Daywatch: HUD drops housing discrimination complaint against Chicago

Chicago Tribune

2 days ago

Good morning, Chicago.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is dropping its investigation into whether or not aldermanic prerogative, which typically gives Chicago aldermen the final word on zoning decisions in their ward, resulted in housing discrimination.
In a letter HUD sent yesterday to the complaining parties, which was obtained by the Tribune, the agency said it was closing the case to instead focus on 'real concerns regarding fair housing.'
'It is the Department's policy to focus on the original understanding and enforcement of the law and therefore rightfully return such decisions on zoning, home building, and more, to local leaders who are directly responsible for those matters,' the letter says. 'HUD enforcement will continue to prioritize investigations of specific allegations of actual discrimination, rather than dictate or influence land use policy.'
Read the full story from the Tribune's Lizzie Kane and Alice Yin.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including what we know about yesterday's ground stop of United flights, what's on deck for the Cubs and White Sox and what to do this weekend.
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United Airlines paused departures of flights nationwide yesterday evening due to an unspecified technology issue at the Chicago-based carrier.
At about 9 p.m., the carrier in a statement said the technology issue had been resolved and that 'while we expect residual delays, our team is working to restore our normal operations.'
The Chicago man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum has been indicted on federal hate crime and murder charges, according to court documents unsealed yesterday.
The indictment, filed in federal court in Washington, charges Elias Rodriguez with nine counts, including a hate crime resulting in death. The indictment also includes notice of special findings, which would allow the Justice Department to potentially pursue the death penalty.
Gov. JB Pritzker emphasized his administration was closely coordinating with state and even local law enforcement to protect Texas House Democrats who fled to Illinois to stop a Republican congressional remap, especially after a bomb threat caused the lawmakers to be evacuated yesterday from their suburban hotel.
The Department of Justice placed Chicago, Cook County, and the state of Illinois on its latest 'sanctuary jurisdiction list,' with Attorney General Pam Bondi promising to 'continue bringing litigation' against places the department says stand in the way of federal immigration enforcement.
A Chicago police officer with a history of financial trouble has been indicted on federal bank fraud charges alleging he lied on loan paperwork tied to the purchase of three properties in 2019.
Nine months after an Illinois appeals court called the circumstances surrounding the murder case against a Chicago man 'extraordinary' and reversed his convictions, his quest for an on-paper exoneration in the form of a certificate of innocence has been delayed after the Cook County state's attorney's office reassigned the case to outside prosecutors.
Kevin Jackson, whose journey for release from prison in a 2001 murder case took many twists and turns, was in court Wednesday as Cook County Judge Erica Reddick granted a request by special prosecutor Fabio Valentini to give the state nearly two more months to respond to Jackson's petition for a certificate of innocence.
Top Trump administration officials boast that a new state partnership to expand immigrant detention in Indiana will be the next so-called ' Alligator Alcatraz.' However, the agreement is already prompting backlash in the Midwest state, starting with its splashy 'Speedway Slammer' moniker.
Here's a closer look at the agreement, the pushback and Indiana's role in the Trump agenda to aggressively detain and deport people in the country illegally.
The Cubs head into an off day after avoiding a three-game sweep for the first time this season with a win in yesterday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds. They head to St. Louis and then Toronto as they look to get the offense back on track.
Meanwhile, the Sox haven't had much success against the American League Central (7-20).
In the sci-fi comedy 'Demascus,' a man attending therapy tries a new technology that allows him to visit alternate versions of his life that exist in his subconscious in an effort to figure out why he's feeling so bleh, writes Tribune film and TV critic Nina Metz. But which version is closest to his real life? Actually, which one is his real life, anyway?
The story premise sounds like Stephen King or M. Night Shyamalan material, though writer-director Zach Cregger has cited Paul Thomas Anderson's sprawling wonder 'Magnolia' as a chief inspiration. In the town of Maybrook, a terrible thing happened not long ago, the young narrator tells us. Seventeen students from schoolteacher Justine Gandy's third-grade class left their beds and their homes at 2:17 a.m. one night, running, arms outstretched, to a destination and a fate unknown, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
Here are our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend.