Afternoon Briefing: Cook County to pay $15 million in civil rights settlement
County commissioners approved roughly $48 million in legal settlements today, including $7.45 million each to two men who won a record jury verdict after wrongfully spending 16 years behind bars.
John Fulton and Anthony Mitchell sued the Chicago Police Department and the county in 2020 alleging they were railroaded as teenagers and falsely confessed in 2003 to the murder and burning of Christopher Collazo. The two men won a record $60 million each in damages from a jury this March after successfully arguing they were the victims of a bogus murder investigation by police and Cook County prosecutors.
Here's what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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When Robert Francis Prevost spoke in Spanish to his crowd of supporters for the first time in St. Peter's Square last week, Edgewater resident Julio Fernandez said it made him tear up. 'I've lived in Chicago for many years. And that he is from both places makes me double proud,' Fernandez, 74, a retired doctor from northern Peru, said. Read more here.
More top news stories:
Parking meter company could get $15.5 million more from Chicago in settlement
State Rep. Fred Crespo ousted as committee chair for working on a separate budget plan
2 being questioned after boy, 4, critically hurt in McKinley Park drive-by shooting
The Chicago developer that was negotiating to buy the northern swath of the stalled Lincoln Yards megadevelopment site is now in talks to purchase the entire 53-acre tract, according to sources familiar with the deal. Read more here.
More top business stories:
Northbrook home once owned by former Chicago Bears player Jim McMahon being listed for sale
A rare warning from Walmart during a US trade war: Higher prices are inevitable
A soft part in the Cubs' schedule continues this weekend as they face off against the White Sox, who own the worst record in the American League. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
From many Ben Johnsons to Minecraft and Mario Kart: How NFL teams revealed their schedules on social media
Today in Chicago History: Rocky Marciano KO's Jersey Joe Walcott in first round of fight at Chicago Stadium
Andrew and Kelsey McClellan are sign painters and gold-leafing artists, practitioners of venerable art forms that were once so prominent here that the city was, without argument, the center of the sign-painting world but, after new machine technologies were introduced, all but extinct by the 1980s. Read more here.
More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:
The Hand & The Eye will be a new, $50 million magic theater off Magnificent Mile
Beyoncé is in town for 3 shows at Chicago's Soldier Field for her Cowboy Carter tour. Here's what to know.
Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Cardinal Robert Prevost presided over one of the most revolutionary reforms of Pope Francis' pontificate by having women serve on the Vatican board that vets nominations for bishops. But he also has said decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world:
Supreme Court could block Trump's birthright citizenship order but limit nationwide injunctions
Denver airport air traffic control went out for 6 minutes on Monday, report says
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For athletes expected to be heroes, mental health is a delicate topic
Ketel Marte, speaking Spanish and defending himself, stood up tall and straight while his eyes often wandered past the people he was addressing. He wore the look of a professional ballplayer: confident yet kind of distant, the square of his jaw chiseled as though by stainless steel. But his blank stare told another story.
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4 hours ago
- Politico
Illinois to Bondi: Sanctuary status stands firm
Good Thursday morning, Illinois. My, how the days go by. TOP TALKER SANCTUARY STANDOFF: Attorney General Pam Bondi has found a new foil: Democrat-led states and cities that follow 'sanctuary' policies. Her message to Gov. JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle was blunt: 'This ends now.' In letters sent to Illinois and leaders across the country, Bondi demanded they dismantle their sanctuary laws — or face prosecution. She gave leaders until Aug. 19 to prove they're 'complying with federal law' and to outline 'the immediate initiatives you are taking to eliminate laws, policies and practices that impede federal immigration enforcement.' Illinois lawmakers are politely disagreeing with her take. Ann Spillane, general counsel to the governor, responded with a lawyerly jab that was both polite and pointed. Illinois, she noted, has long worked with federal law enforcement on efforts that are 'critical to effective criminal law enforcement.' Then she poked: 'Unfortunately, based on recent events, we have not observed that type of coordination with local law enforcement in Washington, D.C., or Los Angeles, California.' At City Hall, Johnson's team said they first saw Bondi's letter floating around on social media. In a statement, the mayor's office emphasized the Chicago Police Department 'works every day to hold violent offenders accountable, regardless of their immigration status' and regularly partners with federal law enforcement 'on a wide variety of public safety efforts related to reducing violence and taking guns off our streets.' Johnson's office also pushed back at the White House, saying, 'the mayor has repeatedly called for additional federal funding for the programs that work to reduce violent crime, including the release of the $800M+ in funding for violence prevention that was recently cut by the Trump administration.' Bondi didn't let up on the drama. 'We're going to work with our other agencies to cut off their federal funding. We are going to send in law enforcement, just like we did during the L.A. riots, just like we're doing here in Washington, D.C.,' she told Fox Business. 'And if they're not going to keep their citizens safe, Donald Trump will keep them safe.' Hyperbole aside, the courts have repeatedly upheld the rights of states to take a pass on helping federal immigration officials unless they have a warrant looking for known criminals. A federal judge last month threw out the Trump administration's bid to force Illinois and Chicago to aid its mass deportation efforts, saying it would encroach on autonomy guaranteed to states under the Constitution. Chicago Ald. Andre Vasquez, who chairs the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights, called the Trump administration's actions an 'overreach,' adding, 'Even if the court says that they can't do something, it doesn't mean they'll follow what the court says.' 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He has advocated for Black health and wellness, promoted apprenticeship programs and called on the governor to commute the sentence of Larry Hoover Sr. His launch video is here. If you are Pam Bondi, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@ WHERE'S JB At Sidetrack at 6:30 p.m. to accept the James Monroe Smith Founder Award from the Legal Council for Health Justice 'recognizing the state's efforts in advancing health equity and defending the rights of LGBTQ+ Illinoisans.' WHERE's BRANDON At the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at 11:45 a.m. for Senior Fest — At 2111 South Hamlin Avenue at 6:30 p.m. for the West Side People's Budget Townhall Where's Toni No official public events Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or a (gasp!) complaint? 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Yahoo
4 hours ago
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Juventus to prioritise Lille's Edon Zhegrova after Nico Gonzalez's sale
Serie A giants Juventus are expected to prioritise a move for Lille's Edon Zhegrova after they sell Nico Gonzalez. Fabiana della Valle has reported that the Kosovan has given his approval to a move to Turin. But the Old Lady are yet to find an agreement with Lille, even if Zhegrova has only one season remaining on his current contract. The French side want a fee of €20 million to €25 million to part ways but Juve want to push that valuation to a low amount because of his contract situation, especially because the winger has rejected the idea of a renewal. As a result, the Bianconeri are first going to sell Gonzalez to Atletico Madrid. There is an agreement over personal terms between the two parties but the Spanish side are yet to meet Juve's asking price of €25 million. This will prove key and will unlock the Old Lady's move for Zhegrova, who is waiting for a transfer. Kaustubh Pandey I GIFN
