Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by:
|
|
|
|
|
It’s April and April Fools’ Day. We promise that this newsletter has real news you can use and no bad jokes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(iStock)
|
How warm will it be in Chicago tomorrow? Will U.S. forces enter Iran next month? How many tweets will Elon Musk post this week?
For people who think they know the answers, prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi will let them put their money where their mouth is.
Once a niche interest, prediction markets have broken through to a wider audience. Now, the public — and lawmakers — are trying to adapt to a world where people can bet on almost anything.
“The idea is to capitalize on the wisdom of the crowds,” said M. Todd Henderson, a law professor at the University of Chicago. “If you poll a large number of people, you can get surprising accuracy on complicated things.”
How it works:
In prediction markets, users trade contracts that cover the outcome of future events. In theory, the trading prices correspond to the likelihood of an event happening.
Take an election market. If a contract saying a specific politician will win is trading at $0.52 before an election, with a payout of $1.00 if it becomes true, the idea is that the politician has about a 52% chance of actually winning.
What it means:
Just this year, a series of peculiarly timed bets have drawn scrutiny as potential insider trading. These include hundreds of thousands of dollars bet within hours of the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the U.S.-Israel attacks on Iran.
“If people begin to see these markets as completely dominated by insiders, they’re not going to want to place money on them,” Lockhart said. By this logic, Polymarket and Kalshi have incentives to weed out insider trading.
But according to Henderson, leveraging inside information may be a feature, and not a bug, of prediction markets.
“If we really want to know whether an event is going to happen, it’s the insiders who have the information about that event who we want to encourage to reveal that information,” Henderson said.
The regulatory landscape surrounding prediction markets is rapidly evolving.
In Illinois, a bill in the House would set age limits; ban trading on sports, deaths and political events; and seek to limit fraud and insider trading.
Meanwhile, a separate bill in the state Senate would license and tax prediction market platforms similar to gambling platforms.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Message
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
CLATA awarded a $10,000 grant to Visión Latino Theatre Company to stage “Las Borinqueñas,” a play set in Puerto Rico. (Medill School of Journalism)
|
Chicago is known for its diversity: its people, its stories and its art. For actor Kidany Camilo, performing on stage is an act of cultural expression. But as Latino artists continue creating their work, supporting organizations face federal funding cuts and shrinking philanthropic support.
The Destinos: Chicago International Latino Theater Festival is an initiative helping to close the gap. The festival is organized by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance, or CLATA.
“CLATA was founded based on the idea of providing visibility and helping uplift Latino theaters and our stories at major stages across the city, both major stages and across different communities throughout Chicago,” said Jorge Valdivia, CLATA’s executive director.
More context:
According to a 2025 report by the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute, Latinos make up about 30% of the city and the majority of CPS students, yet only around 6% of philanthropic arts funding is directed toward Latino arts.
This year, CLATA awarded a $10,000 grant to Visión Latino Theatre Company to stage “Las Borinqueñas,” a play set in Puerto Rico.
“It means so much to the Latino community to see these stories on stage, to hear this history that has been kind of, like, hidden away,” said Daniela Martinez, an ensemble member at Visión Latino Theatre Company.
At the federal level, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded 424 grants to Chicago organizations between 2020 and 2024, but only 31 or about 7.3% of those grants went to Latino arts or communities.
Those who support Latino arts say the root of the problem lies in who holds the financial purse strings. Organizations like the Paul M. Angell Foundation, which funds CLATA, agree. The foundation is shifting its approach, moving away from short‑term grants and investing more in helping organizations sustain their work for the long term.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Chicago’s hybrid Board of Education meets for the first time at the Chicago Public Schools Loop headquarters on Jan. 15, 2025. (WTTW News)
|
The lone Board of Education member who voted against Macquline King’s appointment as Chicago Public Schools CEO said she “could not in good conscience” support her amid political pressure and “serious concerns” about the district’s direction.
