This Wednesday, start your morning with the latest local stories
from WTTW News.
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(WTTW News)
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A key City Council panel on Tuesday advanced a proposal to give the agency charged with probing police misconduct the authority to investigate whether Chicago Police Department officers and leaders have violated city law by helping federal immigration agents.
A joint session of the Immigrant and Refugee Rights Committee with the Police and Fire Committee voted 19-3 to advance a measure that explicitly gives the Civilian Office of Police Accountability the authority to investigate whether CPD officers have violated the Welcoming City ordinance, which prohibits all city employees from helping federal agents enforce immigration law in nearly all cases.
Alds. Derrick Curtis (18th Ward), Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward) and Jim Gardiner (45th Ward) voted against the measure, which now heads to a final vote by the City Council on Feb. 18. Several of the City Council's most conservative members voted for the proposal, including Alds. Silvana Tabares (23rd Ward) and Nicholas Sposato (38th Ward).
Mayor Brandon Johnson called the proposal a “common-sense measure” designed to “maintain the trust that we have built between law enforcement and immigrant communities throughout Chicago.”
“It is critical that the people of Chicago understand that we take violations of our welcoming city policies seriously, and they deserve a swift and transparent investigation into any alleged violations,” Johnson said during a City Hall news conference shortly before the vote. “It is not enough to be a welcoming city on paper.”
Some perspectives:
Chicago police officers have faced pointed questions from residents and elected officials since June about their actions during a series of increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement actions during what the Trump administration called “Operation Midway Blitz.”
Both Johnson and Snelling have said CPD officers have complied with the Welcoming City ordinance. Snelling has said CPD must respond to all calls for help, and has a responsibility to keep the peace at all times, while ensuring Chicagoans can exercise their right to protest.
In an unusual letter to members of the City Council, Snelling said Tuesday CPD supports the proposal, saying it “further transparency around CPD’s response to incident stemming from civil immigration enforcement.”
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Leighton Criminal Court Building (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)
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Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has instructed her office to resume diverting some people with gun possession charges to the county’s Restorative Justice Community Courts (RJCC), which reroute young people with nonviolent charges from criminal courts to an alternative program. Upon completion, the charge is dismissed.
The move comes nearly a year after O’Neill Burke instructed her office not to divert gun possession cases to the RJCC. That gutted the RJCC caseload, 82.8% of which had been dedicated to adjudicating gun possession cases, according to the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts, which advocates for equitable legal systems.
“We believe in RJCCs. We want them to be successful,” said Yvette Loizon, chief of policy and external affairs for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. “We recognized that by not putting gun cases in the RJCCs, we were restricting their workload significantly.”
Five gun possession cases have been identified for referral to the RJCC since diversion started back up on Jan. 5, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office.
Judge Patricia Spratt, who presides over the North Lawndale RJCC, said the program works. Participants have a recidivism rate of 13% within one year of enrollment of the RJCC, compared to 65% of similarly situated young people whose gun possession cases are adjudicated in traditional court proceedings, according to the Chief Judge’s Office.
“I was very pleased that (O’Neill Burke) decided to reverse her decision and send us first-time gun possession cases,” Spratt said.
More context:
There have been some changes in how the gun possession cases will proceed in the RJCC, Loizon said.
The peace circle — which typically brings together the person charged, the person harmed and community members in a confidential conversation — will be replaced by a restorative practice conference. Participants will receive education like firearm safety and how to be a lawful gun owner.
The peace circle will remain for the other types of cases the RJCC oversees, such as property-related charges.
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(EyeEm Mobile GmbH / iStock)
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Temperatures in Chicago haven’t been above freezing for 10 days, but the National Weather Service said there’s light at the end of this frigid tunnel. Chicagoans will still have to endure several more days of bitter cold before temperatures begin trending upward. Expect a gradual warm-up — relatively speaking — by the weekend. It won’t be shorts and flip-flop weather, but closer to seasonal norms, according to the weather service. In other words, expect highs in the mid-twenties Saturday and Sunday and then low-to-mid thirties next week.
Some perspective:
While those 60-degree days of early January might feel like a lifetime ago, the current arctic snap has nothing on deep freezes from the past. The winter of 1976-77 takes the prize for relentless cold, notching a record 43 consecutive days of below-freezing temperatures, set between Dec. 28 and Feb. 8. Coming in second is a 33-day streak set in 1985, between Jan. 15 and Feb. 16.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: January 28, 1961 - Hubbard Street Fire
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During the early morning hours of Jan. 28, 1961, 65 years ago today, a massive fire broke out at a seven-floor warehouse building at 614 W. Hubbard St. It housed a bakery supply company and a frozen foods business. The alarms and raging blaze brought 316 firefighters and 67 pieces of equipment to brave the near-zero cold and extinguish the inferno. While at the scene, a massive wall collapsed, killing nine firefighters and injuring 15. Among those killed were two battalion chiefs. The wreckage smoldered for days and the freezing conditions led to thick ice encircling the site like a moat. The fire remains one of the most tragic incidents in the Chicago Fire Department’s
history.
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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for Jan. 28-Feb. 3
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Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Wednesday, Jan. 28:
Macie Stewart/Lily Finnegan/Katinka Klein Trio, Macie Stewart and V.V. Lightbody at Color Club. Tickets.
The Chicago songwriter and Finom member closes out her January residency in Old Irving Park with two guest-heavy sets.
Thursday, Jan. 29:
Friendship, Natalie Jane Hill, Krill 2 at Empty Bottle. Tickets.
“Caveman Wakes Up,” the latest LP from the conversational and empathic headlining band, was one of 2025’s most acclaimed indie rock records.
Sprints, Trophy Wife, No Men at Lincoln Hall. Tickets.
This buzzy Irish post-punk band headlines a Tomorrow Never Knows Festival show in Lincoln Park.
Why?, Brotherkenzie at Sleeping Village. Tickets.
The longrunning experimental Ohio musician is just as innovative and self-excavating as ever. Part of TNK Fest.
Friday, Jan. 30:
Liam Kazar, Andrew Sa at Space. Tickets.
The Chicago folk-rocker returns home with a headlining show in Evanston.
Half Gringa at Athanaeum Center. Tickets.
This local indie rocker will be interviewed and play a performance in the Lakeview venue’s Paradiso space.
Ira Glass, Jawdropped, Retail Drugs, Starcharm, Immaterialize at Schubas. Tickets.
The rising and vital local record label Angel Tapes showcases its eclectic and essential roster in Lakeview. Part of TNK Fest.
Saturday, Jan. 31:
CRASHprez, Geferty at Gman Tavern. Tickets.
Two locals: one rapper and one indie rock band team up for TNK Fest in Wrigleyville.
Monday, Feb. 2:
Doom Flower, Surgery Boys, Surgery Cult at Empty Bottle. Free.
It’s supposed to tick up to 30 degrees next week? Why not spend it walking to the Ukrainian Village venue for its weekly Free Monday shows.
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Restaurant Week is in full swing. What’s your favorite place to grab
a bite in your neighborhood?
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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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