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šŸŒ± New Restaurant Explores Silk Road + Illinois Colleges Among 'Best'

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

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((Patch Media))

Hey, everybody! Let's get this Tuesday started off right, with a quick review of everything you need to know about what's happening these days in town.

  • 🍽️ New West Loop restaurant explores Asia's Silk Road
  • 🎓 4 Illinois universities land on 'best colleges' list
  • ⚾ Tony La Russa's return to White Sox left up to 'experts'

First, the weather:

Turning sunny; warmer. High: 75 Low: 61.

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Top 5 stories in Chicago:

1) Manager Tony La Russa's return to White Sox being left up to 'experts.' As the Chicago White Sox continue to make a late surge toward a division championship, their 77-year-old manager remains uncertain as to when he may return to the dugout to finish the push. Tony La Russa told reporters Sunday in Oakland that he will leave his return up "to the experts" after he recently had a pacemaker inserted for his heart. La Russa, who has been away from the team after doctors told him to step away, has not laid out a clear timeline for his return to the Sox. The Sox are 9-4 under interim manager Miguel Cairo and remain 2 ½ games behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central Division.

Chicago Patch

2) 4 Illinois universities land on U.S. News & World Report's 'best colleges' list. Four colleges in Illinois earned a spot on U.S. News & World Report's newest ranking of the 2022-2023 Best Colleges and Universities in the nation, with two of them landing among the top ten. The annual list, released yesterday, evaluates 1,500 colleges and universities on more than a dozen measures of academic quality, including graduation rate, social mobility, class sizes, faculty salaries and more. The two Illinois universities ranking high on the list are the University of Chicago, coming at No. 6, and Northwestern University, coming in at No. 10. The other two Illinois universities among the top 100 are University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, at No. 47, and the University of Illinois Chicago, at no. 97.

NBC Chicago

3) Bambola, now open in West Loop, explores Asia's Silk Road. The team behind lavish dining and drinking spots Beatnik, Michelin-starred Porto, and Mama Delia will debut their latest today in Chicago's restaurant-laden West Loop. Bambola is a continent-traversing restaurant—conceived as a creative culinary tribute to the Silk Road and the countries along its path. It explores the overlap among Chinese, Indian, Iranian and Turkish traditions. Executive chef Marcos Campos and chef de cuisine Alisha Elenz (Mfk) created a menu primarily organized around ingredients rather than geography. Developers razed the building that housed Michael Jordan's OneSixtyBlue and later Bill Kim's BellyQ to make room for the new project.

Eater Chicago

4) To reduce labor shortages, Chicago tries to ease the path from prison into jobs. Businesses need people trained to fill jobs, and people who have been incarcerated need work. Illinois lawmakers are pursuing at least two innovative ways to help businesses find more workers, including some who may have served prison time. Illinois this summer signed an act to study—and potentially reduce—onerous criteria for occupational licenses. State legislators are also considering another bill that would give small business owners $2,500 grants—and a possible wage subsidy—for training people who have been incarcerated and hiring them for at least 60 days. It is common for small businesses to cut back on opening hours because they don't have enough workers, which hurts local communities. Finding meaningful work for people who have been convicted of crimes could help with that as well as address the "serious issue of public safety — it's really impacting Chicago," said Elliot Richardson, president of the Small Business Advocacy Council.

Bloomberg

5) Public artist Sick Fisher is back in Chicago looking for new things to paint. Nick "Sick" Fisher's bright murals dot Chicago, and now the painter has returned home for more. Fisher moved back to Humboldt Park this year after spending the past three years based in Los Angeles. The prolific and well-known artist plans to touch up his existing works, take on new public art projects and "be creative in the city I feel the most real," Fisher said. The artist's murals are hard to miss around Chicago, with many cropping up in Humboldt Park and Logan Square. Chicago will always be Fisher's signature canvas, he said. "I moved back because I'm happier here. There's work and there's a network, and an energy here that makes it very livable. I like to ride my bike places and paint spaces."

Block Club Chicago

Today in Chicago:

  • Lincoln Square Farmers Market (7:00 AM)
  • Ladygang Presents: The Lady Secrets Tour at House of Blues (6:00 PM)
  • The Acacia Strain, Sanguisugabogg at Subterranean (7:00 PM)
  • Mr. Blotto at Reggies (7:00 PM)
  • Bluewater Kings Showcase at Chop Shop (7:00 PM)
  • Chicago White Sox vs. Colorado Rockies at Guaranteed Rate Field (7:10 PM)
  • Vicky Farewell at Empty Bottle (7:30 PM)
  • Eric Clapton at United Center (8:00 PM)
  • Brooks Nielsen at Beat Kitchen (8:00 PM)
  • Kevin Gates at The Riviera Theatre (8:00 PM)
  • Heilung at Radius (8:00 PM)
  • Hannah Montana: A Tribute at Golden Dagger (8:00 PM)
  • Il Volo, Live in Concert at The Chicago Theater (8:00 PM)

Chatter:

  • Chicago Bears in the rain: "The rain never bothered us anyways 🌧 More 📸: https://chgobrs.com/3U0HfN7" (Chicago Bears via Facebook)
  • Offshore wind farm: "The wind farm's proposed Southeast Side location would be 15 miles into Lake Michigan." (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
  • Shedd Aquarium free days: "Free days at the Shedd! 🦈" (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
  • Native representation: "Meet Reagan, Jimma, and Tyla: Cherokee poets and students at Stilwell High School in Oklahoma. Earlier this year, they traveled to Chicago with their teacher, Faith Phillips, to visit Native Truths: our permanent, rotating exhibition which features their art. Hear Reagan and Jimma discuss representation in #NativeVoicesNativeStories." (Field Museum via Facebook)

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Thanks for following along and staying informed! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow morning with 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

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