👼 The City Council Nepo Baby Quiz

CPS Still Struggling to Fill Budget Holes

Chicago Public Schools still has no plan for its looming $734 million deficit. The deadline to finalize next year’s budget is in a month. So far, CPS has identified $165 million in spending cuts. Meanwhile, taking out a short-term loan remains a possibility. [Tribune 🔒]

Challenges Facing Young Trans Chicagoans Under Trump

Recently, at least five major Chicago hospital systems have stopped providing gender-affirming care to minors. Today, writer, organizer, and urban planner Mare Ralph joins City Cast Chicago to discuss how processes for trans people — like getting housing and employment assistance or changing identification — have gotten more difficult under President Donald Trump. They also share some local organizations supporting trans Chicagoans. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

Immigrant Rights Activist Sister Pat Murphy Dead at 96

Murphy was a leader in Chicago’s early immigrant sanctuary movement, helping to create a Catholic sanctuary initiative in the 1980s. More recently, she protested at detention centers and, when she was 90 years old, was arrested at the United States Capitol rotunda. [Block Club]

The Last 20 Years of Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza has grown and changed a lot over the years. When the fest started in 1991, it was mostly alternative. Now, the four-day affair is filled with sponsors and boasts music’s biggest stars. Music journalist Selena Fragassi, who has attended for the last 20 years, charts some of those differences across two decades. [Sun-Times]

Chicago’s longest-serving current alder is retiring this week — and his son might replace him. As Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) exits the role, possibly to lead the Chicago Housing Authority, the choice is up to Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Burnett, a Johnson ally, wants his son Walter Redmond Burnett to get the job. The younger Burnett is a 29-year-old consultant and former investment banker who has never held political office. There are certainly critics … but hey, that’s Chicago politics.

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