|
Today’s Daily Chicagoan is brought to you, in part, by: |
 |
|
|
|
It’s already the middle of the week. Time flies when you’re staying up to date on your city with WTTW News. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
(FierceAbin / iStock) |
|
The Great Lakes, a water-rich region, hold 20% of the planet's surface freshwater. However, that doesn't mean cities across Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and New York couldn't become the next Phoenix. Just ask Joliet, where the aquifer the city draws its water from is expected to run dry by 2030. Some 20% to 40% of water flowing into and out of the Great Lakes originates as groundwater.
“Which is not something that people think about — the water that's under their feet,” said Helena Volzer, senior source water policy manager with the Alliance for the Great Lakes.
Volzer is the author of a new report that explores how unprecedented levels of consumption by heavy water users — namely “hyperscale” data centers — could lead to conflicts over and even shortages of a resource that's largely been taken for granted. In some places, that future is already playing out.
“There is a need for speed," Volzer said, when it comes to drafting policies that ensure Great Lakes states don't squander their Ice Age legacy.
Some backstory:
Illinois ranks fourth in the number of data centers it houses, whether for crypto mining, cloud computing or generative artificial intelligence.
As the AI arms race has heated up, the size and scope of these centers has mushroomed, as has the pace at which these behemoths are being built, Volzer said.
A single hyperscale center like those operated by Meta or Microsoft — 10,000 square feet or more, with 5,000-plus servers — can consume 1 million to 5 million gallons of water each day. That’s 365 million gallons of water a year, Volzer said, or as much as 12,000 Americans' annual use combined.
Not a single Great Lakes state currently has water management mechanisms in place to curb over-extraction, or what could be termed “de-watering,” before it happens, she said. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sponsor Message |
|
Evanston Folk Festival returns for its second year on the spectacular lakefront at Dawes Park on Chicago’s North Shore. Join us September 6 + 7, 2025, as more than 30 world-class artists take the stage with Lake Michigan as a beautiful backdrop. Listen and learn at in-person interviews and panels with authors and luminaries presented by Chicago Public Media. And keep the music going after the sun sets with intimate evening performances at Cahn Auditorium. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Learn about sponsorship opportunities. |
|
|
 |
|
A voter casts her ballot in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on Nov. 5, 2024. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News) |
|
|
|
The Illinois Board of Elections says it has numerous security checks in place to ensure the validity of its mail-in ballots and that voter fraud remains “extremely rare,” as President Donald Trump vows to eliminate voting by mail before the 2026 midterm elections.
Relying on false information and conspiracy theories that he’s regularly used to explain away his 2020 election loss, Trump pledged on his social media site that he would do away with both mail voting — which remains popular and is used by about one-third of all voters — and voting machines — some form of which are used in almost all of the country’s thousands of election jurisdictions.
In Illinois, there are numerous security checks in place to ensure the accuracy and security of mail-in voting, according to Matt Dietrich, a spokesperson for the state’s Board of Elections.
“This is something that election authorities — from the county level on up — we have worked on, ensuring that the public has trust in the integrity of the election system,” he said, “from the moment you register to the moment you’ve cast your ballot until all the results are in.”
More context:
Vote-by-mail remains popular throughout the U.S. and is used by about one-third of all voters. In Illinois, about 19% of votes from the 2024 general election last fall were cast by mail.
While that was a drop off compared to the 2020 election when mail-in votes accounted for a third of all voting in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dietrich said mail-in voting has steadily increased over the years.
Voter fraud in Illinois — by mail-in voting or otherwise — is “extremely rare,” Dietrich said. Five people faced charges in DuPage County following the 2020 election, but certified instances of fraud remain few and far between.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Colorful work fills the gallery at the Design Museum of Chicago in a group exhibition called “Community on the Make: Arts of Life 2000-2025.” (Marc Vitali / WTTW News) |
|
As their name suggests, Arts of Life makes lively artwork — rich creations abundant with imagination, vitality and unique points-of-view. And much of it is for sale at affordable prices.
For 25 years, Arts of Life has been a place where creative people with intellectual and developmental disabilities produce works of art and earn an income. Now their colorful work fills the gallery at the Design Museum of Chicago in a group exhibition called “Community on the Make: Arts of Life 2000-2025.”
“My first walk-through the exhibition brought tears to my eyes,” executive director Denise Fisher told WTTW News. Fisher co-founded Arts of Life with the late Veronica Cuculich, a self-taught artist with a passion for expression but no artistic home.
“I just wanted her to have the life that she wanted, so I asked her if she wanted to open a studio, and here we are 25 years later. We started with 10 artists and a couple of staff and now we have 80 artists on the roster.”
In Chicago, Arts of Life has a West Town Studio and a Woodlawn location. On the North Shore, they have spaces in Glenview, Evanston and Highland Park. |
|
|
|
|
|
Back in the Day: August 20, 1965 - Beatles Play Comiskey
|
|
Beatlemania came to the United States in February 1964, when the Beatles — Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — played “The Ed Sullivan Show” and 73 million viewers tuned in. Later that year, the Beatles played to overfilled crowds at the International Amphitheater and were met by 5,000 fans as they landed at Midway Airport. On this day in 1965, the Fab Four returned to Chicago, playing two shows at Comiskey Park on Aug. 20. According to the fan site The Beatles Bible, the 3 p.m. show was seen by 25,000, and the second at 8 p.m. drew a crowd of 37,000. Tickets were tiered at $2.50, $4.50 and $5.50. “In just 24 hours,” Chicago Daily News reporter Betty Flynn wrote, “the Beatles tore through Chicago, shattering many teenage hearts, shredding some adult nerves and, apparently, enjoying every minute of it.” The band played original hits like “Help!,” “Ticket To Ride,” “Can’t Buy Me Love” and signature covers of “Twist and Shout” and more. They would return to the city in 1966 and never play a Chicago show again. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Case Oats (Credit: Braeden Long) |
|
Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Thursday, August 21:
Ben Lamar Gay, Ugochi & A.S.E, more at Austin Town Hall. Free.
The Old Town School of Folk Music has been putting on shows with the Chicago Park District called "Future Folk Fest." This one features a local jazz mainstay and more.
Blue Earth Sound at California Clipper. Free.
The new jazz project from Spun Out’s James Weir will bring stellar vibes and a dance party to Humboldt Park around 9 p.m.
Friday, August 22:
Case Oats, TV Buddha at Hideout. Tickets.
Chicago’s most charming folk rock band is finally putting out their debut album Friday. Celebrate with main songwriter Casey Gomez Walker, drummer Spencer Tweedy and several other excellent local players in Bucktown.
Teddy and the Rough Riders at Judson and Moore. Tickets.
One of Nashville’s most smokin’ country bands plays the Avondale Distillery’s late-night honky tonk party.
Saturday, August 23:
Ratboys, Good Looks, Motel Breakfast, Nathan Graham, more at Thalia Hall. Free.
This all-building, all-day, free concert is happening in Pilsen.
Monday, August 25:
Paper Jam, National Photo Committee, Jason Shapiro at the Hideout. Tickets.
The Texas headliners only formed in October 2024, but they already have a debut album of charming jangle-pop. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Where's your favorite place to watch a movie in Chicago? Tell us why.
|
|
|
|
Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
|
|
|
 |
-
Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, on the first week of school, the district's budget proposal and more.
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
