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Are you staying well-hydrated, Chicago? It’s hot outside. Here's what we have from WTTW News today. |
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U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth appears on “Chicago Tonight” on July 22, 2025. (WTTW News) |
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President Donald Trump is facing backlash from his supporters over his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The fallout comes following congressional Republicans’ success in clawing back funds from foreign aid and public media and the passage of the president’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” But Democrats are sounding the alarm on the impact of the spending cuts. U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) weighed in on a few key topics in an interview with WTTW News.
On the Epstein files:
“House Republicans are literally canceling votes this week and running away until September to help Trump sweep this under the rug, protect abusers and avoid delivering the transparency that he promised the American people on the campaign trail,” Duckworth said. “I don’t know why they’re acting so afraid over these files that supposedly don’t contain anything damning like Trump has claimed. So, if there’s nothing there, go ahead and release them.”
On the rescission bill:
“We are already seeing the PRC, the Communist Chinese government, step in to fund former USAID programs that we were funding, like President Bush’s PEPFAR program,” Duckworth said. “... But I’m even more worried about the billion dollars that they took away from public radio and public broadcast. These are programs that people all across Illinois rely on, for weather, for disaster declarations, for … tornado warnings, all of that, and public radio, public television funding has been drastically cut as a result of that bill.”
On 2026 midterm elections:
“If we (Democrats) take our message to the American people, I think they will vote to protect themselves and their family members,” Duckworth said. “And there is a real possibility that we can flip the House, perhaps flip the Senate as well. We have several gubernatorial races around the country that are critically important in places like Virginia, for example. The best thing that Democrats can do is our job, standing up for the American people, standing up for the middle class, and then let the voters decide.” |
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Residents have complained about the Pullman Innovations facility for decades. (WTTW News) |
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Some Southeast Side neighbors say their community reeks.
Residents in South Deering have been complaining of a putrid stench coming from a vegetable oil plant for decades now. The Pullman Innovations facility has reportedly been the site of a major disturbance to those living near it, who call the odor unbearable.
“My kids grew up smelling dead animals and rotting fish,” said Ljiljana Radocaj, a mother and resident of the 10th Ward. “It’s the most horrific smell — you can’t even describe it. You can just run from it.”
She describes days when her children weren’t able to go outside for recess or spend time at the local park, which is in close proximity to the facility, forcing people inside their homes with windows closed.
Pullman Innovations has fielded dozens of complaints from residents confronted by the odor, but repeated citations from the city haven’t yielded the results or progress necessary to stop the stench.
The Illinois EPA said that it’s “aware of the odor complaints in the area. EPA is currently working with the company to ensure they are in compliance with environmental regulation, but keeping with a longstanding practice, the agency does not comment on active enforcement actions.” |
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Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan walks toward the Dirksen Federal Courthouse on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois) |
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Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan is officially challenging his landmark corruption convictions that are slated to land him in prison for more than seven years. In an expected move, Madigan on Wednesday filed his notice of appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court after he was convicted in February on 10 felony charges including bribery and wire fraud. While he’s scheduled to begin serving a 7.5-year prison sentence in October, the former speaker this month had already asked to remain free while he challenges those convictions.
Also this week, federal prosecutors asked that Jay Doherty, a former contract lobbyist for Commonwealth Edison, be sentenced to more than a year in prison following his conviction in the “ComEd Four” bribery case. In a sentencing memo, prosecutors asked that Doherty be sentenced to 15 months in prison. Doherty and his three codefendants — former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s longtime confidant Michael McClain and ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker — were each convicted in 2023 of bribery conspiracy and willfully falsifying the utility company’s books.
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Back in the Day: July 24, 1915 - SS Eastland Disaster |
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People stand atop the capsized Eastland steamer in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915. Image: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-040126; Jun Fujita, photographer |
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On this day 110 years ago, one of the worst maritime disasters in American history occurred on the Chicago River. The SS Eastland, a passenger liner originally designed to hold 650 people and fortified to carry up to 2,500, capsized near its dock, killing at least 844 people. That day, employees from Western Electric set to sail on the Eastland across Lake Michigan for the annual company picnic in Michigan City, Indiana. As a previous WTTW story points out, "The ship had a reputation for being unstable. It had nearly capsized 11 years before on Lake Michigan. Following the Titanic disaster three years earlier, changes in maritime law required ships to carry more lifeboats, which, though intended to make the ship safer, actually made it even more top-heavy. The ship had also been recently cleared to increase its passenger capacity, so there were perhaps too many people on board."
Watch this "Chicago Stories" episode about the Eastland Disaster. |
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events |
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Each Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the week’s must-see cultural events.
Marc Vitali: Here’s a soulful and sometimes silly selection of the artistic and the fantastic — our shortlist of Chicago shows to kick-start your heart and make your brain buzz.
“Paradise Lost” – Art Institute of Chicago
We don’t often recommend one piece of art, but when that work is more than 100 feet wide — and utterly stunning — we’ll make an exception. Contemporary artist Raqib Shaw spent years creating his allegorical painting. The story is rich, dense and ambitious, and visuals spring from sources in Eastern and Western art and mythology. You can lose yourself in “Paradise Lost.” Through January 19, 2026.
“That’s Weird, Grandma: Summer Vacation!” – The Neo-Futurist Theater
The mad scientists at PlayMakers Laboratory present original sketch comedy written by kids and performed by grownups. The skits are adaptations of stories written by young authors in creative writing residencies at Chicago elementary schools – and nobody has whacko imaginations quite like children. It’s family-friendly, funny and poignant too. Matinee performances begin July 26.
“Chicago’s Soul: Words and Music of Gwendolyn Brooks and Curtis Mayfield” - Night Out in the Parks
Honor the artistry of Chicago poet Gwendolyn Brooks alongside the music of the great Curtis Mayfield. Cheryl Corley, singer Lucy Smith and a live band present this free presentation via the Chicago Park District. The 90-minute performance brims with themes of love, pride and inspiration. Three shows this summer, and the first is in Sherman Park on 1301 W. 52nd St. Saturday July 26 at 5 p.m.
“Sunset 1919”– near 31st Street Beach
For the fifth year in a row, Lookingglass Theatre holds a ritual of movement, music and spoken word a quarter mile north of 31st Street Beach at the Eugene Williams Memorial Marker. Eugene Williams was the Black teenager killed for crossing into segregated waters on July 27, 1919, sparking the Chicago Race Riots. This solemn art ritual is a free and “spirit-guided” event. Sunday July 27 at 7 p.m. |
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What’s your favorite bookstore in the Chicago area? Tell us where and why.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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