It’s Thursday. Take a minute to catch up on the latest headlines from WTTW News.
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Buoy deployment. (Courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
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Between tornadoes, wildfire smoke, flooding and heat, the weather in Chicago this summer has been nothing short of extreme.
But winter is coming. And if you want to look ahead at what’s in store for Chicago, you could start by looking thousands of miles away, at the band of warm water extending into the Pacific Ocean from South America.
These warm waters are indicative of El Nino, a seasonal weather pattern that affects conditions around the globe. This year, meteorologists are predicting a “very strong” El Nino to last from the winter into the spring.
El Nino itself doesn’t guarantee any specific weather events. Instead, it shifts the odds to favor certain outcomes. These could range from more snow in the southwestern United States to exacerbated droughts in other parts of the world.
In Chicago, “the dice will be loaded for a warmer and drier winter than normal,” said Scott Collis, an atmospheric scientist at Argonne National Laboratory.
The impacts of El Nino are the results of a complicated domino effect that includes warmer waters in the Pacific Ocean, weakened trade winds blowing around the equator and more moisture rising into the atmosphere.
More context:
For scientists, understanding how El Nino works starts with measuring it.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, operates a network of buoys across the Pacific Ocean. Unlike satellites, which can only measure ocean temperatures near the surface, buoys can measure changes hundreds of meters down.
Trade winds, blowing along the equator from east to west, typically push warm water out toward Asia. But when those winds ease up, that water gathers in a band off the coast of Ecuador.
During El Nino, “there’s a big change in temperatures from the equator to the mid-latitudes,” Collis said. “Storm systems like to run along those changes in temperatures, where the jet stream likes to sit.”
While the term “super El Nino” has caught on to describe the upcoming pattern, Collis cautioned that it’s not a meteorological term. But forecasts are predicting the water temperature difference along the equator to be historically strong.
The latest NOAA forecast predicts a more than 80% chance the temperature difference along the equator will be greater than 2 degrees Celsius, the strongest category.
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Images of the Lawrence Correctional Center restrictive housing unit in 2022, left, and restrictive housing yard, right, were included in a lawsuit filed by Uptown People’s Law Center. (Courtesy: Uptown People's Law Center lawsuit)
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Approximately 25 incarcerated men have launched a hunger strike at Lawrence Correctional Center over restrictive housing conditions, according to lawyers from civil rights law firm Uptown People’s Law Center.
The men declared the strike from their restrictive housing, or solitary confinement, cells on Monday, alleging a lack of mental health treatment and out-of-cell time at the prison in the southeast region of the state.
“It’s to the point where (men in restrictive housing) are helpless,” said Dwayne Croom, who’s incarcerated in restrictive housing, through a statement provided to WTTW News by his lawyer. “To the point where you have 30-plus people who would rather die than be in their circumstances.”
His lawyer, Nicole Schult of Uptown People’s Law Center, said she went to the prison last week for a legal visit. The firm is currently suing the Illinois Department of Corrections: one case alleges the department’s use of restrictive housing constitutes cruel and unusual punishment; the other that the department has failed to provide mental
health treatment.
But she said she was confronted with a new set of problems.
Men in restrictive housing, to Schult’s surprise, don’t have access to their tablets to communicate with family or interact with educational materials.
Despite Lawrence having common areas, she said there’s little out-of-cell time. One man she spoke with said he’s only had out-of-cell time in the prison’s yard three times since his arrival to the unit in June.
Per IDOC’s internal policy, a minimum of 10 hours of recreation should be provided per week, inclusive of no fewer than one hour of exercise outside of a cell five days per week.
Additionally, cell conditions are “horrific,” Schult said.
“I was talking to one individual today who was placed in a cell in restrictive housing, and there was writing on the wall in someone else’s feces,” she said.
One striker, Mark Smith, told his lawyer that he’s feeling good about taking a stand: He said he’s “waiting for the backlash; if they retaliate that means he’s right and they are wrong.”
He doesn’t know how long he’ll strike for, but he said he’s “programmed” himself for 10 days of the
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(Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Chicago police brass has failed for four months to update Mayor Brandon Johnson and three City Council committee chairs about progress in crafting a system designed to alert officials about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations, records show.
The ordinance that implemented the city’s 2026 budget included a provision requiring monthly updates on long-delayed efforts to craft and implement that system, which is required under the terms of the consent decree, the federal court order designed to compel the department to change the way it trains, supervises and disciplines officers.
CPD did not update Johnson; Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward), the chair of the Finance Committee; Ald. Jason Ervin (28th Ward), the chair of the Budget Committee; and Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th Ward), the chair of the Police and Fire Committee, as required in May, June, July or August.
The last update was published in April.
Some backstory:
Chicago taxpayers have paid $2.7 million for a system designed to alert officials about which officers have been the subject of repeated police misconduct allegations, WTTW News reported in June.
The monthly updates for February, March and April consist of a single paragraph that does not offer specifics about the efforts to craft the system.
When Johnson announced the requirement for monthly updates about the system, he said it would make it possible for police leaders to offer officers “early, individualized interventions that improve performance, accountability and wellness — reducing misconduct, building community trust, and lowering litigation costs,” according to the mayor’s office.
CPD has fully complied with 25% of the consent decree’s requirements, according to the most recent report from the monitoring team.
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Back in the Day: August 13, 1969 - Chicago Throws Parade For Apollo 11 Astronauts
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Fifty-seven years ago, the country was celebrating the success of NASA’s Apollo 11 mission, where American astronauts became the first people in history to land on the moon. On this date in 1969, Chicago and New York City held ticker-tape parades to celebrate the crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. An estimated 2 million people packed State and LaSalle in the Loop to watch the pilots and their families cruise downtown to what’s now called Daley Plaza. If this trio was able to handle the logistics of an interstellar trip to the moon, two parades in two different states in one day was no big deal.
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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.
After this week’s storms, which brought power outages, severe winds and even a handful of twisters, we’re going to dive into the weekend whatever the forecast. Below, WTTW News has compiled a handful of recommended cultural events in the arts world.
Theater: “Crime and Punishment” — TUTA Theatre
Ravenswood Manor’s The Utopian Theatre Asylum (TUTA) condenses Fyodor Dostoevsky’s sprawling novel “Crime and Punishment” into a 90-minute play. Adapted by Marilyn Campbell and Curt Columbus and directed by co-artistic director Jacqueline Stone, it’s one of the most acclaimed local productions of the summer. So much so that its run has been extended to Sept. 4. Buy tickets here.
Comedy: James Austin Johnson — The Den Theatre
Alongside local comedian Sarah Sherman, James Austin Johnson has been one of the clear standout talents in the latest few seasons of “Saturday Night Live.” His impressions are consistently fantastic, whether he’s parodying the president or Bob Dylan. This weekend, he takes his stand-up act for several shows at the Den Theatre. Tickets are going fast, but you can still buy them for Saturday.
Music: World's Largest Karaoke — Salt Shed
Two years ago, Salt Shed attempted to get into the Guinness Book of World Records by hosting the largest-ever karaoke party. They succeeded, drawing in more than 3,500 people to sing their favorite tunes in front of a large crowd. Salt Shed is looking to beat that total again this year and solidify Chicago as the “karaoke capital of the world.” The free event is this Saturday, but if you want to sing, you should RSVP here. Who knows — you could belt out a tune in front of 5,000 music fans.
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What’s your favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago? 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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