Good morning, Chicago.
The woman stood on the sidewalk outside her home and waited for the first officers to show up. Blood streamed down her face and shoulders.
She had called 911 after her significant other stabbed her.
When officers arrived at the home in the Back of the Yards in July 2022, she pointed to the open doorway. Standing about 10 feet from the threshold, a man kept his grip on a knife in his right hand.
“Shoot me,” the man barked at the officers, as he took small, deliberate steps forward.
“Please drop the knife,” an officer, also on the sidewalk, yelled back. “I’m begging you. Drop the knife.”
As the man’s darkened silhouette continued forward, two red dots appeared: one on his chest, another on his thigh.
“Shoot me!” he demanded.
A moment later, a Taser was fired. A direct hit, splitting the man’s beltline. He fell backward, collapsing on the floor. An officer put down his Taser and put the man in handcuffs. One of the electrodes remained lodged in his shirt.
It was the type of deadly force encounter that’s routine for Chicago Police Department patrol officers in the city’s rougher neighborhoods. While common — CPD officers are called to thousands of domestic disturbances every year — the incident and others like it serve as valuable training material for the city’s Police Department in its post-Laquan McDonald era of reform.
A new report from CPD shows a sizable year-over-year increase in reports of both use-of-force and firearm-pointing incidents by Chicago cops. The upticks come as the department continues its efforts to gather and analyze internal data in its march toward compliance with the city’s federal consent decree.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sam Charles.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: why weather officials are extending an air quality alert for the Chicago area, how State Farm is defending a hefty 27.2% hike and the hobby former Bulls star Derrick Rose may be taking up in his retirement.
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How Trump plans to dismantle the Education Department after Supreme Court ruling
The Supreme Court cleared the way yesterday for the Trump administration to continue unwinding the Education Department, allowing it to move ahead with mass layoffs and a plan to outsource the department’s operations to other agencies.
Now, President Donald Trump and his education secretary, Linda McMahon, are free to execute the layoffs and break up the department’s work among other federal agencies.
Air quality alert in effect for Chicago area through tonight
An air quality alert issued yesterday afternoon for the Chicago area will be in effect through tonight, officials said.
The alert, issued by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, applies to Cook County and surrounding McHenry, Lake, Kendall, Kane, DuPage, Grundy and Will counties, according to the National Weather Service.
Ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker sentenced to 1 1/2 years in prison for scheme to bribe ex-Speaker Michael Madigan
Former Commonwealth Edison lobbyist John Hooker was sentenced yesterday to a year and a half in prison for his role in an elaborate scheme to funnel $1.3 million to associates of then-House Speaker Michael Madigan in exchange for the powerful Democrat’s help with the utility’s legislative agenda in Springfield.
State Farm defends hefty 27.2% hike in Illinois homeowners insurance rates
Challenged by everyone from consumer groups to Gov. JB Pritzker over its imminent 27.2% homeowners insurance rate increase in Illinois, State Farm faces the question: Will it seek to defend its widely criticized decision?
The answer: hail yes.
Illinois clean energy hit hard by Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill: ‘An incredibly damaging blow’
Residential solar is particularly hard hit by President Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill. But the president’s far-reaching budget bill, signed July 4, has dealt a mighty blow to Illinois’ clean energy overall, ending a tax credit of up to $7,500 for electric vehicle buyers, reducing access to tax credits for battery and solar panel manufacturers, slowing the construction of wind and solar farms and leaving $14 billion of announced clean energy investment statewide at higher risk for cancelation or downsizing.
Elmo’s been hacked: X account posted racist messages and Sesame Workshop is trying to regain control
Sesame Workshop was trying to regain full control over its Elmo account on the X platform after a hacker gained access and posted a string of racist and antisemitic messages.
Marni Yang’s appeal hearing delayed in murder of former Chicago Bear’s girlfriend
Late changes to a court document scuttled a planned hearing yesterday for convicted murderer Marni Yang, who is seeking to have her case overturned in the shooting death of the pregnant girlfriend of a former Chicago Bears player Shaun Gayle.
Chicago Bears rookie outlook: Can 6th-round pick Luke Newman be a versatile backup on the offensive line?
Even after investing heavily in veteran offensive linemen in March, the Chicago Bears weren’t done bolstering the protection in front of quarterback Caleb Williams.
The Bears found additional help in the draft when they selected Luke Newman out of Michigan State with a sixth-round pick (No. 195).
Derrick Rose is looking for purpose in retirement. Chess might provide an answer for the ex-NBA MVP.
Derrick Rose is accustomed to standing shoulder to shoulder with greatness. But Sunday was a little different.
The former NBA MVP for the Chicago Bulls sat on a stage alongside chess grandmaster and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen, surveying an unplayed board.
Column: Did you read your horoscope today?
Newspaper horoscopes are read by more people than you might imagine, millions of you, writes Rick Kogan. Even as the number of newspapers has diminished, horoscopes remain a popular offering, much like such non-news items as games, crosswords and comics.