. Pritzker yesterday announced the end of the state’s COVID-19 disaster proclamation — almost three years after first declaring a public health emergency in Illinois during the early surge of the pandemic. Pritzker’s decision piggybacks on the White House’s announcement on Monday that it will end the COVID national and public health emergencies on May 11. Illinois’ public health emergency declaration will also end that day. But Pritzker also warned that the pandemic isn’t quite over.
• A staff member has been removed from Theodore Roosevelt High School in Albany Park following a physical altercation with a student, according to Chicago Public Schools. The video appears to show a staff member grabbing a student by the neck and shoving him to the ground. The staff member has been removed as a probe is conducted.
• The FTC today fined the medication discount company GoodRx $1.5 million for sharing data on its users’ medications and illnesses with companies such as Facebook and Google without permission. It’s the first time that a proposed FTC consent order is seeking to prohibit a company from sharing user health data with third parties for advertising purposes.
• Owners of certain Kia and Hyundai models are being denied insurance policies by companies like State Farm and Progressive due to a steep rise in thefts of the vehicles. Chicago is one of the cities that has seen a spike in thefts. The Sheriff’s Department has said that videos on TikTok and YouTube show thieves how to start the cars without keys.
• In a testy debate between the nine mayoral candidates last night, businessman Willie Wilson was targeted for his repeated calls for police to be allowed to “hunt people down like rabbits.” Wilson made no apologies, saying anyone who kills someone, “well, they put themselves down there.”
• The Little Village Discount Mall will stay open until at least Feb. 16, when vendors, city officials and the mall’s owner will meet to discuss a plan for the future of the site, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) announced yesterday. The announcement comes a day before the mall, which includes nearly 100 vendors who pay rent to sell their merchandise, was set to shut its doors.
• Concessions workers at the United Center have overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike that could start anytime. The labor dispute hits during a busy time in the West Side stadium’s calendar, with a strike potentially affecting 700 employees.
• Beyoncé announced the dates for her Renaissance World Tour, which kicks off in Stockholm, Sweden, in May, and includes a stop in Chicago on July 22 at Soldier Field. Our Miriam Di Nunzio has more on the tour and process for getting tickets here.

Elections 2023

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

As we enter the final weeks leading up to the Feb. 28 election, WBEZ and the Sun-Times are continuing to roll out valuable tools to keep you informed as you prepare to make your voice heard. At our election hub, you’ll find a quiz that’ll pairs you with the candidate who aligns with your values, a mock up of what your ballot will look like and much more.

Today, we’ve published profiles of each of the nine candidates — along with video interviews — to help you get to know them better.

• State Rep. Kam Buckner
• U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia
• Ja’Mal Green
• Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson
• Ald. Sophia King
• Mayor Lori Lightfoot
• Ald. Roderick Sawyer
• Willie Wilson
• Former CPS CEO Paul Vallas

A bright one

Chicago’s South Side is heart — and soul — of Lyric Opera’s ‘Factotum’

About five years ago, after watching a documentary several times about the hugely successful Broadway musical “Rent,” loosely based on Puccini’s iconic opera “La Bohème,” noted baritone Will Liverman got an idea. Why not update “The Barber of Seville,” another celebrated historical opera, and set it in a contemporary Black barber shop?

“The Factotum,” the resulting work, which Liverman created with producer/DJ/multi-instrumentalist DJ King Rico, opens at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance on Feb. 3 — the first of two world premieres this season presented by Lyric Opera of Chicago.

“People know the experiences in the barber shop and have lived that,” said Liverman, whose baritone is a familiar presence on the Lyric stage, “and so we wanted to create something that was accessible in that way and was a story that we had a perspective on.”

The opera is among the first with an entirely Black and BIPOC cast and creative team, and it is the first to incorporate an onstage DJ as part of its innovative 18-piece orchestration, which includes electronic keyboards and electric bass and guitar.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

“It speaks to what people want in the world of opera,” said Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj, co-book writer, dramaturg and director. “We’ve tapped into a way to make opera important, urgent, entertaining and exciting for folks who love opera and those who’ve never experienced it.”

Liverman, who grew up in Virginia Beach, Va., and now lives in Chicago, has always been interested in composition and enthralled by theater. Although hesitant at first to dive into operatic conception, the singer took his idea for a revamped “Barber of Seville” to Rico, a childhood friend. They both discovered opera through a program in Virginia known as the Governor’s School for the Arts that ran parallel to their traditional high-school curriculum.

Rico didn’t need much convincing to sign on.

“Carving out space for our stories to be told is always something that is appealing to me,” he said, “and using the art form of opera, there are so many intricacies that you can pull from — the costumes, lighting, design and obviously the music.”

Kyle MacMillan has more with the cast of “The Factotum” here.

From the press box

• Down I-57, broadcaster Loren Tate is in Year 57 covering University of Illinois basketball and football. “This is the way I live,” he said, and what a life and career it has been. Steve Greenberg has more on Tate.
• How much do the Bears want Justin Fields to run? Jason Lieser on the coaching staff’s aim to find the right balance this offseason.
• Joe Cowley has the latest on the slumping Bulls ahead of the trade deadline.
• The Sky and star guard Courtney Vandersloot are parting ways after 12 seasons.

Your daily question☕

In honor of the first day of Black History Month, what is your favorite local, Black-owned small business? 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: What’s something about Chicago winters that’s actually underrated? Here’s what some of you said...

“The kindness of strangers volunteering to push stuck cars.” — Tony Fernandez

“The beauty of the ice as it builds up on things. Nature can take an ordinary object and turn it into art!” — Bobette Staley

“I must admit the city does a great job keeping the main streets plowed.” — Heidi Sommer

“Regardless of the temperature outside, the food scene and nightlife continue!” — Mark Anthony

“Great views of the lake when the ice forms.” — Nick Esposito

“The ability of Chicago’s snow removal crews to keep the roads open.” — Howard Sims

“The quiet when it snows.” — Trudee Manderfield

“Midwest hospitality! People are so nice! More than usual when it’s so cold in the city.” — Sarah Dunlap

“That look you have between others standing on a train platform in subzero temps with high winds, pure empathy and encouragement. I’ve never felt so much understanding from making eye contact with strangers than that.” — Samantha Hartsfield Jahnke

“How gorgeous the ice is along the lakefront as wind, water, and cold temps create natural works of art.” — Dorothy Desouzaguedes

“Bird watching on the lakefront.” — Michael Sewall

“When it’s cold yet sunny.” — Jackie Waldhier

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