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It’s Monday. Start the week with stories on an influential local record label specializing in archival releases, CPD’s consent decree progress and how federal cuts could impact Illinois libraries. |
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Numero Group Factory Outlet store, 2533 S. Troy Street, in Little Village in 2019. (Leland Meiner / Numero Group) |
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Working out of a small two-flat on Marshall Boulevard in Little Village, Ken Shipley remembers the early days of starting the record label Numero Group with fellow co-founders Rob Sevier and Tom Lunt.
In the years since its founding, the archival record label has expanded its music catalog, built an online and streaming presence and opened up a brick-and-mortar record store located at 2533 S. Troy St. in Little Village. The label also has offices in Los Angeles and London. Now, Numero Group is celebrating 22 years with an anniversary show this month at the Metro.
Born in Chicago, Numero Group pays homage to the practice of music discovery while aiming to give new life to music that may have previously flown under the radar. For more than two decades, the label has reissued music and chronicled the stories of the artists who make them across a wide range of genres and decades.
The label has bolstered the music and helped elevate the careers of — to name a few — the slowcore indie rock band Duster, ambient multi-instrumentalist Laraaji, Chicago South Side’s own Pastor T.L. Barrett, post-hardcore band Unwound and Chicago soul singer Syl Johnson.
Shipley said he hopes Numero Group can help introduce music to a younger generation of fans, and perhaps, more generations to come. The label has more than 20,000 songs in its catalog.
“We’re trying to figure it out every day, how do we get this music to last 100 years or 150 years?” Shipley said. “Is there a song like Penny & the Quarters’ ‘You and Me’ that can be, like, one of the greatest songs of all time and it was almost lost to history?”
Want to see this music live?
Numero Group’s upcoming anniversary show at the Metro on April 19 will feature performances by emo band Everyone Asked About You, indie rock singer-songwriter Julie Doiron and punk band Clikatat Ikatowi. On the day of the show, Numero Group will also host a pop-up record shop at the Metro store from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
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Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling discusses plans for a rally and march down Michigan Avenue on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News) |
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The Chicago Police Department has fully complied with 16% of the court order that requires CPD to stop routinely violating Black and Latino residents’ constitutional rights by the end of 2024, according to the court-appointed monitoring team charged with keep track of reform efforts.
The 7-percentage point jump in the level of full compliance reached between July and December 2024 is the largest increase in the nearly six years that the federal court order has been in effect. The last report from the monitors found CPD had fully complied with just 9% of the consent decree.
The report is the first since WTTW News and ProPublica reported that the reform effort was at a tipping point, with advocates for police reform losing faith in the process and increasingly concerned the opportunity for lasting reform is slipping away.
The department is in preliminary compliance with approximately 34% of the consent decree’s requirements and secondary compliance with another 42% of the requirements, according to the 11th semiannual report from the team led by attorney Maggie Hickey.
“The CPD appears to be gaining momentum, and critical opportunities for improvement are now within reach,” Hickey wrote to U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer. “CPD’s ability to demonstrate increased compliance in the eleventh reporting period—particularly in the use of force section of the consent decree—is encouraging.” |
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(Kenishirotie / Stock) |
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The Institute of Museum and Library Services, or IMLS, provides federal funding to museums and libraries across the country. That funding is currently in limbo. Last month, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the agency, resulting in the entire staff being placed on administrative leave. Some say this move could result in the loss of critical programs and services in every state, especially in rural areas.
The IMLS said in 2024 it awarded $266.7 million to museums, libraries and archives; that makes up just 0.003% of the federal budget, and 75 cents per capita. The IMLS granted Illinois $5.7 million last year to more than 200 libraries. A large portion of that funding went to the interconnected library delivery service, Reaching Across Illinois Libraries System, or RAILS. The system gives libraries the ability to loan items to other libraries. |
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More From WTTW News |
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A fixture on the Chicago theater scene since the ‘90s, David Cerda has now written a semi-autobiographical play based on his upbringing in Northwest Indiana. He titled it “Scary Town” and calls the show an adult children’s play. WTTW News spoke with him about camp, comedy and that time Tippi Hedren came to a show – plus his upcoming performance at A Red Orchid Theatre.
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The Chicago City Council just got a new member. On Monday, alderpeople approved Anthony Quezada with a 32-11 vote as the new alderperson of the 35th Ward, despite some opposition from City Council members. He joined “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” to discuss his new role.
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Back in the Day: April 14, 2015 - Mayor Emanuel Approves Reparations Package for Victims of Jon Burge |
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Jon Burge was a disgraced commander in the Chicago Police Department who was fired in 1993 and died in 2018. City officials have acknowledged that Burge tortured and beat more than 100 Black men, from the 1970s to the 1990s. On this day 10 years ago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel approved $5.5 million in reparations for Burge's torture victims. The ordinance was sponsored by 21st Ward Ald. Howard Brookins Jr. and 1st Ward Ald. Joe “Proco” Moreno and was introduced to the City Council on Oct. 16, 2013. “Jon Burge’s actions are a disgrace – to Chicago, to the hard-working men and women of the police department, and most importantly to those he was sworn to protect,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Today, we stand together as a city to try and right those wrongs, and to bring this dark chapter of Chicago’s history to a close.” Victims began receiving payouts in 2016. To date, Chicago taxpayers have now paid approximately $140 million in lawsuit settlements and judgments related to Burge’s conduct, which includes the $5.5 million in reparations for torture survivors.
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
City Council's Joint Committee: Finance; Housing & Real Estate
After delaying a vote last week, Mayor Johnson's "green social housing" initiative faces a crucial test at noon on Monday, April 14 from a key city panel. Agenda and details here.
City Council's Committee on Housing and Real Estate
At 10:30 a.m., this committee will appoint new members to the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund Board and the committee chair will call on the Illinois General Assembly to rescind state-wide preempting of rent control laws. Details here.
City Club of Chicago
On April 15 at noon, a panel called “Reducing Gun Violence: How the Community and Police are Working Together” takes place at Maggiano's Banquets. Panelists include CRED's Jalon Arthur, CPD's director of community policing Glen Brooks, Jr., City of Chicago's Elvis Ortega and moderator Steve Perkins from Metropolitan Peace Initiatives. Tickets and details are here.
City Council
A regular meeting of Chicago's City Council will take place on April 16 at 10:00 a.m. in the Council Chamber in City Hall. Details here.
Economic Club of Chicago
Jerome H. Powell, chair, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, will address The Economic Club of Chicago for a luncheon on April 16. Only members and media can attend but the event will be available to stream on YouTube. |
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This year, lawmakers in Springfield and Washington D.C. are attempting to make daylight saving time permanent. What do you think? Let us know and tell us why. |
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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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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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