Community Corner
🌱 Learn Your Chicago Flag History + Metra's Battery-Powered Trains
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Chicago.
Hello! It's Nicole Cvetnic, back in your inbox this morning with your new copy of the Chicago Daily. Here's all the community news you need to know right now.
- 🏙 Find out what each part of Chicago's flag represents
- ⚖️ Two Illinois women plead guilty for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol
- 🚆 Metra approves first battery-powered trains
First, the weather:
Mostly sunny and pleasant. High: 81 Low: 68.
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Top 5 stories in Chicago today:
1) Two Illinois women plead guilty for roles in Jan. 6 attack on Capitol. Sisters Trudy Castle, of Chicago, and Kimberly DiFrancesco, of Elmhurst, both pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. They now face up to six months behind bars. Both agreed to pay $500 in restitution as part of their plea deals. Castle told the U.S. District Court Judge she is a property manager in downtown Chicago.
2) What Does Each Part of Chicago's Flag Represent? Most American cities have their own flags, but few are as famous or well-known as the city of Chicago's, which has flown proudly over the city for more than a century. Chicago's original flag was designed in a City Council-sponsored contest in 1917. The winning design was submitted by Wallace Rice, an author and lecturer at the Art Institute of Chicago.
3) Southern abortion activists arrive in Chicago for 'Black August Freedom Rides.' About a dozen abortion rights activists from Louisiana, Tennessee and Mississippi traveled to Chicago yesterday to strengthen relationships with Chicago reproductive rights groups, and create a petition to present to the United Nations related to abortion access as abortion bans go into effect in the South. The group wants to create a vision for a new type of Roe v. Wade that centers on the needs of an individual who is pregnant, not just abortion providers.
4) Photographer Barry Butler's Chicago photos on display at Navy Pier exhibit. Famed local photographer Barry Butler's photos of Chicago have a new home at Navy Pier. The exhibit, "Flow – Water Brings Life to Chicago," runs through the end of the year. It features 22 images of Chicago's famous water attractions, from Lake Michigan to the Chicago River and Buckingham Fountain. The images are displayed between Kilwin's Chicago and Making History Chicago at Navy Pier, 600 E. Grand Ave.
5) Metra moving toward battery-powered trains. Battery-powered locomotives could be running on Metra tracks for the first time in the coming years, as the commuter rail service undertakes a plan to convert a handful of its old diesel engines to a lower-emission option. Metra will convert at least three of its 173 locomotives to battery power, with the option to convert up to three more, under a plan approved by the Metra board yesterday. The total cost to switch all six locomotives is $34.6 million.
Today in Chicago:
- Stop The Bleed Training at Pow! Gym Chicago (9:00 AM)
- Recruiter vs. Career Coach: Get noticed & get the job virtual event (12:00 PM)
- Clark After Dark in River North (4:00 PM)
- Andy Brown at Green Mill (5:00 PM)
- Sex & the City Drag Cocktail Party in Lincoln Square (6:00 PM)
- Lincoln Park Zoo's Adults Night Out: Summer Block Party (6:30 PM)
- Small Town Titans with Of Limbo & Core at The Forge (7:00 PM)
- El Ten Eleven at Space (8:00 PM)
- Susan Werner at City Winery (8:00 PM)
- Movies in the Parks La La Land showing at Wicker Park (8:15 PM)
Chatter:
- What's a CHISOX Athlete?: "🚨 THIS JUST IN 🚨 The #WhiteSox are proud to introduce CHISOX Athlete – an NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) program created to help empower student-athletes, their voices and careers both on and off the field." (Chicago White Sox via Instagram)
- Chicago Bulls schedule: "Here it is... YOUR 2022-23 BULLS SCHEDULE." (Chicago Bulls via Facebook)
- Miko's Italian Ice turns 25: "You can help Miko's celebrate its 25th anniversary by buying a cup for as little as $1 this weekend." (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
- Jeffery Pub hit-and-run: "Families of those killed in the incident are pleading with the public to stop sharing video footage of the horrific crash on social media." (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
- Chicago food trucks: "Chicago is finally doing something positive for food truck owners" (Eater Chicago via Facebook)
- Joel Murray invitational golf outing: "Great to be part of opening of the Joel Murray invitational golf outing supporting 1st responders. At the golf course that was used as inspiration for Caddyshack, as the Murray Bros use to sneak on the course growing up." (The Bagpipes and Drums of the Emerald Society, Chicago Police Department via Facebook)
- Woman recounts 'Playpen' boating accident: ""I glanced at my legs and realized that both my legs were gone."" (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
- Field Museum free days: "Grab your nearest prehistory-loving pal, bosom botany buddy, or scientific sidekick: starting next week, fall Tuesdays and Wednesdays are Free Days for Illinois residents! 👯 Here's everything you need to plan your visit ➡️ fieldmuseum.org/freedays" (Field Museum via Facebook)
- If MSI was a planet: "If science and industry was a lil' planet! ⚛️ 📷: @onimar #msichicago #chicagogram #thingstodoinchicago #museumlovers #chicagomuseum" (Museum of Science and Industry via Instagram)
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Events:
- The Evanston Chamber Music Society Summer Music Festival (August 19)
- Nasty Women of Evanston ART Fundraiser supporting Planned Parenthood (August 20)
- From Seashells to Shiny Bells (August 21)
- Lowered Costs for 2022, Get Your Cannabis Card in 24hrs from Home! (August 22)
- Social Security Seminar (August 22)
- Emmy-winning W. Kamau Bell & bestselling author Kate Schatz in Conversation (August 23)
- Add your event
Announcements:
- Patty Perks App Alert: Customer Appreciation (Details)
- Add your announcement
Housing:
- Free Mortgage Pre Approval (Details)
- Add your listing
You're officially in the loop for today! See you tomorrow for another 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
