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Community Corner

🌱 Norfolk Southern Railway Expansion + Rare Images Of Great Migration

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

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Good morning! In today's Chicago Daily, this and more:

  • 🚂 Norfolk Southern Railway expansion received a green light from City Council.
  • 🚨 CPD officer shortage impacts the staffing of its Criminal Registration Unit.
  • 🍦 North Lawndale resident turned her ice cream hobby into a business.

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📰 Top 5 stories in Chicago:

1) The officer shortage is impacting how the Chicago Police Department staffs its Criminal Registration Unit—responsible for helping track arsonists, sex offenders and those convicted of gun crimes. State law requires those criminals check-in and register with police, but many have been turned away after closures and delays at the South Side unit, due to staffing issues. Chicago has no other registration unit. (WGN 9)

2) Mayor Lori Lightfoot's push for a quick vote on a proposed 15-year ComEd franchise agreement was stymied by City Council yesterday. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) sent the agreement to the Rules Committee, essentially placing a temporary block on its movement through the legislative process. The council also rejected an effort by Lightfoot to reconvene in less than a week to rescue the deal. (Crain's Chicago Business)

3) North Lawndale resident Ida Nelson turned her hobby into a sweet new business venture after being laid off during the pandemic. She's the owner of Ida's Artisan Ice Cream and Treats, currently in an incubator space in East Garfield Park. She sells 50 ice cream flavors—including 12 vegan options—online. And beginning today, two flavors will be featured at the Museum of Ice Cream during Black History Month. (ABC 7)

4) Norfolk Southern Railway received approval from City Council for a $150 million rail yard expansion in Englewood. The project was delayed last month by Ald. Jeanette Taylor (20th) over concerns of residential displacement, truck traffic and pollution. After voicing frustration, Taylor voted yesterday in favor of the agreement, saying "Norfolk Southern and the city have agreed to the terms that the community are asking. And that's all I was asking for." (Chicago Sun-Times)

5) A newly acquired collection at the Newberry Library in Gold Coast provides a glimpse into Chicago's role during The Great Migration of African Americans. Forty-four glass slides—believed to have been produced by the Methodist Episcopal Church between 1922-23—show what it was like for those trying to adapt to life in The North. The fragile images are the most complete set known to survive from The Great Migration. (WGN 9)

📌 Today in Chicago:

  • Chicago Taverns at 90: How It Started And How It's Going at GMan Tavern (6:00 PM)
  • Artist Talk with Jordan A. Porter-Woodruff: Portraits: An Intimate View at Epiphany Center for the Arts (6:00 PM)
  • Steppin' Thru History: Honoring Sam Chatman & Don Vic at The DuSable Museum of African American History (6:00 PM)
  • "The Negro Motorist Green Book" Exhibition Opening at Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center (6:30 PM)
  • Phil Cook at Old Town School of Folk Music (7:00 PM)
  • Vino Camp at Eataly (7:00 PM)
  • John Ballantyne's Crazy Heart at Reggies (7:00 PM)
  • Latinx Poetics Anthology Launch Celebration at The Poetry Foundation (7:00 PM)
  • Adam Melchor with Miloe at Thalia Hall (7:30 PM)
  • Mulefoot Wildwood Flowers at The Hideout (8:00 PM)
  • Tone Bell at Zanies Comedy Club (8:00 PM)
  • G. Thomas Allen - Smooth & Sassy at City Winery (8:00 PM)
  • Our 6 Year Anniversary - Chingona Comedy Hour at Laugh Factory Chicago (8:00 PM)
  • Fitz and The Tantrums at The Vic Theatre (8:00 PM)
  • Geeks Who Drink Trivia Night at High Dive (8:00 PM)
  • International Omnivorist by Bumbac Joe at Punch House (9:00 PM)
  • Dizzy Gillespie Cuban Tribute with Hector Silveira at Jazz Showcase (10:00 PM)

📱 Social chatter:

  • Pet adoption: "If you like giving belly rubs, you're just Vander's type! Vander's legs work just fine, but he'd love to crawl right into your heart like he has with all of us so far. If you dare to sit across the room from these soulful eyes, you'll soon find this adorable boy has wiggled his way across the floor to be right next to you where he belongs." (PAWS Chicago via Facebook)
  • Great Andersonville Puzzle Exchange: "Fika Fest will also include a coffee and hot cocoa crawl and more. ☕" (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
  • DuSable bust gets royal treatment: "Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable bust adorned with crown for start of Black History Month." (CBS Chicago)
  • Black History Month: "How to celebrate Black History Month in Chicago." (NBC 5)
  • Author of the 13th Amendment: "You don't see Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, even though Trumbull was the was the author of the 13th Amendment, the constitutional amendment that ended slavery.⁠ ⁠ Today is the 158th anniversary of the amendment's passage, so it's a good day to recognize the Father of the 13th Amendment, whose career paralleled Lincoln's, and often surpassed it in attempting to do away with slavery.⁠" (Chicago magazine via Instagram)

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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 find me reading to my toddler, watching tv with my husband or cuddling with our rescue dog.

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

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