|
This Wednesday, WTTW News has stories on the city’s slow progress replacing lead lines, a new plan to legalize ADUs and how local activists are responding to ramped up ICE raids. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
(WTTW News) |
|
Federal officials said “Operation Midway Blitz” has led to more than 500 arrests since it was announced earlier this month.
Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reports more than 2 million people have left the country since Jan. 20. The agency said it is on pace to deport nearly 600,000 people by the end of President Donald Trump’s first year back in office. In response, organizations across Chicago have staged protests — including outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview — and launched resistance campaigns.
More context:
Baltazar Enriquez, president of the Little Village Community Council, which operates in one of Chicago’s most densely populated Latino communities, said he and others have begun handing out whistles so residents can alert each other of ICE sightings. The Community Council runs patrols that watch for ICE activity from as early as 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., with volunteers rotating in shifts.
Organizations are working outside the neighborhood, too. In response to reports that ICE is targeting individuals at common places of work, the Latino Union of Chicago is enlisting volunteers into its worker support networks.
These volunteers accompany day laborers at street corners where they often wait to be hired by contractors or others seeking workers. If ICE targets those street corners, volunteers will already be there to serve as witnesses, according to Miguel Alvelo Rivera, executive director of the Latino Union of Chicago.
Legal support is also being provided to undocumented residents of the city. Organizations like the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights have created “Know your rights when encountering ICE” documents.
Berto Aguayo, who received his law degree from Northwestern University in 2024, was one of nearly 30 attorneys who attended last week’s Mexican Independence Day Parade in Little Village to provide legal support.
The Little Village Community Council hosts “Know Your Rights” workshops and gives out orange whistles every Wednesday at the Arch at 3100 W. 26th St. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
(Sonmez / iStock) |
|
The Chicago Department of Water Management is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for lead line replacement, with little progress made in terms of swapping out the toxic pipes, and city council members want to know why.
“There hasn't been a sense of urgency,” said Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th). “Children's brains are at risk.”
Villegas called for a subject matter hearing into the city's lead line replacement program, which was held Monday at a meeting of council's Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy.
What happened at the hearing?
Among the questions leveled at officials from the Water Department and Department of Finance: Why does lead service line replacement in Chicago cost four to five times as much as in other cities? Why have fewer than 10% of residents with lead lines been sent mandated notices? And how is money appropriated for lead line replacement being spent?
Replacing Chicago's more than 400,000 lead service lines is expected to cost $14 billion, and the city has tapped a number of funding sources, including loans from the federal government, as well as revenue and general obligation bonds.
Of the $325 million available through a loan from the feds, only $70 million to $90 million has been spent since the financing was finalized in 2023, according to Brendan White, Department of Finance's debt manager. The loan expires at the end of 2026.
“We're ramping up the program and expecting to spend a lot more next year than this year,” White said. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
A Chicago coach house. (WTTW News) |
|
A compromise proposal to allow Chicagoans to build basement, attic and coach house dwellings across the city would still give alderpeople the final say over whether the tiny homes could be built in their wards, officials said.
The agreement, announced Tuesday morning, would also require homeowners to use contractors that participate in apprenticeship programs recognized by labor organizations, records show. That requirement does not apply to the construction of any other type of housing in Chicago.
The compromise paves the way for the City Council to approve the measure at its meeting scheduled for Thursday, ending more than two years of behind-the-scenes negotiations about what the city officially calls accessory, or additional, dwelling units and resolve a public deadlock that prevented the measure from getting a final vote in July.
The proposal would reverse the city’s 68-year ban on tiny homes, but create a patchwork of regulations across the city that could significantly differ from ward to ward in order to uphold the decades-old tradition known as aldermanic prerogative. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
|
|
Back in the Day: September 24, 2000 - White Sox Win AL Central Title |
|
Coming into the 2000 season, the Chicago White Sox had a mediocre 1999 campaign with a 75-86 win-loss record. But talent and good fortune blessed the team immediately. They ended April with 17 wins and eight losses, and cruised through July with a 10.5 game lead in the AL Central division standings. On this day, 25 years ago, the Chicago White Sox clinched the division after an extra-innings thriller against the Minnesota Twins. Matt Lawton hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning to secure the White Sox’s first postseason appearance since 1993. Sure enough, they’d lose in a three-game sweep against the Seattle Mariners in the first round, but World Series glory would come for the South Siders in just a few years. |
 |
|
|
|
Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for Sept. 24-30
|
|
Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Thursday, Sept. 25:
Tobacco City, Silver Synthetic, Grace Rogers at Judson and Moore. Tickets.
Front-to-back, the best indie rock bill of the week. Get there early and stay late.
Friday, Sept. 26:
Turnstile, Mannequin Pussy, Speed, Jane Remover at Northerly Island. Tickets.
A big venue and a stacked bill for this breakout popular hardcore rock band.
Deerhoof, Blood Nymph, Dorothy Carlos at Chop Shop. Tickets.
Indie music’s premier experimentalists take a trip to Wicker Park.
Saturday, Sept. 27:
Mountain Goats at Salt Shed. Tickets.
Folk-punk icons and songwriting legends take the stage with no openers at the city’s best venue.
Brent Cobb & the Fixin’s at Joe’s on Weed. Tickets.
Like twang, breezy tunes and an airtight country rock band? Try this one.
American Football, Hinds, Sonido Gallo Negro, Local Memory at Goose Island Brewery. Free.
Part of Goose Island’s annual 312 Block Party celebrations.
Sunday, Sept. 28:
Hand Habits, Fashion Club at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
“Blue Reminder,” the new LP from the L.A. guitarist and songwriter, is one of 2025’s best.
Tuesday, Sept. 30:
Ludovico Einaudi at Auditorium Theatre. Tickets.
This Italian pianist and composer might be behind your favorite film score. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's your favorite neighborhood bar in the Chicago area?
|
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
|
|
|
|
Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
|
Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
|
|
|
|
