It’s March Madness, Chicago! The NCAA Tournament kicked off this week and brackets are already bust, with a number of early upsets.
But it wasn’t so for Illinois. The Fighting Illini are headed to Round 2 of the tournament after beating Penn 105-70 Thursday night. No. 1 seed, Duke, narrowly avoided an upset of their own, pulling off a 71-65 win over Siena University. Meanwhile, the NCAA is implementing “integrity monitoring” amid a surge in sports betting and in light of a recent game-fixing case.
A different kind of chaos has subsided after Election Day on Tuesday, where Illinoisans voted in local and statewide primary races to elect their preferred party’s nominee. In Cook County, Board President Toni Preckwinkle fended off a challenge from Ald. Brendan Reilly, while Assessor Fritz Kaegi lost his bid for reelection. A handful of big-money, Chicago-area congressional primaries were decided, with Democrat Donna Miller heading to the general election in the 2nd District, state Rep. La Shawn Ford earning the Democratic nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, and Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss winning the crowded Democratic race in the 9th District. In the statewide battles, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is looking to make history after beating out her opponents in the race for U.S. Senate, the Democratic primary for Illinois comptroller was finally called Thursday, and the state will see a repeat of the 2022 gubernatorial race in November, with incumbent Gov. JB Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey again securing their parties’ nominations. For complete election results, click here.
While municipal elections aren’t for another year, it was also a busy week for City Hall. One of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s signature initiatives, ending the subminimum wage for tipped workers, was frozen by aldermen on Wednesday — though he pledged to veto the measure soon after. Later in the week, the mayor’s pick to lead the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events was sued by a former employee, and the deputy mayor for community safety was abruptly fired, despite Johnson recently crediting him for his role in the city’s declining crime rate.
The war in Iran concluded its third week with no signs of stopping. Throughout the week, Israel pounded Tehran with airstrikes as the nation celebrated the Persian New Year and Muslims observed Eid al-Fitr, the Islamic Republic threatened tourism sites around the world, and at least three top Iranian officials were killed, including Ali Larijani, a top Iranian security official who was believed to be running the country since the killing of its supreme leader. All the while, Israel struck the world’s largest natural gas field and Iran targeted energy facilities in Qatar, rattling global markets
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and threatening even higher oil and gas prices.Amid growing backlash to the war stateside, a top counterterrorism official resigned, and President Donald Trump announced Friday that his administration is considering “winding down” operations in the Middle East. However, the U.S. military said that its expanding its presence in the region, while the Pentagon is reportedly seeking $200 billion in additional funding for the growing conflict.
Allegations of sexual abuse against the revered Latino labor leader César Chavez emerged this week following a bombshell New York Times investigation. The news has been met with swift reactions nationwide, including a push to rename César Chavez Day in California and a move to repaint murals, rename schools and remove monuments in his honor in Chicago.
The Loyola University Chicago community gathered for a vigil at the Madonna della Strada Chapel on Thursday to honor the life of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old student who was shot and killed in the predawn hours less than a mile away from campus. Also Thursday, the body of a missing University of Alabama junior and Elmhurst native was found in the waters off of Barcelona, where he’d been visiting for spring break. His death is believed to be an accident.
In other local news, the Chicago Housing Authority voted Tuesday to appoint its new leader, Planned Parenthood of Illinois agreed to pay $500,000 to settle allegations of discrimination, and the CTA sued the Trump administration for freezing $2 billion in federal grant money intended for the Red Line Extension project.
Plus, the Oscars were Sunday. Paul Thomas Anderson’s revolutionary action comedy “One Battle After Another” was the night’s biggest winner, collecting six awards, including best picture, director and adapted screenplay. Other top prizes went to Michael B. Jordan, who won best actor for his dual performance as twins Smoke and Stack in “Sinners,” and Jessie Buckley, who took home her all-but-assured golden trophy for actress in a leading role. Both were first-time winners.
Those are the headlines! Here’s the Tribune’s Quotes of the Week quiz, this time with excerpts and utterances from March 15 to 21. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.