Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
We’re in the midst of another hot one, with today’s high forecast to reach about 100 degrees, and heat index values projected to be as high as 116 degrees.
That’s hot hot weather — and it comes just a day after Wednesday’s record-setting temps.
But there’s some relief in sight. Things should gradually cool down tonight, leading to a weekend of temps in the mid-70s.
Until then, stay cool, hydrated and think chilly thoughts.
Now here are the stories you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
New details on little-known Obama Presidential Library, tucked away in Hoffman Estates
Reporting by Lynn Sweet
Where’s Obama’s library?: The temporary home of the Barack Obama Presidential Library is inside a nondescript Hoffman Estates warehouse. There, National Archives and Records Administration workers are digitizing artifacts from Obama’s two terms.
A first for the nation: When administration’s work of digitizing the estimated 25 million unclassified documents and 35,000 physical artifacts is done, the Obama library won’t exist as a permanent building. Instead, it will be the first virtual presidential library. The plan is to move the physical items into storage at the administration’s facilities.
What’s happening in Chicago: The Obama Presidential Center, now under construction in Jackson Park, is owned and operated by the Obama Presidential Foundation and will have a museum and other structures — but no official presidential library run by the National Archives and Records Administration. While an official presidential library was a selling point when city officials were asked to give up 19.3 acres in historic Jackson Park for the Obama campus, instead, the Obama complex will include one building to house a Chicago Public Library branch.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
The Logan Square Farmers Market has been canceled Sunday.
Anthony Jackson/For The Sun-Times
- No Logan Square Farmers Market Sunday: The market is canceled Sunday for the first time in its history as organizers struggle to safely incorporate a slew of unauthorized vendors who’ve set up around the official market.
- Longtime Madigan associate convicted: Timothy Mapes, the longtime chief of staff for former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, was found guilty on perjury and attempted obstruction of justice charges in federal court Thursday.
- Long COVID detected even after negative test: Potentially millions of people across the U.S. showed so-called ”long COVID” symptoms in 2020 even though they initially tested negative for the virus back then, Northwestern University researchers found.
- Number of unhoused Chicagoans spiked in 2021: About 68,440 people were unhoused in Chicago in 2021, with a sharp jump in the number of people living on the streets or in shelters, according to a report released today by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
- Outreach to city’s homeless encampments lauded: In a new audit, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg examined the city’s “accelerated moving events,” which occur when residents of encampments of unhoused people ”complete all the steps required” to get housing and support services in one day. The report found that the city is spending city dollars wisely and with sensitivity — but it’s “only a piece of the city’s response to homelessness.”
- The next act for city’s former transportation chief: Former Chicago Transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi will join Studio Gang as principal of urbanism, leading the architecture firm’s planning and urban design work nationally, the firm announced Thursday.
- Local musician hosts music fest: Lili Trifilio, who fronts Chicago band Beach Bunny, is throwing a one-day music festival tonight at the Salt Shed. “Pool Party” will feature artists including Chicago’s Squirrel Flower, New Zealand’s the Beths and more. But apparently, it will not feature a pool.
OUR CITY IN COLOR 🎨
Brandin Hurley’s mural at Lower Michigan and Grand Avenue.
Robert Herguth/Sun-Times
Reporting by Robert Herguth
The ancient Celtic goddess Danu was said to have a connection to “fertility, bounty, plenty, prosperity, wind, rivers, water, wells, wisdom and inspiration.”
Chicago artist Brandin Hurley drew inspiration from Danu for a mural that went up in November on Grand Avenue near Lower Michigan Avenue.
Done at the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, the centerpiece of the artwork is the face of a woman whose hair seems to explode into a bouquet of flowers, with birds, butterflies and bees fluttering about.
“I took inspiration from the connection to the natural world as portrayed by nature goddesses, particularly Danu,” Hurley says. “This connection was interesting for me to explore, as it allowed me to reach back to my family’s Irish roots.
Rather than being painted directly on the wall, Hurley says, the mural was printed onto vinyl that was then adhered to the surface.
“I do my best to live in harmony and connection with the natural world, and thinking of my ancestors doing the same was a comforting place to be as I designed this piece,” Hurley says.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Evans Scholarship recipient Diana Llamas and golf pro Viktor Hovland at last weekend’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club
Western Golf Association
Pro’s hole-in-one scores a full-ride scholarship for Northwest Side caddie
Reporting by Mohammad Samra
In February, high school senior Diana Llamas wasn’t sure she could afford to go to college. She had applied for scholarships and pondered taking a gap year to work.
A hole-in-one from pro golfer Viktor Hovland at the 2022 BMW Championship in Delaware changed her life.
Llamas, 18, was a senior at Francis W. Parker School in Lincoln Park when she found out she had been selected to receive an Evans Scholarship, which provides tuition and housing for qualified caddies across the country. Llamas had a list of 24 universities to choose from and selected the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She started classes this month.
Llamas was picked using the scholarship’s four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character. The scholarship, established by amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr., covers full housing and tuition and is valued at an estimated $125,000 over four years, according to the Western Golf Association.
During the BMW Championship, the automaker contributes a full, four-year Evans Scholarship on behalf of the first player to sink a hole-in-one during championship play.
“I was relieved and excited because if it weren’t for a full ride, I wouldn’t be able to go to college,” Llamas told the Sun-Times.
Last weekend, at Olympia Fields North Course, Llamas met Hovland for the first time.
She described the Norwegian as a “really nice and chill person,” adding that she was nervous going into the meeting.
“It felt amazing, just knowing why I was there, knowing I was a hole-in-one scholar and knowing what he did to change my life,” Llamas said.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Finish this sentence: In Chicago, it’s hotter than _________.
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
