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This Thursday, start your morning with these stories from WTTW News.
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Passengers walk through Chicago O’Hare International Airport in a file photo. (tupungato / iStock)
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Transportation Security Administration agents have been caught in the crossfire of a federal debate over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The partial government shutdown at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has left TSA agents without pay since Feb. 14.
TSA is part of DHS along with other agencies like ICE, Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. With congressional Democrats demanding Republicans agree to a set of reforms for ICE, and no endgame in sight, Americans are bracing for a spring break season without a fully funded TSA.
Darrell English, a TSA officer at Chicago Midway International Airport and president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 777 union, representing TSA agents in Illinois and Wisconsin, joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss how the shutdown is impacting Chicago’s airports.
WTTW News: How are you and your colleagues navigating a second shutdown in just over three months?
Darrell English: This will be the first full pay period that they’re gonna miss, and a lot of these officers are behind on their bills, mortgages and all the personal expenses. The last pay they received, most members received only a few hundred dollars. Some only received 50 dollars. So this is gonna be devastating, this pay period coming up, to miss another full pay period.
There have been reports of some significant slowdowns at airports across the country. At what point could we start to see significant problems?
Soon it will hit Chicago, O’Hare and other airports as well. This is just the beginning of spring break. This will be the first full pay period that they’re missing coming up this Friday. So you’ll definitely start seeing officers and flightloads impacted because of that.
You and your colleagues got back pay from the last government shutdown, but I understand it took some officers up until January to receive that backpay.
That’s correct. There’s a big misconception that once the government was open, everyone was gonna get reimbursed for all the money that they were due all at one time. Just recently, maybe about two or three weeks ago, officers were made whole from the October situation that occurred. So this is another thing that’s bothering officers.
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Sponsor Message
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Make your plans to celebrate this April with the Poetry Foundation, offering a full roster of FREE public programs, including:
- a poetry reading with Chicago’s own National Book Award winner Patricia Smith;
- a live performance by chamber music collective D+Composed;
- a library packed with more than 40,000 books of poetry for readers of all ages.
Visiting Hours: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 11 AM–5 PM; Thursday 11 AM–6 PM
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Protesters gather outside the Chicago Transportation Authority board meeting on March 11, 2026. (Nick Blumberg / WTTW News)
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Chicago Transit Authority leaders on Wednesday touted the agency’s new safety plan, with Acting President Nora Leerhsen hailing “significantly increased law enforcement resources” and “notably increased targets for crime reduction on CTA.”
The monthly meeting of the agency’s board of directors was also marked by protesting CTA operators on the sidewalk outside the agency’s headquarters, and the removal of a disruptive attendee.
The new safety plan, created at the behest of the Federal Transit Administration amid allegations of agency failings to prevent crime against passengers and employees, was submitted Tuesday.
Officials say the effort, created in collaboration with the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, represents a 75% increase in policing hours across the system. In addition to increased CPD patrol hours, Cook County sheriff’s deputies will now also have a presence on the system. Other new measures include officers riding along on buses or stationed at bus stops along routes where data collection and operator requests have flagged hotspots.
Directors praised the plan as an example of effective partnerships and quick work. They also encouraged continued work on non-law enforcement safety measures, including improved lighting on stations and at bus stops for passengers riding at night, as well as violence interrupters, transit ambassadors, and social-service-focused outreach.
What else happened?
While directors praised the CTA for a speedy and thorough response to the FTA’s demands, they also sounded notes of caution.
Director Roberto Requejo called for being “very careful about taking advice or direction from a federal government with this track record of respecting the law and enforcing the law,” and encouraged the CTA to continue partnering with community groups and other nonprofits in addition to the security plan.
Wednesday’s meeting was also marked by multiple disruptions. A few dozen members of the ATU Local 241 union representing CTA bus operators and mechanics protested on the sidewalk outside the agency’s headquarters, with their chants and cheers clearly audible inside the boardroom.
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(Courtesy of Ravinia)
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Ravinia Festival released its summer festival lineup, with performers such as Paul Simon, Chance the Rapper, Gladys Knight, Ricky Martin, Brandi Carlile and more.
