Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
And happy Presidents Day.
Did you know Chicago has hosted more party conventions than any other city?
From the Republican convention in 1860, which nominated Abraham Lincoln, to this year’s upcoming Democratic National Convention, the Windy City and the nation’s commanders-in-chief have a long history together.
In the spirit of the holiday, here’s a list of the city’s connections with the nation’s presidents. Break it out at your next trivia night.
But first, we’re talking monarch butterfly migration, which could be in jeopardy due to climate change and extreme weather. We also have the steps you can take to help.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on an art installation marking the opening of a new Chatham retail spot, an interview with Grammy Award-winning artist Jon Batiste ahead of his sold-out show at the Riviera Theatre, and the community news you need to know this afternoon. 👇
— Katie Anthony (@katiejanthony) and Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)
⏱️: A 7-minute read
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Monarch butterfly’s long reign as everyday Chicago summer treat could flutter away
Reporting by Audrey Hettleman
Monarchs in danger: The monarch butterfly’s famed summertime visits to Chicago could be in jeopardy thanks to climate change and extreme weather. Researchers in Mexico have observed a steep decline in the butterfly population ahead of its spring migration. Experts now worry those environmental factors could lead to the loss of the insect’s famed migration path altogether.
Migration numbers dwindling: This winter marked the second-lowest number of migratory monarch butterflies since record-keeping began in 1993. The pollinator completes the longest known insect migration each year, leaving northern climates in the United States and Canada for Mexico and California every winter. The monarch, the state insect of Illinois, already faces threats such as pesticide use and habitat loss that have contributed to its low migration numbers.
How you can help: One of the best ways residents can support monarchs is by planting milkweed, the state wildflower. Milkweed is a main food source for the insects and the only plant upon which they’ll lay eggs.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Chicago’s presidential connections: With parks, school, statues, expressways and even a water-pumping station named for them, there are many ties between our city and the men who have served as president of the United States. In the spirit of today’s holiday, we take a look back.
- Doom spending: Confronted with economic upheaval, roughly 43% of Millennials and 35% of Gen Z are coping with their anxiety by “doom spending,” according to a recent survey of Americans. One local financial adviser told the Sun-Times many consumers she talks to don’t have hope they can achieve the American dream.
- Holiday heist: An 83-year-old man who already served more than 30 years in prison for robbing banks has again been charged with a string of suburban bank robberies that culminated in a heist on Valentine’s Day.
- School of Art Institute’s new president: Jiseon Lee Isbara will be the next president of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago after a national search, making her the first woman of color and the second woman to serve as president in SAIC’s 158-year history.
- Pedro Grifol’s Sox camp optimism: While most everybody expects very little from a team that finished 40 games below .500 last season, the White Sox manager has stood up after all five days of spring training and essentially declared his team is 5-0, Daryl Van Schouwen writes.
- The Bellinger waiting game: Will the Cubs be able to get a deal done to bring back free agent Cody Bellinger? “We’re just waiting,” Tom Ricketts said Monday, the Cubs’ first day of full squad workouts. “Waiting for whenever he and his agent [Scott Boras] are going to engage. And it could be anytime now, or it could be a few weeks, we’ll just see where it goes.”
- Talking mental health: Award-winning actor Courtney B. Vance talked on Saturday about his most recent written work, “The Invisible Ache: Black Men Identifying Their Pain and Reclaiming Their Power,” at the University of Chicago’s Black Men’s Mental Health and Wellness Symposium.
- 4 stars for ‘The Band’s Visit’: This intimate, intensely engaging production at Writers Theater pulls you in to the characters’ world and you don’t want to leave, writes Steven Oxman in a review for the Sun-Times.
EXPLORING THE CITY 🖌️
‘Unsung Heroes’ art installation of current South Siders to open at new Chatham retail spot
Reporting by Mariah Rush
Soft and shiny gold-flecked papers are carefully arranged on nearly completed painted canvases by artist Kristen Williams on Thursday. Williams’ painting studio is tucked in the back of the newest addition to Chatham and “Mahalia’s Mile” on 79th Street.
The artist is the manager of the area’s new retail store, Mahalia’s, named for the former Chatham resident and legendary singer Mahalia Jackson.
The canvases Williams has been poring over for a year form a painting series called “Unsung Heroes,” which will be unveiled Saturday at a reception at the store at 735 E. 79th St.
The paintings, whose particulars Williams hopes to keep a surprise before the reception, include “Chathamites” who are Black business owners currently living in the neighborhood.
“It’s portraits and paintings of some of the notable dignitaries and people who have owned businesses and community leaders who have made a difference in Chatham,” Williams said.
The “Unsung Heroes” art installation, in the works for a year, was initially scheduled to be done earlier, but Williams decided Black History Month would make a good time to celebrate beloved Chatham residents.
“People love their historical notable [people], but this is able to honor these residents while they are still living, here and now,” said Nedra Fears, executive director of the Greater Chatham Initiative.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Even without new trophies, Jon Batiste still won at this year’s Grammy’s
Reporting by Selena Fragassi
This year’s Grammy Awards looked very different for Jon Batiste than they did two years ago, when he nearly swept the 2022 ceremony for his powerhouse jazz/R&B/soul pop fusion record “We Are.”
Though it was a real underdog for album of the year, it got the award anyway, further putting the New Orleans-reared music man on the map — just as he was stepping out of the shadows of being the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” bandleader and finding mainstream recognition, particularly after the success of his music for the 2020 animated film “Soul.”
So, the fact that Batiste walked away empty-handed during the 2024 ceremony after his latest masterpiece, “World Music Radio,” was nominated and lost six times was a shocker if there ever was one. Yet, the 37-year-old musician still believes, “We won.”
He posted as much on Xnot long after the Feb. 4 telecast, alongside photos and videos with wife, Suleika Jaouad, whose presence was the real victory. The acclaimed writer missed being with her husband on the red carpet the first time while she was battling a recurrence of leukemia.
“We didn’t know throughout all this time whether she was even going to make it … so if you can just imagine the person you love most in the world by your side after going through the hardest times you’ve ever had, that’s what the Grammys were like for me,” Batiste shared with the Sun-Times in a recent interview.
The highs and lows Batiste has experienced the past few years have only reaffirmed his belief in the power of music. “I’ve always believed in music to change your life and to change the lives of other people, but music and creativity as an act of survival is a lesson we took from this,” Batiste said, “it was a way for us to convene in some of the darkest times.”
This month, Batiste is embarking on another feat, his first-ever headline trek, which heads to the Riviera for a sold-out show on Saturday.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
What’s a place in Chicago that, no matter how many times you’ve been, never gets old for you? Tell us why.
Email us (please include your first and last name). To see the answers to this question, check our Morning Edition newsletter. Not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you won’t miss a thing!
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Editor: Satchel Price
Written by: Katie Anthony and Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
