It’s Thursday. Prepare for an arctic blast of bitter temperatures. Warm up with these stories from WTTW News.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(WTTW News)
|
The Chicago City Council voted 32-16 Wednesday to prohibit the sale of most intoxicating hemp products throughout the city, even after business owners said the measure would destroy a burgeoning industry.
The proposal immediately bans the sale of intoxicating hemp products to those younger than 21, while exempting the sale of beverages, topical creams and pet products with intoxicating hemp.
The ban on the sale of delta-8 and other hemp-derived snacks, drinks and products is set to take effect April 1, in order to give city officials enough time to create the rules to enforce the measure.
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st Ward) was one of several members of the Progressive Caucus to vote against the ban.
“This would make it legal if you drink it with a straw, but illegal if you chew it with your mouth,” La Spata said, referring to intoxicating hemp products.
Mayor Brandon Johnson, who opposed the initial measure, has not said whether he will veto the ordinance. It would take 34 members of the City Council to override Johnson’s veto.
If Johnson does veto the plan, crafted by Ald. Marty Quinn (13th Ward), it would be his second veto in less than nine months. Johnson allowed the $16.6 billion spending plan approved by the City Council over his objections to take effect without his signature.
Some backstory:
Johnson’s original proposed spending plan for 2026 would have regulated intoxicating hemp products in an effort backed by Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo “Simbo” Ige, who has urged the City Council to do more to protect Chicago children and teens from the products.
That measure would have banned the sale of intoxicating hemp products to those younger than 21 years old while prohibiting the sale of all products designed “to resemble a branded candy, cookie, chip or other snack food” in an attempt to stop the items from attracting the attention of children looking for a treat.
Johnson’s plan would have also imposed a $2 per item tax that officials projected would add $10 million to the city’s coffers.
That effort fell apart after the federal government banned the sale of products that contain less than 0.3% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the main intoxicating compound in cannabis better known as THC, starting in November 2026.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(WTTW News)
|
Chicago paid $26.5 million to more than 1,000 employees for working extra hours between 2020 and 2024, even though they were not eligible for overtime pay, according to a report released Wednesday by the city’s watchdog.
City officials have known for 12 years that ineligible employees were being paid overtime, but took no action to stop tens of millions of dollars from being misspent, Inspector General Deborah Witzburg told WTTW News.
“The city’s finances are, needless to say, in an extremely precarious place, and we can ill-afford mistakes which run well into the eight figures,” Witzburg said in a statement.
Read the full report.
More context:
The Office of the Inspector General informed leaders of the departments of Human Resources and Finance on Nov. 12 “in the hopes that they might inform the city’s 2026 budget process,” Witzburg said.
Despite several meetings focused on the budget during December, the inspector general’s finding that millions of dollars had been spent was never discussed publicly, and there is no evidence any members of the Chicago City Council were informed of the discovery.
Federal law requires most employees who work more than 40 hours during a seven-day period to be compensated at least one and one-half times their regular rate of pay.
However, most “executive, administrative and professional employees” are exempt from that requirement under federal law. Despite that, some city employees are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that requires the city to pay them overtime, according to Witzburg’s report.
The city of Chicago spent approximately $510.9 million on employee overtime in 2024, according to records obtained by WTTW News. More than half went to members of the Chicago Police Department, according to city data.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(Alixzandria Lloyd / iStock)
|
Forecasters are warning Chicagoans to prepare for “dangerously cold temperatures” in the coming days as a deep freeze settles over the region.
Expect Thursday to start out pleasantly enough, but the mercury will begin to nosedive in the late evening and continue to fall overnight. All of northeast Illinois will wake up to sub-zero temperatures Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service, with the worst of the cold between 3 a.m. and noon.
Winds of 15 to 25 miles per hour will make it feel even colder Friday, with wind chills of -15 to -25 degrees in most places, but potentially as low as -40 degrees. Temperatures won’t climb above zero until Saturday, but it will remain bitterly cold, forecasters said.
Officials are advising people to stay indoors as much as possible, and to cover any exposed skin when outdoors.
Added cold weather advice and resources:
|
|
|
|
|
|
More From WTTW News:
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Back in the Day: Jan. 22, 2016 - Black Sabbath Plays Final Show in Chicago
|
Ozzy Osbourne, the “Godfather of Heavy Metal,” frontman of Black Sabbath, and one of rock ’n’ roll’s most powerful voices, died last year on July 25 at 76. On this day 10 years ago, Osbourne performed his final concert in Chicago on Black Sabbath’s “The End” tour, stopping at the United Center. The band played a ripping 16-song set that included highlights like “Black Sabbath,” “War Pigs,” “Iron Man” and “Paranoid.” Greg Kot, the veteran music critic for the Chicago Tribune, wrote of the show, “Osbourne, the band’s affable cheerleader of a frontman, is also indispensable, and during the stern meet-the-devil doominess of ‘Black Sabbath,’ he broke character to puff out his chest, stretch out his arms and smile like he’d just hoodwinked life.” Black Sabbath would return to the Chicago area in September of that year, playing Tinley Park for their final concert in Illinois.
|
|
|
|
|
This Week’s Arts and Culture Events
|
Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
Josh Terry: We’re entering the coldest stretch of the winter so far: a bone-chilling, bona fide deep freeze that would keep most anyone indoors. Chicagoans, however, are a different breed. We’re built for these arctic conditions. If thousands of us can bear the cold for hours outside at a Soldier Field playoff game, we can venture outside for some of the city’s best cultural offerings. Below, WTTW News has highlighted a smattering of how you can spend your weekend. All these events are mercifully indoors: All you have to do is leave the
house.
Comedy: Maggie Winters — Color Club
Besides Sarah Sherman, it’s hard to think of a newer Chicago comic who’s as naturally funny as Maggie Winters. If you’ve seen her stand-up or watched her constantly scene-stealing arc on HBO’s “The Righteous Gemstones,” you know she’s an undeniable talent. On Friday, she’ll be performing for an hour at Color Club in Old Irving Park as part of Tomorrow Never Knows Fest. Buy tickets here.
Museum: NewberryFest: All About Maps! — Newberry Library
NewberryFest is a free and open-to-all event that gives curious Chicagoans a guided and curated tour of the Newberry Library’s vast archives and collections. This year’s winter theme is maps and it promises a “cartography-focused event” that focuses on their “extensive collection of maps from across time and place.” It kicks off on Saturday at noon. For more details and to register, click here.
Musical: “Stereophonic” — CIBC Theatre
This 5-time Tony-winning musical that tracks the rise of a fictional ‘70s rock band hits Chicago for a two-week run at the CIBC Theatre. With explosive and revelatory music from Will Butler of Arcade Fire, the David Adjmi-penned production tackles creation, superstardom and all the struggles that come with it. It opens Jan. 27 and runs through Feb. 8. Buy tickets here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What’s the most overrated Chicago food specialty?
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
