Community Corner
🌱 Pro Rugby​ Team Coming To Chicago + CPS Gets $25 Million Donation
The quickest way to get caught up on the most important things happening today in Chicago.
Happy Friday, Chicago! In today's Daily:
- 🎁 55 vacant Chicago storefronts will soon host artists and retailers
- 🚴♀️ Mayor Lightfoot blames her security detail for parking in a bike lane
- 🏉 A professional rugby team is coming to the city
P.S. Two Chicago restaurants made Esquire's list of Best New Restaurants in America. To learn more, click here.
The weather:
Brisk and quite cold. High: 28 Low: 19.
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Top 5 stories in Chicago:
1) MacKenzie Scott gifts CPS $25 million after charter schools get donations. Chicago Public Schools is receiving a $25 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, the billionaire philanthropist who earlier this week gave $23 million to the Noble and LEARN charter school networks. "District officials will be working to invest these funds in some of the priorities outlined in our developing blueprint," CPS spokeswoman Mary Fergus said. CPS has a $9.4 billion budget for the 2023 fiscal year. The donation will help some programs but not make a large dent in the funding shortfall.
2) 55 vacant Chicago storefronts to come alive in time for holiday season. As part of the Small Business Storefront Activation Program, 17 community and economic development organizations were awarded $2 million in grants to work with local entrepreneurs, artists and landlords to set up shops on commercial corridors throughout the city. The program gives Chicagoans an opportunity to "shop at 25 pop-up spaces featuring 140 different vendors" this holiday season. More than 50 artists will showcase their work at 30 previously vacant storefronts.
3) Lightfoot blames security for parking in bike lane: 'They shouldn't have done it.' Recent photos show Mayor Lori Lightfoot's security detail parking in a Humboldt Park bike lane so she could buy doughnuts at Roeser's Bakery, a move that has generated heavy criticism from the city's bicyclist community. "Obviously, they shouldn't have parked in the bike lane. Pretty simple. No bike lanes. No fire hydrants. They shouldn't have done it. Period," Lightfoot said during a news conference Wednesday evening.
4) Professional rugby expands to Midwest with new team. Chicago is getting its first-ever Major League Rugby team: The Chicago Hounds. The team's colors are green and sky blue. They will begin play in Feb. 2023, with a home opener at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview on Sat., March 4 at 7 p.m. against the Utah Warriors. Head coach Sam Harris and players are eager to introduce themselves to Chicago and grow the sport before the Rugby World Cup comes to the U.S. in 2031.
5) How did Devon Avenue become Chicago's Little India? A mile-long stretch of Devon Avenue from California Avenue on the western edge to Damen Avenue on the east in the West Ridge neighborhood has long been known as Little India. In the 1950s and 1960s, the neighborhood was mostly Jewish. Today, it is one of the most diverse places in the city, with immigrants from all over the world, and a hub for dozens of South Asian businesses. How it got here goes back decades.
Today in Chicago:
- Winter Bryn Mawrkets on Bryn Mawr Avenue (3:00 PM)
- Hard Country Honky Tonk with The Hoyle Brothers at Empty Bottle (5:30 PM)
- State Champs with Hunny & Between You and Me at Concord Music Hall (5:30 PM)
- City of Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting in Millennium Park (6:00 PM)
- Skate Market & Open Skate Jam at House of Vans Chicago (6:00 PM)
- The Garden with Machine Girl at Metro (6:30 PM)
- Exhumed with Hudler & Vitriol at Reggies (7:00 PM)
- Winterland at Gallagher Way (7:00 PM)
- Christkindlmarket Wrigleyville in Gallagher Way (7:00 PM)
- Friendsgiving Feast at Crust Brewing (7:00 PM)
- MXPX with Teenage Bottlerocket at House of Blues (7:00 PM)
- The Slaps at Epiphany Center for the Arts (7:30 PM)
- Drive-By Truckers: A Benefit Concert for Beyond Hunger at Thalia Hall (8:00 PM)
- Streetlight Manifesto at Radius (8:00 PM)
- Maldita Vecindad at The Riviera Theatre (8:00 PM)
- The Infamous Stringdusters with Armchair Boogie at The Vic Theatre (8:00 PM)
- Don Diablo at TAO Chicago (10:00 PM)
Social chatter:
- Wild turkey sighting: "Thanksgiving is almost here, but one lucky turkey won't become anyone's dinner next week." (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
- #RockYourMocs: "This year for #RockYourMocs, we wanted to share a few of the moccasins featured in our new, permanent exhibition Native Truths. These shoes show a range of beadwork and craftsmanship across North American tribes and time: Native artists today still make styles from 100+ years ago to ensure that traditions, knowledge, and #NativeVoicesNativeStories aren't lost." (Field Museum via Facebook)
- Branko's is back!: "When Jelica Jordanovska died last year at 84, her children promised to preserve the business their family built after fleeing impending turmoil in former Yugoslavia." (Block Club Chicago via Facebook)
- Visit with Santa: "SANTA! We know him!! 🎅 . You and yours can pose with the jolly man himself in the Holiday Studio for a festive souvenir the following days: Nov. 17-20, 23, 25-27 Dec. 2-4, 9-11, 16-24 . Availability is limited and requires additional ticketing. Add a photo with Santa to your visit, reserve your timeslot today!" (Museum of Science and Industry via Instagram)
- Blood drive: "The 9th annual ABC 7 Great Chicago Blood Drive will be held January 11 and 12, 2023" (ABC 7 Chicago)
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Events:
- 43rd Annual Wild Bird Seed Truckload Sale!! (November 18)
- Sketch Comedy - All in the Timing with LATTE Theater (November 18)
- Illinois 16 / 8 Hour Concealed Carry Training Classes $160 (November 19)
- Palette & Chisel Fall Clearance: Original Artwork for $300 or Less (November 19)
- Evanston Chamber Music Society Presents Alexander Hersh, cellist and Victor Santiago Asunción, piano (November 19)
- FREE Concealed Carry Training 16hr for Illinois & Florida "CCL" (November 20)
- Add your event
Announcements:
- The Chicago Tribune Names Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Chicago the No. 1 Top Workplace for 2022 (Details)
- Add your announcement
— 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
