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If you’re thinking about adding a furry friend to your family, now might be the time. PAWS Chicago is hosting a big adoption event this weekend. In the meantime, today’s offerings range from fiery political intrigue to opera performed in a historic cemetery. So, the usual. |
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Ald. David Moore (17th Ward) returns to his seat after addressing the Chicago Transit Authority board of directors on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Nick Blumberg / WTTW News) |
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A heated exchange at yesterday’s meeting of the Chicago Transit Authority board of directors saw a somewhat behind-the-scenes conflict bubble up into the public.
Some transit advocates are pushing for a full nationwide search to find the next leader of the CTA, and at least three of the seven directors agree. However, Mayor Brandon Johnson reportedly would like to see John Roberson, the city’s current COO, in the job. The mayor has demurred when asked publicly about Roberson.
Ald. David Moore (17th Ward) used the public comment period to delivery fiery remarks that included a warning to directors not to be a “backbiting snake” and pushing for support of Johnson’s reported pick.
Moore touted Roberson’s long track record of work across local government and claimed advocates for a full-fledged search don’t actually represent commuters who rely on the CTA. Among his previous jobs, Roberson once served as chief of staff for Moore.
“If you want a search and all of that, put it in your policies next time,” Moore said. “If you want it, … do the work and get 26 members of the City Council to pass a resolution that says going forward, there’s got to be a search every time. Do not change the goalposts and don’t change the rules in the middle of a game.”
Who will ultimately decide?
Board member the Rev. L. Bernard Jakes said that while dealing with sometimes-insulting comments from members of the public is part of the job, he took exception to Moore’s “snake.”
“On one hand, the mayor gets to choose, but on the other hand, we get to confirm or deny,” Jakes said. “Everyone has a right to their opinion. I just don’t believe anybody has a right to insult people.”
Just two of the current board members were appointed by Johnson: Roberto Requejo and the Rev. Michael Eaddy. Two others, Chairman Lester Barclay and Michele Lee, were appointed by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot. The other three board members —Jakes, Neema Jha and Rosa Ortiz — were appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker.
What about the funding?
This is all happening amid the General Assembly’s spring session. Transit agencies are advocating for a funding solution to the $771 million budget gap that CTA, Metra and Pace are set to face next year. |
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(WTTW News) |
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Weeks after ratifying a new labor agreement, rank-and-file members of the Chicago Teachers Unions on Friday will be voting once again, this time to decide on their leadership for the next three years. The Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators (CORE) will face a challenge from the Respect Educate Advocate Lead (REAL) caucus.
CORE, which took over union leadership in 2010 under powerhouse president Karen Lewis, is now headed by Stacy Davis Gates, who is wrapping up her first term as union president following her election victory in 2022.
That year, CORE secured 56% of votes, ahead of the Members First slate at 27% and the REAL slate at 17%. Members First does not have candidates running in the current election.
What is each side saying?
Davis Gates said CORE has provided “transformational leadership” that has catapulted the CTU into a “power player in the struggle for equity and justice.”
“We’ve done that with Karen Lewis, we’ve done that with (Lewis’ successor) Jessie Sharkey and now we’re doing that under the Davis Gates administration,” she told WTTW News. “Everything that we’ve said we were gonna do, we have made tremendous progress and advancements in doing.”
The union in recent years has expanded its efforts beyond the classroom to advocate for social justice causes.
Erika Meza, a 25-year teaching veteran and REAL’s candidate for president, said she feels members have the impression that information is being kept from them.
“How are decisions being made? Are decisions being made for the betterment of our schools and our students and our professions or are these decisions being made for political gain, political aspirations, political goals? And more and more people just started feeling disenfranchised,” Meza said.
While Meza said the new labor contract is a “step in the right direction,” she disagreed with the notion that it is transformative for rank-and-file members. |
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A pair of large cottonwood trees in River Park on Chicago’s North Side. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) |
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The Chicago Park District consists of more than 600 parks, and within those parks, there are a lot of trees. Exactly how many? No one really knows. In recent years, the district has bulked up its forestry program and has been aggressively planting new trees, according to Cathy Breitenbach, director of the department of cultural and natural resources. The district has done so, however, in the absence of a firm tree count. (Estimates are somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000.)
