Sure.

Phone wasn't picked up, stuff like that.

So it's kind of a he said/she said on w- that angle, but the investigation is reopened.

Dominguez spoke, um, with the OIG, uh, this week, and to catch people up on what these allegations are, this young woman, she was 17, uh, working for the Resurrection Project under Dominguez, who was 24 at the time.

Um, she filed a complaint that Dominguez picked her up and twirled her around, and, uh, also when he was driving her home one night, uh, asked about her dating life.

Um, and once again, they were both wo- doing work with the Resurrection Project during the time.

She's now 26 years old.

Mm.

Okay.

And not be fined for it.

So that's a big concession.

Another big concession that was thrown in there, uh, electric vehicle charging stations.

Um, if any of those parking meter areas are turned into electric vehicle charging stations, then Chicago has an opportunity to get revenue off of those electric charging stations and the things that come with like, uh, the fuel costs.

And I'm not exactly sure on the science and how EV stuff-

Okay.

I, I, I will speak to the opposition though quickly.

Well, Brandon, what is that pitch? Picking back on what Mitch was saying, what is that pitch that Mayor Johnson is delivering to voters this time and why they should give him another four years in office?

Yeah, I mean, his big pitch is that his progressive ideas, in his opinion, are working.

And he's got data to back up some of those claims.

He's touting the crime numbers and historic drops in violent crime throughout the city.

He's touting his youth jobs program and violence interrupters and those type of things that have helped contributed to that.

He's talking about infusion of dollars into CPS, even though that has been largely on the back of TIF finances.

Who knows how much longer that can last, that piggyback we keep drawing out of.

Brandon, there's another mayoral candidate has their own new proposal now for a stadium.

I parking on

the field? Am I parking on the dab? You're right there at the plate.

So listen to this.

That's what one White Sox fan had to deal with.

They were headed to a game against the Yankees in July.

He and a friend, they were in traffic, you know, waiting to get into the lot.

It was lot L of right field.

So it's kind of rife territory for a lid.

Pope, how have things been shaking out down off 95th and Cottage Grove at Chicago State University? Yeah, a lot of those

local kids now have another option to play ball over on the south side of Chicago.

Chicago State launching their first ever football team.

It is a division one team at the FCS level.

So that means they're playing along the likes of an Illinois State football or Southern Illinois, not so much the Northwesterns of the world or University of Illinois.

Still, great accomplishment.

D1 football starting up on the south side.

I'm

Pope, how did it

go? Yeah.

Community meeting from the group Southside together over the weekend.

Opponents pushing Brandon Johnson, our mayor, to come out against the development.

Residents chanting things like shut it down.

And he's saying, I'm not going to shut it down.

He instead continued to voice support.

Like, am I trading gushers away for a steak sandwich?

This was nowhere to be found in the mayor's initial budget proposal.

This was not part of Mayor Brandon Johnson's initial budget proposal.

So he got it.

He is against this right here.

So was Bally's.

The company says that if hundreds of bars and restaurants can offer video gambling, then that takes away revenue from their casino.

If the casino makes less money, then all the economic benefit that's been touted for this Valley's casino, they argue it changes.

When, in fact, the collective bargaining agreement says only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.

Can you walk us through this?

Yeah, man, Thursday, big vote day.

CPS looking to cut costs pretty much everywhere across the board.

Um, and this is really their moonshot, to close this massive budget deficit.

Uh, $9.8 billion, uh, budget for the year is what they have overall, but that's really life-altering math for teachers, for students, for staff, 'cause we're talking about a week of furloughs, layoffs of 760 teachers, and more than 800 support staff to get there.

Uh, those furlough days, which would be days students are not supposed to be in class anyway, uh, could save CPS $85 million.

Uh, President Stacy Davis Gates of the CTU, she's calling it reckless, saying it could translate to a $2,300 pay cut for teachers.

Yeah.

What were their findings?

Yeah, this comes from a poll from the University of Chicago's NORC Research Center.

It finds nearly half of Chicago residents, 44 percent, believe that violent crime has actually increased across the city, even though it's not the case.

Shootings and homicides have remained pretty much the same compared to last year.

The number of homicides recorded in 2026 so far is 234.

And that's actually down about one percent compared to the same time of July of last year, where the number of shootings is identical, 974.

So the year ended last year with the fewest homicides Chicago had in six decades.

And so I'm like, what more do you think we can do as journalists? What more do you think city officials can do to, you know, sort of bridge that divide?

What's the latest here?

Yeah, this is a story that's rocking the city right now.

According to Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Flaker's been asked to temporarily step aside from St. Sabina to move off the church campus and refrain from ministry while this independent investigation is conducted.

Flaker said that allegation involves claims that he sexually abused a girl while she attended St. Sabina sometime between 1993 and 1995.

He categorically denies the accusation in a statement to parishioners and the public.

