Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by:
|
|
|
|
|
It’s Thursday. WTTW News has the latest on the fallout from U.S. military action in Iran, architecture and how a once-used crime-solving technology turned costly for the city.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
A man carries an Iranian flag to place on the rubble of a police facility struck during the U.S.–Israeli military campaign in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (AP Photo / Vahid Salemi)
|
An effort in the U.S. Senate to curb President Donald Trump’s war on Iran failed Wednesday on a mostly party-line, 47-53 vote. Republicans voted down legislation that would have halted Trump’s ability to authorize air strikes on Iran by granting lawmakers the ability to demand congressional approval prior to future attacks. The move came after days of joint strikes with Israel, without congressional authorization.
The White House on Wednesday said ground troops are not currently under consideration, but officials would not rule them out. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. is winning decisively and intends to control Iranian airspace. Trump praised the U.S. military Wednesday for “doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly.”
More context:
One human rights group said the civilian death toll in Iran now stands at more than 1,000 lives. The war has also killed more than more than 70 in Lebanon and around a dozen in Israel, according to officials in those countries.
Ibrahim Abusharif, a professor of journalism and Middle Eastern studies at Northwestern University, said the more that he learned about the air strikes, the more he saw parallels with Israel’s bombing of Gaza. Abusharif referenced the bombing of a school in Iran, where between 100 and 180 girls were killed, in addition to a hospital that was also damaged in the bombings.
Richard Porter, an attorney and longtime member of the Republican National Committee who served as a White House advisor to President George H.W. Bush, also drew comparisons to Gaza when discussing the bombing of the Iranian school. Porter said Iranians could be mimicking a Hamas tactic, hiding government leaders in hospitals.
“Living through the Iranian Revolution and in the Islamic Republic for eight years,” Jacqueline Saper, an Iranian American activist and author of “From Miniskirt to Hijab: A Girl in Revolutionary Iran,” said , “I watched how quickly a modern life can be narrowed into obedience. But this new generation is defiant. Real change in Iran will ultimately have to come from the Iranian people themselves. And right now, they are standing in the middle of history, not yet knowing which direction it will turn.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Message
|
|
The Poetry Foundation, the publisher of Poetry magazine, welcomes you to experience it for yourself with FREE public programs and resources! On March 12, Chicago Poet Laureate Mayda del Valle will perform alongside Illinois Poet Laureate Mark Turcotte. Later in the month, straight out of the pages of Poetry, Frank X Walker will read with Affrilachian poets Kelly Norman Ellis, Nikky Finney, and Parneshia Jones.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room, 1894 Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, dismantled in 1972 and reconstructed 1977 Vinci-Kenney Architects, 111 S. Michigan Ave. (Eric Allix Rogers)
|
The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room at the Art Institute, Pope Leo XIV’s childhood church and the bridge tender houses along the Chicago River are among the at-risk sites highlighted in an annual list released Wednesday by the organization Preservation Chicago.
Preservation Chicago’s annual “Chicago 7 Most Endangered” list aims to sound the alarm on historic buildings and sites at risk of demolition. By spreading awareness, the organization aims to mobilize the support necessary to save the threatened buildings from demolition.
Buildings added to the “most endangered” list remain on the list until they are saved or lost, according to the organization. A list of all the buildings featured can be found here.
“Despite seemingly impossible odds, the public interest generated by the Chicago 7, coupled with devoted advocacy, has resulted in a remarkable number of preservation victories over the past 20 years,” Preservation Chicago Executive Director Ward Miller said in a news release.
What's on the list:
The Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room and McKinlock Court at The Art Institute of Chicago (111 S. Michigan Ave., Loop)
Chicago River Bridges and Tender Houses (Chicago River Main, North and South Branches)
St. Mary of the Assumption Church and School (Pope Leo XIV’s Childhood Church and School) (310 E. 137th St., Riverdale)
Chicago’s Labor Union Halls (Various locations)
Chicago Loop Synagogue (16 S. Clark St., Loop)
South Park Terrace Apartments (6116-6134 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Washington Park)
Yukon Building (400 S. Clark St., Loop)
St. Mark Roman Catholic Church Campus (2516 W. Cortez St., Humboldt Park)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
(WTTW News)
|
Chicago taxpayers will pay $500,000 to resolve a lawsuit filed by a man who was charged with a murder in 2020 based on an alert from the city’s now-defunct gunshot detection system, according to court records.