King was officially named the next full-time CPS CEO on Monday following an 18-1 vote by the board. The one “no” vote came from Jennifer Custer, an elected board member representing District 1 on the Far Northwest Side.
In a social media post late Monday, Custer said she voted against King “because I listened closely to the voices of my community — parents, principals, and rank-and-file educators — who consistently raised serious questions about the direction of the district under this leadership.”
Some backstory:
The board launched its search for a new CEO early last year, but when an initial set of three finalists were leaked last fall, King’s name was not among them, Chalkbeat Chicago and WBEZ reported at the time.
Custer on Monday said she was “deeply troubled” that King was “initially removed” from consideration for the role, only to be reintroduced amid what she called “clear outside political pressure.”
She claimed this raised “real questions about the integrity of this process.”
In her statement, Custer criticized the level of transparency about the significant budgetary issues facing CPS as well as a lack of “consistent, stable executive leadership demonstrated at the C-suite level.”
“Given all of this,” she said, “I could not in good conscience support this appointment.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
More From WTTW News:
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Back in the Day: April 1, 1906 - Tribune Attempts Dinosaur Invasion April Fools Joke
|
If you picked up a Chicago Tribune newspaper on this day 120 years ago, you would’ve been faced with a full page spread headlined, “Chicago Invaded by Prehistoric Monsters Dealing Death and Destruction,” complete with illustrations of the carnage dinosaurs wreaked on the city. “Hordes of gigantic beasts swarm down from the north and overwhelm the city, leaving it a mass of wreckage, tangled iron, piles of brick and stone,” it read. “Killing thousands of the inhabitants. Parks
turned into deserts, great skyscrapers leveled by blows from the tails of the monsters, and entire population threatened in the panic and pestilence that follow the invasion.” Fear not: dinosaurs were extinct in 1906 as they are today and did not reanimate and flood the city with violence. This was a classic April Fools Day prank done by the historic local paper.
|
|
|
|
|
Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for April 1-7
|
Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Wednesday, April 1:
The Sunchokes, Midamerican Elevator, Kneafsey, Doc Mino at Schubas. Tickets.
“High Five” is this Lakeview institution’s $5 local show series. Save some money and see some Chicago talent.
Thursday, April 2:
Golomb, Kitship, Wishbone at Hideout. Tickets.
Ohio’s coolest young rock band plays its first headlining show in the city.
Charlotte Cornfield, Max Subar at Schubas. Tickets.
This Canadian folk songwriter has a gem of a new LP in “Hurts Like Hell.”
Friday, April 3:
Lily Allen at the Auditorium Theatre. Tickets.
This U.K. pop star blends devastatingly personal lyrics with stellar hooks. The first of two shows in the Loop.
The Hoyle Brothers at the Empty Bottle. Free.
If you think shows start too late in the night, head to Ukrainian Village for their longstanding honky tonk matinee residency.
Saturday, April 4:
Lily Allen at the Auditorium Theatre. Tickets.
This U.K. pop star blends devastatingly personal lyrics with stellar hooks. The second of two shows in the Loop.
Honestly Same at Judson and Moore. Tickets.
A cutting-edge local experimental band plays two sets at a whiskey distillery.
McClusky, Pile at Metro. Tickets.
Two excellent punk bands team up in Lakeview.
Sunday, April 5:
Free Range, TV Buddha, Kitship, Uniflora, Current Union TM, Niko Kapetan, more at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
The future of Chicago’s indie rock music scene celebrates a new compilation album of its vibrant youth community.
Kelly Moran at Constellation. Tickets.
The experimental keyboardist and composer plays the venue best suited to her music.
Tuesday, April 7:
Skullcrusher, June McDoom, h. pruz at Old Town School of Folk Music. Tickets.
A trio of excellent folk singers team up for a gig in Lincoln Square.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's your favorite building in Chicago? Tell us why.
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
