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🌱 White Sox's Tony La Russa + Goats On A Boat + Asylum-Seekers Arrive

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(Patch Media)

Hi all. I'm back with your new edition of the Chicago Daily. Come along for everything you need to know about what's happening around town.

  • ⚾ White Sox manager Tony La Russa's 'indefinite' medical leave
  • 🚌 Asylum-seekers arrive in Chicago from Texas
  • 🐐 Goats on a boat cruise Chicago River for last summer hurrah

Bonus: Check out the Chicago Tribune's 40 best photos from the month of August.

First, the weather:

Mostly sunny. High: 87 Low: 71.

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Top 5 stories in Chicago today:

1) White Sox manager Tony La Russa to undergo 'indefinite' medical leave. Chicago White Sox manager Tony La Russa, 77, will be away from the team indefinitely while he deals with a medical issue with his doctors in Arizona. La Russa missed Tuesday night's game against the Kansas City Royals, and showed no signs of anything being off during his pre-game meeting with reporters, but the team announced shortly before the game that he would miss it due to a health issue. The team has not indicated what La Russa is dealing with. Bench coach Miguel Cairo will continue to serve as acting White Sox manager in La Russa's absence.

Chicago Patch

2) Chicago restaurants struggling to keep staff as burned-out workers bail for better pay, less stress. Seven out of 10 restaurants nationwide are understaffed and scrambling to retain and attract employees. The staff shortage has forced some Chicago restaurants to close permanently while others cut business hours, scale back service and push employees to work longer hours to stay afloat. Restaurants are offering more incentives to get people in the door, but it's not enough for burned out service industry veterans or candidates disillusioned by long hours, cranky customers and grueling work. Low wages are the most common reason why people have left the food service industry. Some cite crime. "I know tons of people that just won't go back to anything involving Downtown Chicago," former restaurant manager Jamie Gibson said. "From the bar scene to the restaurant scene … it's all hurting because people are fed up, and nobody gets paid enough to worry about getting robbed, shot, carjacked or murdered."

Block Club Chicago

3) Goats on a boat: ComEd 'interns' cruise Chicago River before fall labor. Summer vacation is over for a group of 200 goats who are about to go back to work for the local power company. Commonwealth Edison treated several of the goats to cruises along the Chicago River, for a last summer hurrah before a month of hard labor. They cruised between the City Winery Chicago Dock, Michigan Avenue Bridge and Wolf Point in a six-boat parade. Since 2019, ComEd has employed goats to clear vegetation from hard-to-reach places. They cut the cost and time of brush-clearing by more than half and drastically reduce safety risks for their human colleagues. The program avoids outages and service disruptions and reduces the use of gas-powered equipment. The goats will be working during September at Mathiessen State Park near Starved Rock, clearing brush in areas too difficult for humans to safely work.

Fox 32 Chicago

4) "Money for Mongo" brings pro wrestlers together to help Steve McMichael. Steve "Mongo" McMichael's pro wrestling career wasn't nearly as long or distinguished as his run with the Chicago Bears defense, but the impact his fight with ALS has had on some of his fellow squared circle competitors is nothing shy of remarkable. McMichael, who was part of World Championship Wrestling between 1995 and 1999, was diagnosed with ALS in 2021. With his health declining, the wrestling community is coming together this weekend for an all-star, free-to-watch benefit show to raise money for the McMichael family. Appearances by wrestling legends include "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, WWE Hall of Famers Eric Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett, Mick Foley and Jim Ross. "Money for Mongo" will air exclusively on FITE.tv, with the hope that viewers will make a donation.

Chicago Patch

5) Asylum-seekers arrive in Chicago from Texas as part of Abbott 'drop off policy.' Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has sparked controversy due to a program designed to bus asylum-seekers to northern "sanctuary cities." One of those transports, carrying an estimated 60 asylum-seekers, arrived yesterday at Chicago's Union Station. Abbott said Chicago will join Washington, D.C. and New York as a location for his administration's "drop off policy." Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she was aware of the plan, and that they are working to find shelter and other services for individuals bussed to the city. Under Chicago's "Welcoming City Ordinance," officials will not ask about immigration status, nor will it disclose that information to federal authorities. Services will not be denied based on immigration status, according to a document published by the city.

NBC Chicago

Today in Chicago:

  • Back to School Deals at Blaze Pizza (9:00 AM)
  • Garden Nouveau at Garfield Park Conservatory (10:00 AM)
  • Bee Demo at Garfield Park Conservatory (11:00 AM)
  • Musical Story Time with D-Composed and Mama Edie at South Chicago Branch Library (11:00 AM)
  • Chicago Jazz Festival at Millennium Park (11:00 AM)
  • Film Screening: "Southside With You" at Mount Greenwood Branch Library (1:00 PM)
  • Chicago White Sox vs. Kansas City Royals at Guaranteed Rate Field (1:10 PM)
  • French Market at Gallagher Way (4:00 PM)
  • Film Screening: "Back to the Future" at The Emily Hotel (4:15 PM)
  • Drinking & Dragons at The Martin (6:00 PM)
  • Book Signing: "Stranded on Death Row" by Danny Boy Steward at The Silver Room (6:00 PM)
  • Cocktail Class: Evolution of the Old Fashioned at KOVAL Tasting Room (6:30 PM)
  • BARLESQUE Kickoff at Sidetrack (7:00 PM)
  • Make a Bonsai Tree at Color Cocktail Factory (7:00 PM)
  • Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me! at The Fine Arts Building (7:30 PM)
  • Pan-Pot: ARC Music Festival Pre-Party at Spybar (10:00 PM)
  • Film Screening: "Get Out" at The Emily Hotel (10:45 PM)

Chatter:

  • Chicago Cubs: "The Cubs will open 2023 #SpringTraining on February 25 at Sloan Park! 🌵 ⚾️ Tickets go on sale Saturday, January 7. View the full schedule: sloanpark.com" (Chicago Cubs via Facebook)
  • Watercolor paintings: "This is quite possibly the most beautiful exhibit to ever come to the Chicago Architecture Center. Be sure to stop by and check out Intimate Views: Watercolors Along the Chicago River.⁠" (Chicago Architecture Center via Instagram)
  • Updated COVID-19 vaccine: "This is BIG NEWS. Still working through federal approvals – but this vaccine will give us a chance to try and get ahead of COVID-19 by protecting against the dominant variant circulating now." (CDPH via Instagram)
  • Field Museum: "⚠️ LAST CHANCE to explore the prehistoric oceans home to massive marine reptiles before special exhibition Jurassic Oceans closes on September 5.🌊 " (Field Museum via Facebook)
  • Día de los Muertos: "Last chance for Early Bird tickets for the Día de los Muertos: Love Never Dies Ball, taking place on Saturday, November 5th! Hosted by the Museum's Auxiliary Board, the evening includes delicious culinary treats, tasty adult beverages, great live music, and dancing with one of Chicago's best DJs." (National Museum of Mexican Art via Facebook)

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That's it for today. I'll be in your inbox tomorrow with your next update!

— Nicole Cvetnic

About me: I'm a Midwesterner and very happy to call Chicagoland home. I love the outdoors—especially hiking, performing arts, photography, good food, travel and gardening. You can often find me reading to my two-year-old daughter, watching a tv series with my husband or cuddling with our special needs dog.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Chicago Daily? Contact me at chicago_il@patch.com

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