He called it an absolute lie.

This is not the first time he's had allegations, of course.

But I do think this type of swift action is the precedent that should be set for

Yeah.

So candidates, they need to gather twelve thousand five hundred signatures from registered Chicago voters.

And that process on the ballot has to get on the actual ballot.

And that process cannot begin until July 28th, which is why I'm saying you're going to see a lot more names emerge as they get set for that brutal petition process.

And of course, almost every candidate is going to see challenges to the validity of their signatures.

So most are going to be trying to get more than that 12,500.

Exactly.

How does one candidate challenge another candidate's signatures?

Mm-hmm

...

the, he's a Chicago guy, 50 years old.

Um, he's been serving since 2023, uh, directly, uh, after Jesse White.

He went to the Latin School of Chicago.

Um, he was the Illinois State Treasurer from 2007, uh, to 2011, so he's been a face in Illinois politics for a little bit.

Um, and he has, uh, you know, been praised for how he's helped kind of bring the Secretary of State office forward, um, in Illinois, how he's helped, uh, improve wait times at, uh, the, uh, DMV, how he's, you know, modernized the way people get ID cards and things like that.

The people don't win in this scenario.

your rooftop on the day we supposed to be free so I'm going to do Sabo hangout with the black people there yes

Pope, what about you? What are you going to be doing this weekend? Man, you know that feeling of going to TCBY? They got all them flavors and you just get really just overwhelmed.

That's kind of what I am right now with the Juneteenth festivities.

I don't know what to do.

I'm leaning toward the free stuff.

I know there's a block party in Hyde Park.

You know, in my head, when I think block party in Hyde Park, I think the nostalgia of like Silver Room and, you know, the beer, the brew fest or whatever they used to have.

are like around starting around like what, 250, 260.

At the

end of the day.

I'm curious what the political implications are going to be, because I think Pritzker is perfectly fine, in his eyes, sitting here and putting the onus on the bears and saying, hey, I'm protecting taxpayers.

For him, politically, whether it's locally or for 2028, presidentially, if he ever decides to run, that fits in line with what I think the message he wants to go for, and the same for Illinois legislators overall.

The bears here, they've got to decide, are you going to really go to Hammond which seems like it's got its own problems right now without the actual location specs and everything done yet, or do the Arlington move, or is Chicago actually a real possibility? That seems out of the question, too, because Michael Reese, they've already said they don't like it.

How important was it for the folks that you talked to to try and keep his legacy alive, including through things like this big conference?

Absolutely, singularly important for so many of them, especially at a time where we just saw the Voting Rights Act completely obliterated.

That is something that Reverend Jesse Jackson was very passionate about, was getting people to the polls, especially people of color.

Yeah, I hear you.

It's a bad deal for Hoosier taxpayersUm, and the governor doesn't seem to care at all.

They're, they're literally saying, "Hey, we're gonna let y'all have whatever," right? And Illinois saying, "We got some red lines here." Um, Sp- Speaker Chris Ro- Chris Welch asked, actually just, uh, put out a statement speaking about some of those red lines he actually has.

Um, he does not wanna raise taxes.

Um, he does not want to, um, have a taxpayer-funded stadium.

Um, he says Ill- Illinois remains open to ongoing effort to secure the Bears in, in Illinois.

However, it's gonna take time to get it right.

Totally.

Mm-hmm.

And make connections to other Union Station downtown transit easier, but also interconnected cities throughout Illinois, um, and throughout the Midwest and, and, and beyond.

This is a $19.2 million purchase that was authorized by Brandon Johnson, um, and the City Council last week, uh, at 630 West Harrison Street, near Union Station.

And look, the goal here is to keep bus service centralized, uh, prevent property from being sold off to private equity, um, and to make sure that people who are, uh, you know, of, of lower income or who depend on inner-city buses or, um, who may not have transit access to go see people in other parts outside of Chicago, um, are able to do it.

'Cause here's the tea.

If this Greyhound bus station wasn't saved, Chicago was at the risk of being, uh, the largest city without a Greyhound or, or bus terminal hub.

And that doesn't make a lot of sense for as many people have to cross through Chicago to get to a, to, to place to place anyway, right? Um, so i- it's a major problem, uh, that's kind of been delayed in being solved, but this is a temporary fix.

I, I, I would argue it is.

Mm-hmm.

Is it just when some kids get together? Like, there was a lot of, like, things happening that people are calling teen trends that may not be one, but we know this one for sure.

Um, on Sunday, it was a gathering near the Brooks Homes, um, like on the west side of the city.

Uh, five officers were hit by a car.

Um, an 18-year-old was, was driving it from Plainfield, Illinois, which is a southwest suburb.

He's been taken into custody.

Um, you know, even though he's from Plainfield, that still hasn't stopped aldermen from trying to figure out, uh, how to curb all this on a hyper-local level.

