Yes, it’s still hot. Cool down with these Thursday stories from WTTW News.
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Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling speaks at a news conference on Oct. 6, 2025. (WTTW News)
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Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling announced Wednesday he plans to retire this month after three decades with the department and three years as its leader.
“I am closing out this chapter of my life with a heart full of gratitude for every Chicagoan and every community partner who embraced me during my time at the Chicago Police Department,” he said in a letter. “Thank you does not fully express my appreciation for you, the people of Chicago. I ask that you continue to extend this same warmth and support to every member of the department.”
Read Snelling’s full letter.
His last day will be July 15.
Interim Superintendent Fred Waller will lead the department while the Community Commission for Public Safety begins the search process for a permanent leader, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced.
“We’re grateful for Superintendent Snelling’s dedicated leadership and the work we’ve accomplished together to advance a community safety strategy rooted in strong partnerships and deep community engagement across Chicago," Johnson said in a statement. “Leadership may transition, but our commitment to building safe communities and serving our residents with care and compassion does not. As we continue through the summer, the structures, coordination, and partnerships that drive our community safety efforts remain firmly in place."
Some backstory:
After joining the department in 1992, Snelling spent much of his career as an instructor in the CPD training academy. Promoted to lieutenant in 2019, Snelling was named commander in the CPD’s 7th District just months later.
Snelling, the CPD's 64th superintendent, was appointed by Johnson before being unanimously confirmed the City Council in September 2023. He took over during a tumultuous period for the Chicago Police Department, which had seen three previous leaders in less than a year.
At the time, Johnson made it clear he believed Snelling was the clear choice to guide the department as it struggled to reduce crime and implement court-ordered reforms under the consent decree.
During his tenure as superintendent, the city successfully hosted the Democratic National Convention and experienced a drop in shootings and homicides, culminating in 2025 when the city recorded its fewest homicides in 60 years.
“While this happened during my tenure as Superintendent, the hard and courageous work of the members of the Chicago Police Department should be given the credit,” Snelling said. "Though I am proud of what we have achieved, there is more to be done, and I am confident that we created a foundation for further progress."
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(Fintan Trimble / iStock)
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Some longtime Illinois residents are at risk of deportation following the U.S. Supreme Court decision that allows the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from Haiti and Syria.
TPS designations are chosen for foreign nations with conditions that temporarily prevent the country’s nationals from returning safely, or in certain circumstances, when the country is unable to handle the return of its nationals adequately. The program allows individuals to live and work in the U.S. legally.
More than 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians nationwide could be impacted.
Haiti was first designated for the TPS program in 2010 under the Obama administration when the devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit the island, and Syria received its TPS designation in 2012 shortly after civil war began. In the years that followed, those designations were extended following federal review.
“Haiti has suffered so many setbacks,” said Darryl Auguste, secretary of the Haitian American Lawyers Association of Illinois. “The assassination of the president, Jovenel (Moïse), the influx of gangs throughout the country in conjunction with the economic depreciation. … Haiti is in total disarray in regards to anyone, not even people on TPS, but anyone to return to the country.”
More context:
About 260 Haitian families in Illinois are affected by the federal ruling.
There may still be avenues for Haitian and Syrian people to stay in the country, Auguste said, naming asylum, work visas and refugee status as possible paths forward for those impacted.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Haiti and Syria maintain a “Level 4: Do Not Travel” advisory. For Syria, the department says there’s a high risk of terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, hostage-taking, crime and armed conflict.
“We are talking about people who are already here,” said Ali Tarokh, director of development and communications at the Syrian Community Network. “They are part of our economy, they are hard workers and they are members of our society. … Sending them back to those countries, which is dangerous for U.S. citizens, is dangerous for those people (nationals) as well.”
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File footage of a 2026 World Cup game. (WTTW News via CNN)
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As the FIFA World Cup wraps up its knockout round Friday, soccer organizations across Chicago say the tournament is fueling a surge of interest in the sport, inspiring young players and drawing new families to local clubs.
