South Side Weekly

HAVE YOU SEEN ICE? ¿HAS VISTO A ICE? We are a group of journalists across newsrooms in Chicago who are collecting video related to use of force, stop & frisk, and traffic stops conducted by federal agents. Share video: tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists Contact us: chicagojournalists@protonmail.com We won’t share video publicly without your permission. Share video / Enviar video Somos un grupo de periodistas de distintos medios en Chicago recopilando videos relacionados con el uso de la fuerza, detenciones, controles de tráfico y retenes por agentes federales en Chicago. Enviar video: tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists Contacto: chicagojournalists@protonmail.com No compartiremos video públicamente sin permiso.

Have you witnessed ICE activity in Chicagoland, or seen CPD or other local law enforcement assisting federal agents or engaging in misconduct?

LET US KNOW.

Upload video directly at tinyurl.com/chicagojourn... or email us at chicagojournalists@protonmail.com

Founded by thirteen World War II GI’s from Chicago’s South Side, the model railroad has been in continuous operation.

📰 Meet the English-language cohort of the 2025 Altavoz Lab Community Fellowship!

✨ Leslie Hurtado – Cicero Independiente
✨ Jewél Jackson – @southsideweekly.bsky.social
✨ Nadia Tamez-Robledo – @edsurge.com / Puente News Collaborative

🔗 altavozlab.com
#AltavozLab #LocalNews #CommunityMedia

Welcome to Best of the South Side 2025 s a publication that covers the South Side, we have to be real. We cannot celebrate without acknowledging the struggles so many people are facing at this moment, both here and overseas. The current ad...

Weclome to BoSS 2025! We want to remind you—and ourselves, to be honest—that the grief and urgency we feel is a result of the love we have for one another. That is not something that anyone can separate us from. These moments exemplify our passion for our people and communities, and our resilience.

City Council Confirms Ald. Burnett III and Approves Obama Center Set-Asides, ADUs The Obama Center ordinance will give preference to displaced residents and establish a property tax debt relief grant program.

“The mayor only appointed [Burnett III] and the City Council only approved him because of his father,” said UIC professor emeritus and former alderman Dick Simpson. “So that’s, unfortunately, a frequent practice in Chicago, for instance.”

Trump’s ICE Crackdown Hits Home Federal agents killed a man during a traffic stop amid widespread sweeps that unfolded during the Mexican Independence Day weekend.

ICE's Operation Midway Blitz spread through suburbs and South Side neighborhoods, escalating into detentions, family separation, and the fatal traffic-stop shooting of, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez.

🖊️@almacampos.bsky.social and Jose Abonce

Cook County Sheriff “Data Loophole” Lets ICE Access Immigrant Info A clause in the county’s contract lets an information system designed for crime victims funnel sensitive data to ICE-contracted LexisNexis.

A notification system used by Cook County to alert crime victims about offenders’ statuses may be allowing ICE to obtain personal data on thousands of immigrants. Alma Campos, our Immigration Project Editor, reported this story.

southsideweekly.com/cook-county-...

Trump Kills the Corporation for Public Broadcasting It’s yet another Trump action that also hurts his own voters.

"As with every outrage from the cabal currently occupying the White House, you can do something about it. Support local media. Read, listen, watch, share—and subscribe or become a member. In the meantime, we will keep doing our job: conveying the truth."

southsideweekly.com/trump-kills-...

Chicago Police Blew Past DNC Overtime Budget New data from the Office of Inspector General shows the department overspent its DNC allocation by nearly 60%.

NEW: CPD spent about $27 million to police the four-day DNC last August—about $10 million more than the federal funding allocated to personnel and operations the event, according to data newly published by the city's Inspector General. By Max Blaisdell southsideweekly.com/chicago-poli...

June 4 Calls Show CPD Knew Federal Immigration Agents Were Asking for Help An officer in the department’s “fusion” center told 911 dispatchers Homeland Security Investigations—a division of ICE—were calling for help. He also wanted to avoid media attention.

Mayor Johnson refuses to order CPD to release calls and other data about the police response to an ICE facility on June 4. Alds. Lopez and Napolitano prevented a City Council vote on forcing the department to do so.

Don't worry, your local community paper already obtained the tapes. Listen here:

Captivating, Nourishing, Sacred: What Promontory Point Means to South Siders Community members and conservationists reflect on why Promontory Point is a space ‘worth fighting for.’

High heat means it's a good day to cool off in the lake!

“There is something about being by the water and seeing the water meet the sky—seeing that horizon line and just feeling like it’s endless.”

southsideweekly.com/captivating-...

June 4 Calls Show CPD Knew Federal Immigration Agents Were Asking for Help An officer in the department’s “fusion” center told 911 dispatchers Homeland Security Investigations—a division of ICE—were calling for help. He also wanted to avoid media attention.

Last week we obtained calls an ICE contractor and HSI agent made to the city's 911 center to request help with crowd control while moving arrestees, and a call from a CPD captain who said he wanted to avoid media scrutiny of the police response.

Listen here:

southsideweekly.com/june-4-calls...

‘Granny Flats’ Are Illegal To Build In Most Of Chicago—And Political Gridlock Is Keeping It That Way Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) or “granny flats” are illegal to build in most of Chicago, but a pilot program allowing them in some areas showed promising results. City officials are divided over the...