Mm-hmm

Yep.

But that is still on the table if they need to.

Uh, for what it's worth, Bears CEO Kevin Warren says to expect a decision, um, in June or July.

Uh, the latest twist in all this, Governor JB Pritzker, uh, this week publicly blasting, uh, Mayor Brandon Johnson in City Hall, saying that Chicago has, quote, "no plan to keep the Bears," um, but still saying he's optimistic about getting Arlington Heights', um, stadium package done.

That stadium package itself seems to be, uh, the big finalist here, even though Hammond, Indiana, was kinda thrown in, um, as a, a last-minute play, uh, by the Bears to gain leverage.

Um, what's really at issue is these, this mega projects bill.

The Bears want long-term property tax certainty, um, roughly $850 million in infrastructure support for the roads, utilities, transit around Arlington Heights for this big mega mixed-use district they wanna do with the dome stadium-

I was in, I think, the sixth and seventh grade when that was happening back in '02 and '03, and when they, when they put the $630 million spaceship up there.

What exactly is this proposal?

This is a fascinating piece of legislation here.

And it's a big month for this legislation.

It stands for the Responsibility and Firearm Legislation Act.

It's spearheaded by a local physician and surgeon at UU Chicago Medical Center named Dr. Anthony Douglas.

And it's all about accountability for gun manufacturers.

If this were to pass, it would mean that starting in 2028, These gun manufacturers that operate without a license in Illinois would have to pay a $1 million per month penalty for every month that they are not licensed.

Do you have a sense from legislators, one, how well they feel this is going to do in the Illinois legislature, but also would this hold up to the inevitable lawsuits that would be to follow?

Remind us what the Peace Book is and what this executive order accomplishes.

Yeah, the Peace Book is something that youth organizers have been pushing for for more than seven years now, really spurred by the Laquan McDonald shooting, but also the shooting death of Adia Pendleton on the south side of Chicago.

The group Good Kids, Mad City, you may be familiar with them.

They were really instrumental in pushing this, led by a man named Kofi Ademola, a great dude and activist here in the city of Chicago.

The idea behind the Peace Book was literally having a resource for anti-violence.

for the city's youth.

And so Mayor Brandon Johnson ran on pushing forward this peace book ordinance.

getting on

What is next for the Cinco de Mayo Parade in Little Village?

Yeah, fears around immigration have been really high in places like Little Village and Pilsen, all around that entire area.

And so the Cinco de Mayo parade in Little Village has been canceled for a second year in a row over those fears around immigration raids as everyday life for people in those communities continues to be rattled by these fears of detentions that have been happening in and around Little Village and nearby Cicero as well.

Latino organizers I talk with often about this say they often feel like their community is being hunted altogether when it comes to this.

And so this is more of a continuation of that.

In a statement from the Cermak Chamber of Commerce, Hector Escobar said that there is nothing to celebrate this year when it comes to the attack on the Trump administration.

on Latino communities.

I know you've also talked to Eric.

Derek Curtis, Nick

Sposato, Sposato, Alderman Sposato.

There have been aldermen like that who have raised objections.

They feel like it's singling out police unfairly by not applying to the entire city workforce.

But the city law department argues that narrowing down the focus helps prevent incidents.

a lot of different constitutional challenges that really are inevitable because one of the key debates is going to arise from this is the First Amendment issues.

You know, if you are a person who supports, I don't know, a skull logo that could be interpreted as a hate group logo or a Proud Boys logo, is that infringing upon your First Amendment rights? So it's an it's an interesting debate.

Go ahead.

It's

yeah, it's a mess of a situation.

And here's the problem, bro.

The Chicago Sky, no bones about it.

They are one of the worst franchises in sports.

They already considered the worst franchise in the WNBA.

They've seen the rest of the league surpass them in terms of revenues, in terms of having major facilities and the sky.

exactly like i um i need to look into this more let me say

But what if it's raining, though, and you don't want to be outside at a Sox game or Cubs game? Where are you going to be this month?

Man, Expo Chicago, bruh.

That big major art festival at Navy Pier.

It's contemporary art.

It's international art.

And it's just like, if you're a person who enjoys just great visuals and vibing out, like...

That is the place to be.

Right.

And so, um, Yeah, we clearly in the home, the home stretch, at least of this part of the season.

Yeah.

When we talk about funding, who's funding who? That's been a big theme for a lot of these races, especially that race in the Senate.

Juliana Stratton's accused Roger Christian Worthy of accepting donations from Palantir, who said, You know, obviously, we're heavily involved in ICE and some of the donations and financing going on there for for enforcement.

And then he's kind of done the uno reverse and said, yeah, you too.

And Robin Kelly's be like, OK, well, not me at all.

So what's going on here? That's going to be interesting to watch.

Brandon, what is in this?