Daywatch: Not your grandparents’ City Council

Good morning, Chicago.

When Ald. Scott Waguespack started his City Council career as an opponent of Mayor Richard M. Daley, it was mostly at the wrong end of a bunch of lopsided votes.

But his days as one of five aldermen who said no to Daley’s infamous parking meter deal or a quixotic early thorn to Mayor Rahm Emanuel are long gone.

Now, when the Northwest Side alderman butts heads with Mayor Brandon Johnson, he is often one of many across a relatively broad political spectrum, and sometimes he even gets his way.

“You see more accountability and more responsibility that’s shared now than in the past,” he said. “I think you’re seeing people kind of trust in each other.”

It’s a sea change that grew under Mayor Lori Lightfoot, and is gaining momentum in City Hall with Johnson: The City Council, long derided as a mayoral puppet, is increasingly operating independent of the fifth floor.

The shift follows the demise of Chicago’s infamous machine politics. It also tracks with the ascension of the aldermanic Progressive Caucus and the “Common Sense Caucus” formed in part to oppose it, both shifting groups that bring more ideological force into debates.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jake Sheridan.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including the never-built migrant tent encampment the state agreed to pay $1.3 million for, what’s next on the docket for former House Speaker Michael Madigan after he was denied a motion for a new trial and our picks for where to go in Chicago for Father’s Day.

A protester taunts a line of California National Guard protecting a federal building in downtown Los Angeles on June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

President Donald Trump sends Marines and more National Guard members to Los Angeles

Another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 Marines are headed to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump, escalating a military presence local officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t want and the police chief says creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.

Editorial: MAGA morphs into Make America Cruel Again

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during a news conference on the Autism report by the CDC at the Hubert Humphrey Building Auditorium in Washington, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. yesterday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks.

Used in COVID shots, mRNA may help rid the body of HIV

Signs proclaiming environmental hazards are posted on a fence as the tent encampment for migrants in constructed in the Brighton Park neighborhood, Nov. 29, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

State agrees to pay $1.3M for never-built migrant tent encampment despite Gov. JB Pritzker’s assurances

Despite assurances from Gov. JB Pritzker that state taxpayers would not end up footing the bill for a migrant tent encampment in Chicago that was never built, the state recently agreed to pay $1.3 million to the project’s contractor.

Former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan arrives at Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for a post-trial hearing on June 9, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Judge denies Michael Madigan’s motion for new trial, setting stage for high-stakes sentencing Friday

A federal judge yesterday denied a motion by former House Speaker Michael Madigan seeking to overturn his recent conviction on bribery and other corruption counts, setting the stage for a high-stakes sentencing hearing later this week.

Michael Madigan, ComEd and corruption: How the investigation into the ex-Illinois Speaker unfolded

Amber Hailey, center, looks at a photo of her son, Amari Brown, 7, with her second cousin Debra Crews, right, outside her home in the 500 block of North Drake Avenue on July 5, 2015, after the 7-year-old was shot and killed outside his father’s home in Humboldt Park overnight. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)

‘He is the one who turned that corner into a firing range’: Judge sentences men in slaying of 7-year-old Amari Brown

Speaking from the witness stand nearly a decade after her 7-year-old son was shot and killed, Amber Hailey said every court date has tested her resolve.

Her son, Amari Brown, was gunned down on the Fourth of July in 2015 in an act of violence that spurred national news coverage and calls for change. Those calls heightened just months later after the targeted killing of another child, 9-year-old Tyshawn Lee.

“Amari was an innocent child who had his whole life ahead of him,” Hailey said, breaking down in tears. “He had his dreams, aspirations.”

Fans cheer as Chicago Sports Network hosts Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillen broadcast from their new studio on March 27, 2025, at Rate Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Loss of over-the-air TV leaves some Chicago sports fans frustrated with new CHSN-Comcast deal

The nascent sports network finally joined the Comcast lineup Friday, but on the higher-priced Ultimate tier, which costs an additional $20 per month, on top of the $20.25 regional sports network fee charged to Chicago-area subscribers each month.

In the wake of the deal, CHSN abruptly pulled the plug on local TV affiliates in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, and Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana.

Indianapolis Colts co-owner Carlie Irsay-Gordon before the first half of an NFL football game, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The late Jim Irsay’s 3 daughters take charge of the Indianapolis Colts under his transition plan

The Indianapolis Colts are moving forward with the late Jim Irsay’s transition plan for ownership, which calls for his three daughters to take charge of the club.

The team said that Carlie Irsay-Gordon, Casey Foyt and Kalen Jackson each would continue to hold the title of owner, which they have done since 2012 when they were named vice chairs. Irsay-Gordon is now CEO, and Foyt is executive vice president. Jackson will be chief brand officer.

An attendee holds up a ballot during the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., June 14, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Southern Baptists target porn and ‘willful childlessness’

Southern Baptists meeting this week in Dallas will be asked to approve resolutions calling for a legal ban on pornography and a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s approval of same-sex marriage.

The proposed resolutions call for laws on gender, marriage and family based on what they say is the biblically stated order of divine creation. They also call for legislators to curtail sports betting and to support policies that promote childbearing.

Kate Parsons, Director of Collections Care and Access, shows a costume worn by Elton John on his 1981 world tour, at the V&A Storehouse in London, June 5, 2025, the jacket was designed by Bob Mackie. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

At this museum, no one will shush you, and you can touch the objects

Most big collections have only a fraction of their items on display, with the rest locked away in storage. But not at the new V&A East Storehouse, where London’s Victoria and Albert Museum has opened up its storerooms for visitors to view — and in many cases touch — the items within. Anyone can book a one-on-one appointment with any object, from a Vivienne Westwood mohair sweater to a tiny Japanese netsuke figurine. Most of the items can even be handled, with exceptions for hazardous materials, such as Victorian wallpaper that contains arsenic.

A burger topped with thick-cut peppered bacon and an egg is at Beatrix for Father’s Day. (Sam Brauer)

Father’s Day 2025: 39 restaurant and bar specials in Chicago

While Mother’s Day celebrations traditionally involve breakfast in bed or brunches with free-flowing mimosas plus gifts of flowers, it can be a little harder to figure out what to do for Father’s Day. Luckily, local bars and restaurants are making planning easier by offering a wide range of events and specials with an emphasis on big steaks, beer and whiskey. Whether you think your dad would love a multi-course dinner with plenty of time to talk or to show off his skills in a putting competition, these 39 spots make it easy to enjoy some quality time together.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/06/10/daywatch-not-your-grandparents-city-council/