The City Council will consider an ordinance today that would allow construction of apartments called "granny flats" (officially, "accessory dwelling units" or ADUs) in coach houses and basements. @alexnitkin.bsky.social dug into ADUs in this @illinoisanswers.bsky.social piece

June 4 Calls Show CPD Knew Federal Immigration Agents Were Asking for Help An officer in the department’s “fusion” center told 911 dispatchers Homeland Security Investigations—a division of ICE—were calling for help. He also wanted to avoid media attention.

NEW: Investigations editor @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social obtained 911 calls and other documents that indicate CPD was aware immigration authorities were requesting help at an ICE facility on June 4. southsideweekly.com/june-4-calls...

Si usted o alguien que conoce ha sido estafado por una empresa que ofrece servicios de inmigración, los reporteros de Weekly quieren entrevistarlo. Escanee el código QR o visite bit.ly/NotariosSSW para completar nuestra encuesta.

If you or someone you know has been defrauded by a business offering immigration services, Weekly reporters want to hear from you. Scan this QR code or go to bit.ly/NotaryFraud to fill out our survey!

Latino Caucus Blasts Mayor, CPD Chief on ICE Response In a June 12 letter, the Caucus expressed frustration about CPD’s approach to federal immigration enforcement and criticized Johnson for not informing them about his pick for interim CPS CEO.

The City Council's Immigrant & Refugee Rights Committee is meeting today to look into the police response to an ICE facility on June 4. OEMC documents show two calls were made from the facility: one for a disturbance/large gathering, and another to assist an officer. It's unclear who called.

Latino Caucus Blasts Mayor, CPD Chief on ICE Response In a June 12 letter, the Caucus expressed frustration about CPD’s approach to federal immigration enforcement and criticized Johnson for not informing them about his pick for interim CPS CEO.

After CPD responded to ICE activity in the Loop, the Latino Caucus met with Mayor Johnson and Supt. Snelling. A letter they sent expressed “deep disappointment” about the meeting & CPD’s activity around immigration enforcement.
🖋️@jimdaleywrites.bsky.social
southsideweekly.com/latino-caucu...

Breaking: City Council passed the snap curfew ordinance by a margin of 27–22. Progressive council members have urged Mayor Brandon Johnson to veto the ordinance.

Curfew City We partnered with The TRiiBE to dig into curfews, talk to teenagers and parents, and examine the demise of third spaces and lack of amenities for them. This is what we found.

City Council could vote on a proposed "snap" curfew today. Don't miss the series we co-produced with @thetriibe.com on curfews—in which we talked to both parents and teenagers, and dug into the demise of third spaces and what research says about curfews. southsideweekly.com/the-curfew-c...

Opinion: Who Benefits From a Snap Curfew? What giving police unchecked powers to detain teens means in authoritarian times.

“If we want policing that truly serves communities, the answer is not curfews or crackdowns,” writes @robvargas.bsky.social in this op-Ed. “It’s transparency, accountability, and a hard line between public authority and private influence.” southsideweekly.com/opinion-who-...

Tens of thousands marched in the Loop Saturday as part of nationwide #NoKings demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump's actions and those of ICE. Photos by @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social

How to Protest Safely at the DNC Experts weigh in on what you need to know if you’re planning to attend a protest this week.

I put together this guide to protesting for @southsideweekly.bsky.social before the DNC, but most of the legal and medical guidelines still apply if you're out in Chicago this week
southsideweekly.com/how-to-prote...

Read the series we co-produced with @thetriibe.com on the proposed curfew ordinance—we talked to teenagers, parents, researchers, and folks who remember when teen spaces used to exist in Chicago. southsideweekly.com/the-curfew-c...

NEW: Immigrant rights organizations, legal aid providers, and city and state government have partnered to set up a website that has legal information and resources for immigrants in fifteen languages.

SSW 06.05.25

Education, jobs, health care, safe neighborhoods, and housing are all key to upward mobility but out of reach for many Chicagoans. A new @illinoisanswers.bsky.social series co-published with the Weekly explores inequality, solutions and more in our latest print edition.
issuu.com/southsidewee...

Weekly investigations editor @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social will join @illinoisanswers.bsky.social journalists in discussing "Making it in Chicago: Detours and Dead Ends on the Path to Opportunity" at a live podcast taping at the City Club of Chicago tomorrow!
www.cityclub-chicago.org/event/2/5697...

Here's my story, on an affordable housing tool nearly everyone seems to agree is a good idea, but that the Chicago City Council and (so far) state legislators can't manage to push forward:
t.co/YDh0XBRHiP
(1/6)

Trump’s Racism Targets Mayor’s Office President Donald Trump’s DOJ is turning the spirit and letter of the 1964 Civil Rights Act on its head.

From the editors: Chicago will remain in Trump’s crosshairs for the duration. But the president will find that Chicago is a city — “stormy, husky, brawling” — that squares its broad shoulders to lay tyrants low. southsideweekly.com/trumps-racis...

Studies show strong links between poverty and violence in Chicago Block clubs and other community-driven programs offer ways for people to connect to deter violence in Chicago.

Catch the Weekly's investigations editor @jimdaleywrites.bsky.social discussing his reporting collaboration with @illinoisanswers.bsky.social about the connections between divestment, poverty and gun violence on ABC7 abc7chicago.com/post/studies...