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Community Corner

🌱 Chicago Named 'Rattiest City' + Treasurer Returns $11M To Estate

The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Chicago.

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Good morning! Thanks for checking out Patch's quick guide to happenings around Chicago. In today's Daily:

  • 🐀 Chicago gets 'rattiest city' ranking
  • 💰 Illinois treasurer returns record-setting unclaimed property amount
  • ☕ Unionized Edgewater Starbucks set to close

🌬️ The weather:

Mostly cloudy and windy. High: 45 Low: 34.

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📰 Top 5 stories in Chicago:

1) Chicago beats New York to earn top spot on list of 'rattiest' cities. Chicago once again earned a top spot on Orkin Pest Control's annual report ranking the "Top 50 Rattiest Cities," from most rodent-filled to least. For the 8th consecutive year, Chicago was crowned No. 1. The ranking is based on the number of new residential and commercial rodent treatments performed in metro regions from Sept. 1, 2021, to Aug. 31, 2022.

NBC Chicago

2) Embattled Chicago alderman gives up fire department promotion to seek second term on City Council. Northwest Side Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th) gave up a promotion to Chicago Fire Department lieutenant and a once-a-decade chance to take the captain's exam to run for a second term on City Council. "It's a very tough decision," he said. "My heart is still with the Chicago Fire Department. But my heart and my devotion lie with residents of the 45th Ward, a community that helped raise me." Last year, the embattled first-term alderman sent profanity-laced text messages about constituents and others (he later apologized). He remains under federal investigation for allegedly retaliating against some Northwest Side constituents for political purposes and faces two federal lawsuits.

Chicago Sun-Times

3) Chicago's first snowflakes of the season came yesterday, but it will be in 70s this weekend. Chicago saw snowflakes yesterday. According to an NWS Chicago Tweet, "The first snowflakes of the season at NWS Chicago were just observed with a brief shower" at about 6:30 a.m. Chicago typically gets its first trace of snow on Oct. 31. The rest of the week will also see chillier weather —though temperatures will heat up toward the weekend, with a high of 72 degrees and partly sunny skies on Sunday.

Block Club Chicago

4) Illinois treasurer returns $11 million to late Chicagoan's estate: 'This is a life-changing amount of money.' Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned $11 million to a late Chicago man's estate — the largest returned unclaimed property dollar amount in U.S. history. Joseph R. Stancak was born in August 1929 in Chicago and died of natural causes in December 2016. It is unclear how Stancak accumulated his wealth, but the estate was turned over to the treasurer's office as unclaimed property. Investments are typically surrendered if the owner has not had contact in three years and the investment firm is unable to locate the owner.

WGN-TV

5) Starbucks workers claim Chicago shop's closure is union retaliation. The Edgewater shop on the city's North Side, one of the first in the nation to unionize, is set to close in two weeks. Starbucks announced plans to close the cafe, 1070 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., on Oct. 30 — just four days after workers were to begin the bargaining process on their first union contract. A Starbucks rep denies the explanation, saying the closure was due to unspecified safety concerns for both employees and patrons. But employees and organizers from Workers United, an affiliate of Service Employees International Union, said they suspect the closure has more to do with the fast-approaching bargaining date of Oct. 26.

Eater Chicago

📌 Today in Chicago:

  • Tuesday Morning Farmers Market in Lincoln Square (7:00 AM)
  • Halloween Pinch Pots at Sulzer Regional Library (10:00 AM)
  • Pier Pumpkin Lights at Navy Pier (11:00 AM)
  • Chicago International Film Festival (1:00 PM)
  • Fall Dinner Crawl in Wicker Park (6:00 PM)
  • Butch Walker: It's About Damn Tour 2022 at House of Blues (7:00 PM)
  • Haunted History Tour at Lincoln Park Zoo (7:00 PM)
  • Winemaker & Chef Harvest Dinner at City Winery (7:00 PM)
  • Pumpkin Painting Patio Party at Central Park Bar (7:00 PM)
  • Metric: Doomscroller Tour at The Chicago Theatre (7:30 PM)
  • "A Nightmare on Elm Street" at The Emily Hotel (7:30 PM)
  • Augustana at City Winery (8:00 PM)
  • Suuns at Sleeping Village (8:00 PM)

📱 Social chatter:

  • Photos from OHC weekend: "We know you snapped some amazing pics during OHC weekend— and we want to share them! Keep the OHC content coming by tagging us @chiarchitecture or #ohc2022. 📸: @dogfood4thecat #chiarchitecture #ohc2022" (Chicago Architecture Center via Instagram)
  • First woman of color in space: "Happy birthday to Mae Jemison, the girl from Chicago who was fascinated by space from an early age and grew up to become the first woman of color to go there! 🚀" (Museum of Science and Industry via Instagram)
  • Kanye purchasing Parler: "Kanye West to buy controversial social networking app Parler " (Crain's Chicago Business via Facebook)
  • Modern fitness clubs: "Many fitness clubs have reimagined the traditional gym membership into an almost resort-like experience. They command monthly fees well into the triple digits, and people are willing to pay." (Crain's Chicago Business via Facebook)
  • Obamas spotting: "Former President Barack Obama is about to hit the campaign trail ahead of the Nov. 8 election, but he came home Monday with the former First Lady to vote." (GMA Today)

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Alrighty, you're all caught up for today! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow morning 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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