The outdoor music festival in Highland Park runs from June to September.
Other announced artists include: Kool & The Gang, Alabama Shakes, Los Tigres del Norte, St. Vincent, Rod Stewart, Ziggy Marley, Deep Purple, Billy Idol, Alison Krauss, Miranda Lambert, Jacob Collier, Hugh Jackman, Alabama, Bonnie Raitt, Brian McKnight and Ray LaMontagne.
View the full summer lineup can be found on Ravinia’s website.
What to know:
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra will also be returning for the 90th anniversary of its Ravinia residency, performing six programs under Ravinia chief conductor Marin Alsop.
The festival will be showcasing its newly redesigned Hunter Pavilion venue this summer. The privately-funded $75 million renovation includes a bigger stage with a new acoustic shell for orchestral performances, new seating with increased accessibility, along with improvements to the audio and lighting system and production facilities, according to a news release.
Festival tickets for this summer go on sale to the public on April 23.
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More From WTTW News:
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City lawyers recommended that Chicago pay $27 million to the family of a woman who was struck and killed by a driver being chased by police, the latest massive settlement prompted by a pursuit.
Residents in several North Side neighborhoods reported a foul stench on Tuesday, described by some as “skunk”-like but mostly sewage. We found out why.
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Back in the Day: March 12, 1980 - John Wayne Gacy Found Guilty
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On this day 46 years ago, a Cook County jury found John Wayne Gacy guilty of killing 33 young men and boys. At the time, Gacy’s conviction was the record for more than any other mass killer in the history of the nation. The jury reached the verdict after deliberating for less than two hours, rejecting Gacy’s defense team’s arguments of insanity. The trial lasted 28 days, during which details of Gacy luring young men and boys into his Norwood Park Township home to rape, torture and kill them marked several emotionally charged and disturbing testimonies. He received the death penalty, and in 1994, was executed by the state via lethal injection at Stateville Correctional
Center.
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
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Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
It’s only the middle of March, so it’s too soon to say that we’re out of the woods from Chicago’s gnarly winters. It’s also currently snowing as I type this and that’ll likely happen a few times over the next couple of weeks. That said, temperatures have ticked up, we’ve thawed out and the sun has made a few welcome appearances to give us the energy to explore all of Chicago’s arts and culture offerings. Below is a small sample of what you can dive into this weekend and beyond.
Theater: “The Jackie Wilson Story” — Black Ensemble Theater
This musical first premiered at the Black Ensemble Theater in 2000, became a national tour in 2002 and broke records at the Apollo Theater. It returns to the Uptown institution for its 50th anniversary season. “The Jackie Wilson Story” was written by Jackie Taylor and is a music-focused biography of the iconic singer and performer. Shows run from Friday, March 13, through Sunday, April 26. Buy tickets here.
Film: JCC Chicago Film Festival — multiple locations
JCC Chicago’s annual Jewish Film Festival kicked off earlier this month and runs until March 22. This weekend, you can choose to catch screenings at both Highland Park’s Wayfarer Theater and the Loop’s Gene Siskel Film Center. Head to Highland Park on Saturday for the premiere of the documentary “The Last Twins” as well as “Plunderer: The Life and Times of a Nazi Art Thief.” On Sunday, two narrative films debut at the Siskel, including the Spanish Civil War-set “Frontier” and the multi-generational drama “For the Love of a Woman.” For the full schedule and listings, click here.
Film: Sheryl Lee (“I Live Here Now”) — Music Box Theatre
Actress Sheryl Lee’s most enduring role has been playing Laura Palmer, whose murder kicked off the events of David Lynch’s iconic series “Twin Peaks.” She makes an appearance at the Music Box for two engagements. The first is a meet-and-greet and screening of “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me,” which is long sold out. Don’t worry, though, if you couldn’t snag tickets for that. She’ll also be introducing her latest film, “I Live Here Now,” which debuts at the Lakeview cultural staple late Monday night. Buy tickets here.
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What's your favorite local movie theater? Tell us 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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