Michael Williams, then 65, spent nearly a year in jail after being charged with shooting his neighbor, 25-year-old Safarian Herring, on May 31, 2020, while giving him a ride as protests and unrest triggered by the police murder of George Floyd swept the city.
Using an alert from the city’s ShotSpotter system, Chicago police officers determined Williams shot Herring while the two rode in Williams’ car. Williams told police Herring had been struck by a bullet fired into his car through an open window, according to his lawsuit.
ShotSpotter’s now-ended contract with CPD warned officials that the technology could not be relied on in most cases to detect gunshots inside vehicles or buildings.
In July 2021, a Cook County judge dismissed the criminal charges against Williams at the request of the Cook County state’s attorney, who said prosecutors did not have enough evidence to proceed.
“Michael survived a double nightmare first by nearly being shot to death by a random act of violence and then being framed by CPD officers who he was supposed to be able to turn to for help,” said Jonathan Manes, a senior counsel at the MacArthur Justice Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization in Chicago, which represented Williams. “We are glad to get Michael some measure of justice.”
The case was resolved after lawyers for the city of Chicago offered to pay $500,000 to Williams to resolve the lawsuit before a trial was held or a settlement agreement reached.
|
|
|
|
|
|
More From WTTW News:
|
Olga Bautista, who serves as vice president of Chicago’s Board of Education following her appointment by Mayor Brandon Johnson, is resigning her position, she announced Wednesday.
|
 |
|
|
|
Back in the Day: March 5, 1962 - Opening Date of the Robert Taylor Homes, the Largest Public Housing Project at the Time
|
On this day 64 years ago, the largest public housing project in the country’s history, the Robert Taylor Homes, opened on Chicago’s South Side. At a ceremony on March 5, 1962, Mayor Richard J. Daley handed keys to residents who would occupy its 28, 16-story structures that occupied a two-mile stretch of South State Street between 39th Street and 54th Street in Bronzeville. Named after Robert Taylor, a banker and housing advocate who became the first Black member of the Chicago Housing Authority, the project was controversial from start to finish. It was originally designed to house 11,000 people, but eventually took on 27,000, leading to widespread issues of overcrowding and
unsafe living conditions. By 2005, every apartment in the massive campus was vacant and by 2007, the Robert Taylor Homes had been demolished, spreading its population across the city, suburbs and elsewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
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: Chicago is one of the best cities in the world for a litany of reasons, but one underdiscussed aspect is how you can effortlessly find your artistic niche no matter your interests. Whether you’re a born thespian, a stand-up fanatic, a film buff or a patron of the visual arts, this city’s got you covered. Below, we’ve compiled a small smattering of events and culturally enriching performances for you to enjoy this weekend.
Theater: “Changing Channels” — City Lit Theater Company
This play takes place in 1952, when America was deep into the Cold War and the Red Scare overtook media and popular culture. Penned by John Reeger and inspired by real events, it follows an actress accused of having ties to communism just as her career is experiencing a breakthrough with a hit comedy show. It runs from now until April 12. Buy tickets here.
Theater: “White Rooster” — Lookingglass Theatre
Premiering today at the Lookingglass Theatre is a new play that’s part ghost story and dark comedy from writer Matthew Yee. “Equal parts Chinese mythology, western Americana, and gothic folk-rock, ‘White Rooster’ is a wild journey into a town that time forgot, where everyone is hungry for something, and no one can be sure who is dead and who is alive.” Buy tickets here for an engagement that runs until April 12.
Art: Alice Tippit: Rose Obsolete — DePaul Art Museum
The DePaul Art Museum announced it was closing June 30 after a 15-year run in Lincoln Park. While students and patrons are calling for a reversal of that decision, the museum is still programming vital exhibitions until its final date. Head to the beloved institution for the debut of “Alice Tippit: Rose Obsolete,” which opens today. The Chicago-based artist makes “paintings and works on paper (that) generate multiple layers of meaning through poetic techniques like metaphor, serving as indirect references rather than clear, straightforward representations.” For more info, click here.
Comedy: Trae Crowder — The Den Theatre
You might have seen this Tennessee native’s videos on a social media scroll under the handle “The Liberal Redneck.” But this online pundit and author is also a stand-up comedian performing two shows Saturday at Wicker Park’s the Den Theatre. Tickets can be found here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What’s your favorite Chicago-set TV show?
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
