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Happy Friday, Chicago. Embrace the last weekend of 2024 by reading these local stories from WTTW News.
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A file photo of the Illinois State Capitol. (Andrew Adams / Capitol News Illinois)
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Illinois has nearly 300 new laws taking effect Jan. 1. Here are five new laws to know:
1. Digital IDs: Per a new law, anyone who already has a physical driver’s license or state ID card will be able to get a mobile version. There are no details on the rollout, however, so even though the law makes digital IDs possible in the new year, it doesn’t mean they’ll be ready — or even issued — in 2025.
2. Driver safety: With appreciation to those willing to pick up loved ones from the airport, cars filling up the shoulders on the highway are a hazard. Starting Jan. 1, cars can no longer stop or idle on the shoulder near O’Hare Airport. The tollway gets the ability to install a camera network to catch and ticket violators.
3. Catalytic converters: Cars’ catalytic converters, which contain metals that fetch a pretty price as scrap, are quick and easy to remove, making them a target for thieves. A new law requires would-be metal scrap sellers to show a car title, proving ownership. Dealers must also keep records.
4. Single-use shampoo bottles: Hotels have six more months to prepare, but come July, larger hotels (those with at least 50 rooms) can no longer offer single-use plastic bottles of shampoo or body wash. It’s an effort to cut down on plastic.
5. Renter protections: Landlords can’t retaliate because a tenant complains, takes legal action or joins a tenant union. A new law says a landlord cannot raise the rent, threaten to sue or refuse to renew a lease in response.
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A movie still of Keith Kupferer and Dolly de Leon in “Ghostlight,” screening at the Gene Siskel on Dec. 28, 2024, and available on select streaming services. (Courtesy of Luke Dyra and IFC Films)
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When Chicago-based director Kelly O’Sullivan, a self-described “theater kid at heart,” wrote the feature film “Ghostlight,” she said she wanted to explore a theater stage as a place where people can deal with their darkest emotions. “Ghostlight” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival early this year. It was later released in theaters nationwide after being picked up by IFC Films. The movie is returning to theaters with a 12:30 p.m. screening at the Gene Siskel Film Center on Saturday, Dec. 28.
The movie and its cast members have recently been nominated for several awards, including two Film Independent Spirit Awards: best feature under $1 million and best lead performance for Chicago stage veteran Keith Kupferer’s role as Dan in the film. O’Sullivan said she wrote “Ghostlight” with Kupferer in mind to play the lead after having performed with him in a 2014 local theater production of “The Humans." The movie is Kupferer's first leading role in a feature film.
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The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry’s “Christmas Around the World” and “Holidays of Light” exhibits. (Heidi Peters / Griffin Museum of Science and Industry)
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Holiday celebrations seem to end as soon as they come around, and if you’re the type to pout on Dec. 26, no need to fret; the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry’s “Christmas Around the World” and “Holidays of Light” exhibits are here to keep your Christmas spirit alive.
The annual exhibit started in 1942 with a single tree that was newly decorated for 12 days to represent the nations fighting alongside the U.S. during World War II. Today, the exhibit has grown to include 55 trees, each decorated to represent different countries; seven boxes to represent different holidays of light, like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa; and the Grand Tree, a four-story Christmas tree with 35,000 lights and more than 500 ornaments.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 6. Visit the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry website for winter holiday hours.
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Back in the Day: December 27, 2003 - Former White Sox Outfielder Iván Calderón Murdered
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Iván Calderón was a journeyman player in Major League Baseball. After starting his pro career in 1984, the Puerto Rican-born outfielder bounced around the league, playing for Seattle, Montreal, Boston and the Chicago White Sox, notching an All-Star Game appearance in 1991. In Chicago, he was tenured the longest, playing from 1986 to 1990 before ending his career in 1993 at 31. On this day 21 years ago, Calderón was killed at a bar in Loíza, Puerto Rico. Though he was shot multiple times in the head and back, at point-blank range, to this date the murder has yet to be solved.
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Where's your favorite place in the city or local neighborhood to go to look at holiday lights and decorations? Here's what some of our staffers had to say:
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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“As someone who now struggles to get into the holiday spirit as an adult, the closest I’ve felt to experiencing it again is inside the Great Hall at Union Station on a December night. It’s nothing short of a movie when they play Christmas music over the speakers in the beautifully vast and warmly lit Great Hall with the huge Christmas tree in the center covered in train-themed ornaments. It’s a great place to take in holiday nostalgia on top of the inherent adventure and excitement that already comes with traveling via train. All while staying warm!” -Eunice Alpasan, WTTW News digital reporter
“Lincoln Square (my neighborhood). People have their windows open to show off their trees and lights; I want to snoop!” - Blair Paddock, WTTW News investigative reporter
“I always look forward to seeing how downtown is decorated. It’s so pretty driving down Michigan Avenue and seeing the trees covered in lights. However, the real Christmas spirit is driving through the neighborhoods and getting to see how people decorate. Streets near Andersonville were decked out this year and I loved it! A reminder to be creative, Chicagoans. This year I made arches using PVC pipes and wrapped them with Christmas lights.” - Joanna Hernandez, WTTW News correspondent and host of “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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