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| Here’s how to get the most out of your Tribune subscription | Got something to say? Join the conversation on our Facebook pageGood morning, Chicago. Here are some of the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker unveiled a plan to merge roughly 650 local pension funds for suburban and downstate police officers and firefighters into two statewide funds in an effort to narrow a widening funding gap and ease the property tax burden on homeowners.
The idea of consolidating the public safety pension funds — which together have roughly $11.5 billion in unfunded liabilities — is not new, but many previous attempts have failed to gain traction in the General Assembly.
In other political news:
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle outlined her approximately $6.2 billion budget plan for next year — one that continues her agenda without relying on new taxes or fees. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is considering a tax on online purchases and higher fees for taking ride-share trips solo in her 2020 budget.
Discord is growing among Democrats in the Illinois Senate over the decision to allow Sen. Martin Sandoval to remain perched in his chairman’s seat. Also on Thursday, ComEd disclosed that it received a federal subpoena demanding they turn over “communications” with Sandoval.
In Washington, the retiring dean of Illinois GOP delegation said he no longer supports President Trump because of his decision to withdraw U.S. military forces from Syria.
The mother of a 9-year-old boy charged with murder in a fire that killed four of his relatives and the mother’s fiance said her son is “not a monster.”
“He made a terrible mistake,” Katie Alwood, 28, said of her 9-year-old son. “He’s a child.”
The fire, which took place in early April in a mobile home east of Peoria, claimed the lives of the 9-year-old’s two half-siblings, a cousin, his mother’s fiance and his great-grandmother. The decision to charge a 9-year-old with murder prompted concerns from juvenile justice advocates, who said that children that young have long been believed to need help, rather than punishment, if they are found guilty of even the most serious crimes.
It was the scene of one of Chicago’s worst shootings. Today, Cornell Square Park is thriving.
There was a time when Deonta Howard’s family worried whether he would ever want to play in a park again. After all, Deonta was just 3 when he was shot at Cornell Square Park in the fall of 2013. Two gunmen sprayed the basketball courts with an AK-47, injuring 13 people.
Six years later, the last of the seven men convicted in connection with the gang revenge shooting was finally sentenced to prison. Despite its bloody history, the sprawling park remains a vital resource for its South Side neighbors, a place of optimism and pride, community activists say.
Loop office tower to become largest communal living property ever proposed in Chicago
A Chicago developer plans to bring 505 co-living residents to a 41-story Loop office tower, the largest communal living property ever proposed in the city. CityPads has a deal to buy the top 31 floors of the 92-year-old Clark Adams Building, with plans to invest $80 million converting the office space into small, shared apartments.
The co-living plan comes at a time when office landlords in the Central Loop face a wave of upcoming large vacancies, as tenants relocate to new skyscrapers along the Chicago River and to entirely new office submarkets such as the Fulton Market district. Some experts have predicted that the trend of older office buildings being converted to new uses such as residential and hotels could accelerate.
The Navy Pier Flyover has been delayed yet again, this time until late spring of 2020. The bridge, which was started in 2014 after more than a decade of planning, is taking twice as long to build as the Willis Tower.
The former McDonald’s national headquarters is being reduced to rubble as demolition levels part of Oak Brook’s history.
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A Wisconsin-based spice-seller is second only to Trump in spending on impeachment ads
Bill Penzey minces no words when it comes to his feelings about President Donald Trump.
The owner of Wauwatosa, Wis.-based Penzeys Spices, which has a store in Naperville, was thrust into the spotlight this week when Axios reported that Penzeys Spices spent $92,000 in the week between Sept. 29 and Oct. 5 on impeachment ads, second only to Trump in spending. On Thursday, Penzey updated the figure for the Tribune. It’s now $128,000 after he bought another Facebook ad.
Traditional business wisdom might caution Penzey against wearing his political heart on his sleeve. But Penzey isn’t worried.
The new Eddie Murphy movie ‘Dolemite’ is not playing near downtown Chicago. Here’s why.
Financed by the streaming behemoth Netflix, the new Eddie Murphy comedy “Dolemite is My Name” enters the marketplace with a couple of sharp angles of interest.
It’s a film-nerd movie, about the unlikely making and ultimate success of proto-rapper and stand-up comic Rudy Ray Moore’s 1975 action film, “Dolemite.” And it signals Murphy’s return to R-rated comic form, supported by a wealth of African American comic talent on screen, including Wesley Snipes, Chris Rock and Craig Robinson.
So why is it opening in a mere two theaters in Chicago and environs?
There are over a hundred movies to see during the Chicago International Film Festival. Here’s 10 you shouldn’t miss.
Why they run: The stories behind the Chicago Marathon
A nun started a running team for the Archdioscese of Chicago to raise money for a mission. A woman created 3D printed gloves for wheelchair athletes. A brother is running in honor of his sister who died by suicide. A diverse group of high schoolers, many running for the first time, prepare for the upcoming marathon. These are the stories behind the 2019 Chicago Marathon.
Chicago Marathon 2019: Course map, where to watch the race and how to avoid traffic congestion
Laura Michalek should have been in for a long, painful day when she ran her 1st marathon at age 15. Instead, she won.
Column: Giuliani’s dodgy pals indicted and Trump demands Fox News behave: The Week in Review
In the midst of an impeachment inquiry is probably not the best time for two associates of a president’s personal attorney to get indicted on campaign finance charges and arrested while trying to flee the country.
But that is just what happened this week, and it fits fairly well with the Trump administration’s motto of, “Every 10 minutes, a new Watergate,” and columnist Rex Huppke’s motto of “What the (BLEEP) just happened?”