City Council declares its independence, Opening Day arrives and more in your Chicago news roundup

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about an eight-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)

Weather ????️

This afternoon will be partly sunny with a high near 52 degrees. There’s a slight chance of showers in tonight’s forecast, with a low near 50. Expect showers tomorrow with a high near 65.

Top story

City Council shakes off rubber-stamp reputation, declares independence

Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson have both said they want an empowered, independent and energized City Council to be their partner in solving Chicago’s enormous challenges.

That’s what they’ll get, at a cost of millions, thanks to a committee expansion driven by the need to guarantee enough votes to ensure passage.

Amid charges of vote “buying” and “corruption,” the lame-duck Council today voted 34-to-10 and 33-to-11 to ratify a plan hatched by three of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s closest allies. The plan will increase the number of City Council committees from 19 to 28 and change the rules to, among other things, limit direct introductions and reduce committee membership.

The plan does not identify where the $2.5 million-plus needed annually to bankroll the nine new committees will come from.

The roster of committee chairs conspicuously excludes Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), the 24-year-veteran who is the Council’s second-most senior member.

Beale was a voice in the wilderness over the last four years, pleading with his colleagues to end what he called the “dictatorship” under Lightfoot. He claims to have been left out because he made only one request: to chair the Finance Committee, a post Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) retains in the new line-up.

Also absent from the new leadership team were two other veteran alderpersons who have joined Beale in endorsing Vallas: Anthony Hopkins (2nd) and Ray Lopez (15th).

Beale, Hopkins and Lopez let their colleagues have it.

“I am embarrassed to be a Chicagoan today,” Beale said.

“I’ve never seen a process to buy votes such as this. I’ve never seen a process to create 28 committees to buy votes such as today,” he added. “You all should be embarrassed to call yourselves elected officials to try to ram this through,” when they allowed Lightfoot to run roughshod over the Council for four years.

Fran Spielman has more from today’s Council meeting.

More news you need

• Charges have been dropped against a 46-year-old man who spent nearly 30 years in prison for a 1994 double murder he has long said he didn’t commit — yet another case that has fallen apart over allegations of Chicago police misconduct. David Wright was 17 when he was arrested for the killing of two neighborhood friends. Cook County prosecutors said they were dropping all charges against him after an appeals court threw out his confession.
• A jury yesterday awarded nearly $5 million to the family of Verona Gunn, an 84-year-old woman who was killed in 2019 when a speeding Chicago police cruiser struck her car as officers raced to respond to a call in the Austin neighborhood. “While the city has taken some responsibility, we hope for the next step of policy change and reform that improve policing in our community,” her son said. 
• Just over 3% of voters in the Chicago municipal elections on Feb. 28 were 18 to 24 years old. About 16% of registered voters in that age group voted. Our Catherine Odom spoke with young Chicagoans who tried to explain the low voter turnout among their peers.
• Federal labor officials have found evidence that Chicago tortilla manufacturer El Milagro has threatened workers with dismissal and other reprisals for organizing to complain about working conditions. The National Labor Relations Board in Chicago said the company violated employees’ rights in 2021 and 2022 when some cooperated with a workers’ rights group.
• For the past few years, community organization El Valor has been holding communal baby showers at its Pilsen office. The showers are a chance for soon-to-be parents to celebrate and receive baby essentials, such as diapers and clothes — and learn about El Valor’s resources for long-term help. Our Michael Loria has more from a recent shower.
• The Chicago Department of Transportation yesterday released a strategic “vision” on how to make roads safer for cyclists in the coming years, including adding 150 miles of new and upgraded bike lanes. The blueprint aims to establish continuous cycling routes across the city, CDOT said.

ComEd bribery trial

Defense finally gets crack at feds’ key witness in ComEd bribery trial, says he was ‘scared’ when FBI agents came to his door

Michael McClain laughed inside Saputo’s restaurant in Springfield as he shared with then-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez his story about his 2016 retirement, and how he handed his list of duties over to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

Madigan and McClain were longtime friends. McClain has described himself as an “agent” of Madigan. And after McClain handed Madigan that list, Madigan purportedly handed it back and told McClain “I don’t think you’re done yet.”

“Is that like tendering your resignation but it gets, uh, denied? It gets rejected?” Marquez asked over a slice of pizza on Feb. 7, 2019.

“Yeah,” McClain said.

Jurors at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse saw video of that moment yesterday as Assistant U.S. Attorney Amarjeet Bhachu ended his 13-hour direct examination of Marquez, who weeks before munching on the Saputo’s pizza had agreed to cooperate with investigators and secretly record McClain and three others now on trial for trying to bribe Madigan to benefit ComEd.

Federal prosecutors used Marquez’s marathon testimony over three days to show how onetime ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore made sure ComEd “did everything possible” to stay on Madigan’s good side.

The feds also played damaging recordings that allegedly revealed a scheme to funnel more than $1 million to Madigan allies with do-nothing gigs. And they detailed how top ComEd executives were pulled into controversies about low-level jobs if recommended hires came from Madigan. Our Jon Seidel and Tina Sfondeles recap yesterday’s iteration of the trial.

We’ve also got a full list of the secret recordings unveiled at the trial — a list that we will continue to update as more evidence is made public.

A bright one ☀️

Joy, for now, in Wrigleyville: Cubs fans flock to season opener

Jerry Pritikin has been to “well over a thousand” Cubs games in his life, he figures.

So of course Pritikin was there again this morning outside Wrigley Field, where he has become famous over the years as the “Bleacher Preacher,” for the Cubs’ season opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. He had plenty of company, as fans sporting blue and red flooded Wrigleyville hours before the first pitch. To the 86-year-old Pritikin, it’s always a welcome sight.

“To me the most beautiful thing, next to the Grand Canyon, was coming into this ballpark, especially from Clark and Addison and seeing the big scoreboard. It was majestic,” said Pritikin, in his trademark propeller hat, reminiscing about his decades as a Cubs fan.

For many fans, Cubs games are a family affair. Jon Lake said he has been coming to Cubs games with family for 40 years. Now, he and his wife Jenn bring their 8-year-old daughter Emma to games.

The Lakes were among the fans who lined up to secure general admission spots in the bleachers today, arriving before 10:30 a.m. — with dozens of people already ahead of them.

Emma’s favorite part of a Cubs game? “Everything!” she said.

Our Catherine Odom has more from the Opening Day scene.

From the press box

• Trying to figure out the best ways to watch the Cubs and/or White Sox in 2023? Here’s a breakdown of the eight different platforms where you’ll find games broadcasting or streaming this season.
• After signing for seven years and $177 million in December, shortstop Dansby Swanson instantly became the new face of the Cubs, the key piece of their latest rebuild. That’s exactly how Swanson wants it, Steve Greenberg writes.
• The White Sox finalized their season-opening roster today by granting Leury Garcia his unconditional release.

Your daily question☕

What’s the best part about Opening Day?

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday we asked you: How can the city’s mayoral and aldermanic candidates best get young Chicagoans out to vote in the runoff?

Here’s what some of you said…

“Move further left with their policies.” — Isaac Smoak

“By being honest, lawful, trusting, competent, caring, politicians, oh those don’t exist.” — Dave Molloy

“Less negative campaigning.” — Tom Hope

“Focus on the issues and find common ground.” — Jackie Waldhier

“Many young people haven’t made the connection as to how elections affect their own lives or that of their families or why who you vote for matters. They don’t know they have skin in the game. We need rappers — other than Ye — sports stars and actors they admire to do PSAs telling them why voting is cool.” — Susan Danzig

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