A proposal passed unanimously yesterday by the Chicago Park District board of commissioners is looking to close that knowledge gap with a tree inventory. It’ll be conducted by Davey Resources Group, paid for with a $1.3 million grant administered by Morton Arboretum. Once the assessment is complete, the district will develop a management plan to guide its approach to the growth and maintenance of its trees. A healthy tree canopy provides ecosystem benefits such as cooling shade and stormwater absorption, Breitenbach said. |
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More From WTTW News |
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State officials are on track to shut down a program at the end of June that provides publicly funded health care coverage to more than 30,000 non-U.S. citizens in Illinois, including many who are in the country without legal authorization.
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What's in a name? Ever since it opened to staff and the public in 2023, the Chicago Park District’s new 17-acre headquarters in Brighton Park has been known as Park 596. A process has begun to call the site Commissioners Park, in honor of the board of commissioners who govern the district and hold their monthly meetings at the park.
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Back in the Day: May 15, 1975 - The Auditorium Building Becomes National Historic Landmark |
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A sketch of opening night at the Auditorium Theatre (Courtesy Auditorium Theatre) |
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When the Auditorium Building opened in 1889, the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan-designed structure was the tallest building in Chicago. It was also the first multi-purpose building ever designed, with a hotel, offices and a world-renowned theater. The theater boasted multiple features that allowed it to change its size and shape like movable floors and ceiling panels, reducing curtains, hydraulic lifts and more. Home to political conventions, rock concerts and symphonies, then draftsman Frank Lloyd Wright called it, “The greatest room for music and opera in the world — bar none.” On this day 50 years ago, the Auditorium Building was designated as a National Historic Landmark. The following year, the city made the iconic Romanesque structure a Chicago Landmark. |
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This Week’s Arts & Culture Events
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"The Antiquities" at Goodman Theatre (Hugo Hentoff) |
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Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the city’s must-see cultural events.
The curtain rises on a couple seated in their frunchroom.
“What do you wanna see, hon — a futuristic drama or an opera in a cemetery?”
“I was hoping to check out the next gen of classical musicians, or maybe experience two very different kinds of dance.”
“Hey, dis guy here in the Daily Chicagoan says we can do it all!”
“Gee, babe, it’s almost like we live in a world-class city.”
“The Antiquities” – Goodman Theatre
Curators at a museum far in the future try to make sense of present-day humans. This new drama is co-directed by David Cromer, that ever-busy Chicago native who also helmed the current Broadway hit “Good Night, and Good Luck” with George Clooney as Edward R. Murrow. Through June 1
Trinity Irish Dance Company – MCA Chicago
The Chicago-based company launches its 35th anniversary season with audience favorites and an intriguing world premiere inspired by the Northern Ireland Troubles and featuring dialogue from the TV series “Derry Girls.” May 16-18
“Cedille Records Emerging Artist Competition” – Spertus Institute
Cedille is a Chicago-based classical music label run by James Ginsburg (fun fact: he’s the son of the late Supreme Court justice, RBG). The label has been supporting Chicago artists since 1989. Now they’re hosting this competitive concert with seven young musicians, and the winner gets a recording contract for their debut album. Free, but you have to register. May 18, 1 p.m.
“Hiplet Ballerinas” – Auditorium Theatre
The ballerinas of Hiplet fuse classical pointe technique with hip-hop and a variety of other dance styles. Developed (and trademarked) by their resident ballet master, Homer Hans Bryant, expect to see a mix of rousing dance moves. May 17
“Chicago City Opera” – Rosehill Cemetery
An opera performed in the chapel of a historic Chicago cemetery — need I say more? Chicago City Opera presents “Die Tote Stadt” (The Dead City, naturally) inside the May Chapel at Rosehill Cemetery. It’s the story of a man grieving his dead wife who meets a dancer that bears a striking resemblance to her. May 16-17 |
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What was your reaction when you heard the new pope is from Chicago? |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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