CPS board of Ed president resigns

Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶

In today’s newsletter, we break down the latest news that Chicago’s new Board of Education Chairman, Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, is stepping down.

We’ll explore why and what this means for this tumultuous time for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration.

Plus, we report on the latest in the trial of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, a look at Chicago’s iconic theme parks through the ages, a Blackhawks baby boom and more news you need to know below.

: A 7 minute reading session

— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)

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TODAY’S TOP STORY

The chair of the CPS Board of Education is resigning

Reporting by Nader Issa and Sarah Karp | WBEZ

Rev. resignsAmid a wave of backlash over disturbing social media posts criticized as anti-Semitic, misogynistic and conspiratorial, the new chair of the Chicago Board of Education, the Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, is stepping down at the request of Mayor Brandon Johnson.

CPS battle: It’s the latest stunning development in the ongoing leadership battle atop Chicago Public Schools. Johnson and six other board members took their positions last Thursday after the entire school board resigned. The mayor announced them as his chosen replacements earlier this month.

Persistent questions: Johnson was not well known in Chicago’s educational community, but he was touted as an economic development expert who helped win contracts for minority-owned businesses. He regularly hosts a WVON radio program and establishes a consulting firm. There are also questions about whether Johnson lives in Chicago and about his past. Nearly three decades ago, he was disbarred from practicing law in Ohio, and at one point he was so delinquent on his child support that he had a lien on his house.

Important context: The resignation is another blow to the mayor, who has suffered one setback after another in his dealings with the school system.

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What else is going on?

• Fresh market open: The national supermarket chain opened its doors Wednesday in the former Dom’s Kitchen & Market, which closed abruptly earlier this year. Many residents gathered outside to get a first look.
• Jury hears secret recording: Jurors in the trial of former House Speaker Michael J. Madigan heard today how his allies quietly raised money for an aide who was ousted following sexual harassment allegations.
• UChicago Medicine receives a $75 million donation: The AbbVie Foundation gift is intended to help build a new Cancer Pavilion – an $815 million, 575,000-square-foot building that will open in 2027.
• More luxury apartments in Lincoln Park: A luxury apartment building in Lincoln Park went down on Wednesday, making it one of the few land projects in the area during a volatile time for new construction.
• Plan for the Thompson Center atriumGoogle will transform the ground floor of the Thompson Center’s former atrium into a hotel lobby-like space with restaurants, retail, seating and greenery, according to a new rendering obtained by the Sun-Times.
• Why do we enjoy being afraid?: Many people enjoy the horrors of haunted houses and horror movies, enjoying the jump scares and all things macabre. We investigated why.
• Halloween today, Christmas tomorrow?: Chicago’s 93.9 LITE FM announced this week that its annual holiday music extravaganza will kick off Friday.

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CHICAGO HISTORY

Documentary takes a quick ride through the past of local amusement parks

Reporting by Richard Roeper

For generations of lifelong residents of the Chicago area, there was a time in their childhood when they were told Santa Claus did not live at the North Pole.

He lived in East Dundee, Illinois, about 40 miles outside of town, in a place called Santa’s Village. Santa closed his shop there for a while, but since 2011 he has been active again in the renamed Santa’s Village & Water Park.

As we reminded in the recent “Amusement Parks” episode of the documentary series “Chicago Stories” on WTTW-Channel 11, the Chicago area has a rich and vibrant history of amusement parks.

That includes Kiddieland in Melrose Park, Fun Town on the Far South Side and Ravinia Park in Highland Park, which opened in 1904 and had a relatively short stint as “the tallest amusement park in the West” with a casino, rides and an ice pond before it became the music venue we know today.

The document highlights the 1893 Columbian Exposition as a major influence on amusement parks, from the Midway Plaisance, a mile-long zone of rides, games and attractions, to the introduction of the Ferris wheel.

By the turn of the century, amusement parks were popping up all over the US, and Chicago had more than any other city. The granddaddy of them all was the legendary Riverview Park in Roscoe Village. The doc also makes stops at Paul Boyton’s Water Chutes and the behemoth in Gurnee, now known as Six Flags Great America.

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BRIGHT

Blackhawks players are enjoying a collective baby boom

Reporting by Ben Pope

The Blackhawks are teeming with toddlers.

Eight Hawks have had children in the last two years, which means that advice about smooth diaper changes is given in the locker room almost as often these days as advice about smooth diaper changes.

“It makes you forget about the hockey side of life,” defenseman TJ Brodie said. “When you are at home you have other responsibilities; it’s not just going home and worrying about yourself. It’s nice like this.”

Hawks forward Joey Anderson’s second daughter, Suzie, was born this summer, not long after Jason Dickinson and Taylor Hall welcomed their first children and shortly before Connor Murphy and Ryan Donato had their first.

Brodie, Craig Smith and Tyler Bertuzzi, meanwhile, moved their young families to Chicago after signing with the Hawks this summer. New goalkeeper Laurent Brossoit will soon make it nine Hawks with babies. Nick Foligno, Pat Maroon and Arvid Soderblom already have older children.

“It’s really nice that everyone is at the same stage of life,” Dickinson said.

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YOUR DAILY QUESTION

What is your definitive memory of the Chicago theme park?

Be sure to tell us which theme park and decade your memory comes from.

Email us (please include your first and last name). Check out our Morning Edition newsletter for the answers to this question. Are you not subscribed to Morning Edition? Sign up here so you don’t miss anything!

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JUST ONE MORE THING

A huge shoutout to our Sun-Times photojournalists who stopped on assignment this week to capture some fantastic Halloween displays.

And thanks to the readers who emailed us photos of their Halloween decorations — or shared photos of their neighbors’ setups.

We’re still working on adding our creepy gallery, so give it a glimpse and feel free to email us photos to make sure your neighborhood gets some shine.

We wish you a fun and safe Halloween.

We’ll see you here again on Friday.

SEE OUR FULL HALLOWEEN GALLERY

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Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Afternoon Edition.
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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Esther Bergdahl
Copy editor: Angie Myers