The monthlong tournament marks the first men’s World Cup hosted in North America since 1994. It also comes as the sport enjoys greater popularity in the United States ahead of another major stretch of international competitions like the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.
This year, more than 50 million people in the U.S. have tuned in for World Cup matches so far, according to Kay Bradley, chief marketing officer for the Chicago Stars.
“There’s definitely so much excitement and energy around this World Cup. It’s palpable when you walk out on the streets in Chicago,” Bradley said of soccer’s rise. “You see people wearing their jerseys, watch parties all across the city, bars and venues, even in people’s homes. The energy is just so exciting.”
Local organizations are working to capitalize on the momentum. The Stars, for example, are expanding their community programming by hosting youth clinics, making appearances at festivals and farmers markets, and holding watch parties throughout the city.
“Soccer is one of those sports that brings people together,” Bradley said. “People are looking for connection and looking for belonging and looking for joy. It brings all of that and brings all of us together.”
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: July 2, 1996 - Three of the “Ford Heights Four” Exonerated
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In 1978, four twenty-something men were arrested and tried for the horrific murder and kidnapping of Lawrence Lionberg and Carol Schmal. Verneal Jimerson and Dennis Williams were sentenced to death, while Kenneth Adams faced 75 years and Willie Rainge a life sentence. Also known as the “Ford Heights Four,” they would all go on to spend nearly 20 years in prison before outside students and journalists investigated the case and found issues with witness testimony. Eventually, DNA evidence cleared all four men. On this day 30 years ago, three of these men, Williams, Rainge and Adams, were fully exonerated with all charges dropped. (The fourth man, Jimerson, had been exonerated a
month prior). The case helped Illinois abolish the death penalty in 2011 and DNA evidence found Lionberg and Schmal’s killers.
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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.
I don’t need to tell you that it’s been oppressively hot in Chicago this week. It’s also a holiday weekend: You’ll probably be grilling and hanging out with friends and family to watch the fireworks. Those are all good plans, but you still have an opportunity to take in some cultural events over the next few days. Here’s what we’d recommend.
Film: Chicago Film Office Presents: Family Matinees — Chicago Cultural Center's Claudia Cassidy Theater
Want to escape the heat? At noon Thursday, the Chicago Cultural Center is hosting a family-friendly screening of 2014’s “The Lego Movie” at its Claudia Cassidy Theater. This is part of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events “Family Matinees” series, where DCASE is programming Thursday showings of all-ages films like “Paddington 2,” “The Princess Diaries,” “Black Panther” and more. Screenings are free to attend, with no RSVP required, but feel free to check the website for the full calendar
and more details.
Art: “Presence and Absence: The Space Between” — Evanston Art Center
The acclaimed sculptor, artist and nonviolence educator Indira Freitas Johnson curates a new exhibit at the Evanston Art Center called “Presence and Absence: The Space Between.” The collection, which includes sculpture, painting, performance and other installations, “explores the dual reality of death—the physical disappearance of those we love and the enduring emotional, spiritual, and cultural traces they leave behind.” Despite the morbid subject matter, these works allow the viewer to “reflect on legacy, remembrance, and the ways we remain present even in our absence.” It opens Monday and is on view until Aug. 2. For more information, click here.
Theater: “Suffs” — CIBC Theatre
Shaina Taub’s “Suffs” premiered on Broadway in 2024. It was created, written and starred by Taub, who made a musical based on the many activists and pioneers in the women’s suffrage movement. It won two Tony Awards that year, one for Best Book and the other for Best Score, which made Taub the first woman to win both categories in the same year. Now, it’s making its Chicago premiere at the CIBC Theatre. Starring Maya Keleher and Danyel Fulton, this production runs from Tuesday through July 19. Buy tickets here.
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What's your favorite restaurant or bar patio in the Chicago area?
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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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