Good afternoon, Chicago.
A federal judge said today he was likely to grant a motion to sever former Alderman Carrie Austin’s corruption case from her former chief of staff’s on the grounds of her failing health, but asked to hear directly from the Northwestern University cardiac expert who examined her before he made a final decision.
Austin, 75, was accused of bribery, lying to FBI officials and other charges in 2021. She has been in poor health for years, collapsing on the floor of City Council shortly before she retired. Her attorneys first said she was medically unfit for trial in November 2022 in a motion asking that Austin’s case be severed from her former chief of staff, Chester Wilson.
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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Shana Gutman and her mom, Eadie Bear, lifelong residents of Highland Park, take a look at the scene on Central Avenue on July 5, 2022, the day after a mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park. They said they frequently attend the parade but didn’t this year. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Sentencing begins for Highland Park parade shooter
The sentencing hearing for the Highland Park parade shooter began this morning with an emotional day of testimony expected at the Lake County Courthouse. Read more here.
More top news stories:
Jurors reach third day of deliberations in bribery trial of state Sen. Emil Jones III
Chicago firefighter dies from injuries after battling fire in Austin neighborhood
A horse racing fan considers wagers at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney on Dec. 16, 2022. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
And, it’s off! Direct window betting on Kentucky Derby on hold at Hawthorne amid payment dispute
Horse racing fans planning on betting on the Kentucky Derby at Hawthorne Race Course windows this year may have to go online instead. As of yesterday, Hawthorne — the only horse track in the Chicago area — no longer was offering over-the-counter betting on the Derby or other races at the host track, Churchill Downs, the Tribune has learned. Read more here.
More top business stories:
Treasury secretary says trade war with China is not ‘sustainable’
Book publishers see surging interest in the US Constitution and print new editions
Bears general manager Ryan Poles discusses the team’s moves in free agency and the trade market March 12, 2025, at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
NFL mock draft 3.0: Who will the Chicago Bears select with their top 3 picks?
Here’s one way things might fall in mock draft 3.0 — this version going all the way to No. 41, the second of two second-round picks the Chicago Bears own as general manager Ryan Poles has a chance to improve the roster at multiple positions. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
Steve McMichael, Chicago Bears Hall of Famer who is battling ALS, will enter hospice care
How Northwestern and its business school are helping coaches take on college sports’ new challenges
Rockford IceHogs to watch in the AHL playoffs: ‘We’re coming into what’s hopefully going to be a very special time’
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day performs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Aug. 13, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Riot Fest 2025: Green Day, Blink-182 and Weird Al Yankovic, plus a new deal to stay in Douglass Park
Riot Fest headliners for 2025 will be Green Day, Blink-182, Weezer and Jack White, along with sets by the Sex Pistols and The Beach Boys (current lineups), Weird Al Yankovic, Idles, Alkaline Trio and All Time Low. Read more here.
More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:
‘Leverage: Redemption’ review: Breezy caper series with a moral compass is back for Season 3
Column: Former City News kid Mark Wukas delivers his first novel, ‘The Kiss of Night’
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin greets people inside the Lyndon B. Johnson Room at the Capitol, Feb. 12, 2025, during a meeting with the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council in Washington, D.C. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Dick Durbin says he won’t run for sixth term
First elected to the U.S. House in 1982 and to the Senate in 1996, Dick Durbin is the state’s senior senator and dean of the Illinois congressional delegation. At the end of his current term, Durbin’s 30-year Senate tenure will tie him for the longest in state history with Shelby Cullom, a Republican from Springfield, who resigned as governor to serve from 1883 to 1913 as U.S. senator. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world:
The Vatican opens St. Peter’s Basilica to public to pay final respects to Pope Francis
Orders to leave the country — some for US citizen — sow confusion among immigrants