Ald. Roberto Maldonado said the Latino Caucus, of which he’s a member, has begun preliminary discussions on its goals; the Black Caucus is doing the same, as are white members of the council. But he said it’s too early to begin drawing a map, given that census data isn’t expected until mid-August.

It is the second time this year that alderpeople have called an emergency meeting of the City Council over Lightfoot’s objections. It will be held virtually.

Said Pat O’Connor, a former 40th Ward alderman who served as Council floor leader under Emanuel and his predecessor, Richard M. Daley, “In the past, you could count on Springfield to help the mayor of Chicago. In the past, you could look at people to be supportive of trying to make the streets safer and trying to be supportive of police. And now, all of that is turned on its head.”

“A week ago, this might have made sense. By all means, the City Council should be deeply concerned about the level of violence in Chicago…A week from now, this might also make sense. Once the big weekend has passed but the rest of the summer, with its possibilities for violence, still lies ahead.”

The agency’s campus that houses McCormick Place Convention Center, a 2.6-million-square-foot facility that is the largest convention center in North America, and the Wintrust Arena has been shuttered since March 2020. One of two hotels on the campus just south of downtown Chicago remained open and the second recently reopened.

Appearing in a video forum hosted by the Illinois Justice Project, Foxx delivered broad-based criticism of the public, law enforcement, some prosecutors and even judges for failing to understand that pretrial is not “pre-punishment” or that “the presumption of innocence maintains with the accused until there’s a finding of guilt.”

NYT columnist Bret Stephen: “Thoughtful liberals who think this is much ado about nothing should spend some time pondering how perfectly people like Ms. Lightfoot are now playing into right-wing stereotypes. They should also spend time wondering whether the ideal for which they have long fought — a society that, if not colorblind, can at least see past color — is being jeopardized by progressives who apparently can see only color. Whichever way, it shouldn’t be hard to see that trying to solve the old racism with the new racism will produce only more racism. Justice is never achieved by

Said village Trustee Augie Filippone, who has called for a redesign of the patch, “It’s been kind of taken out of the process of a community conversation and placed it, unfortunately, on a national stage. I think there are reasonable concerns by residents.”

“The unorthodox move…comes amid staff upheaval following the exodus of more than 40 journalists who accepted buyouts from the Tribune’s new owners, New York-based hedge fund Alden Global Capital. As editorial page editor, Jones succeeds Kristen McQueary, who resigned after she was turned down for a buyout.”

“Nobody’s going to come save us,” community organizer William Calloway said. “It’s going to take everyone that’s standing next to you to save us.”

But there are some key differences in when traffic is picking up and who is most likely behind the wheel, a sign that habits have changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Car traffic on the tollways, measured by toll collections, is still about 10% below pre-pandemic levels, Tollway spokesman Dan Rozek said. But toll collections for trucks are up by about 8%.

Chicago is four years ahead of the Illinois state mandate for a $15 minimum wage by 2025.