Afternoon Briefing: Northwest suburban lawmaker stepping down

Chicago Tribune

9 April 2024 at 3:00 pm·2-min read

Good afternoon, Chicago.

State Sen. Ann Gillespie, a Democrat from Arlington Heights, will step down from her legislative post to lead the state’s Department of Insurance as acting director. Her appointment requires confirmation by the state Senate. She replaces Dana Popish Severinghaus, who assumed the department’s top post in 2021 and will be leaving the position next week.

Gillespie has been a state senator since 2019 and is a former business executive, health care attorney and consultant in the health care field.

Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.

Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Daily horoscope | Ask Amy

COPA releases harrowing video of fatal police shooting of Dexter Reed on West Side, which mayor calls ‘deeply disturbing’

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability released video footage Tuesday that shows a group of Chicago police officers firing dozens of bullets at a man during an ill-fated traffic stop last month. Read more here.

More top news stories:

Zombie malls and other retail centers getting extreme makeovers to keep up with the times

Nationwide, the number of malls declined about 17% per year from 2017 to 2022 and many more are expected to close in the next 10 years, according to a report by Capitol One bank. But managers believe they can save malls with makeovers that often involve adding entertainment and dining, with a new twist: making malls a place where people cannot just shop, but live. Read more here.

More top business stories:

Chicago Cubs bullpen fails 1st test without reliever Julian Merryweather, who will be sidelined at least a month

It all happened so quickly Monday night at Petco Park that a blowout Chicago Cubs victory turned into a nightmare within minutes. Read more here.

More top sports stories:

Chicago Shakes 2024-25 season: Royal Shakespeare Co. returns, plus Kinks musical and ‘Lord of the Rings’

Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company, among the world’s most famous and critically acclaimed theaters, will return to Chicago next fall for the first time in 30 years with a new staging of William Shakespeare’s “Pericles,” produced in collaboration with Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Read more here.

More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:

Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in settlement related to train derailment in eastern Ohio

Norfolk Southern has agreed to pay $600 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement related to a fiery train derailment in February 2023 in eastern Ohio. Read more here.

More top stories from around the world:

The Telegraph
Beauty queen shot dead after octopus ceviche order led killers to restaurant
An Ecuadorian beauty queen was assassinated after her Instagram post of a plate of octopus ceviche led gunmen to the restaurant where she was dining.
Liverpool Echo
Teen drug dealer screams 'I'm going to f****** get you' after stabbing boy
The judge said the 17 year old was 'tasked, as an expendable foot soldier, with inflicting lethal punishment'
The Telegraph
Teenager shot dead during burglary as farmer is arrested on suspicion of murder
A suspected burglar has been shot dead during a “targeted” break-in at a remote farmhouse in the Peak District.
The Argus
Mother of teenage murderer sobs after son is sentenced to life
The mother of a teenage murderer sobbed after her son was sentenced to life in prison.
The Independent
Three bodies found in search for American and Australian tourists who disappeared in Mexico
Australian brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad disappeared nearly a week ago
The Telegraph
‘Sword killer’ attacked man in home while four-year-old girl slept, court told
A 36-year-old man charged with the murder of a teenage schoolboy during a sword attack also broke into a nearby home where a four-year-old girl was asleep and attacked her father, a court has heard.
Swindon Advertiser
'Abusive' group leave Italian restaurant without paying £280 bill
The owners of a popular Italian restaurant have been left angry after a large group left without paying.
Sky News
Wife of doctor who 'drove car off cliff' with family inside begs for attempted murder charges to be dropped
The wife of a California doctor accused of deliberately driving a car off a cliff with his family inside has begged prosecutors to drop the charges against him, according to US media reports. Dharmesh Patel, 42, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempted murder. Patel, a radiologist, was driving his white 2021 Tesla Model Y along the Pacific Coast Highway south of San Francisco, when it plunged several hundred feet off the cliff at Devil's Slide.
Bristol Live
Teenage footballer named as suspected burglar shot dead at farm
The 19-year-old was named by his mum who posted a picture on social media of her together with her son
The Telegraph
Café bans laptops after customers ask staff to be quiet during Zoom calls
A café has baned laptops after work from home customers asked staff to be quiet during Zoom calls.
Digital Spy
Coronation Street's Nicky Wheatley to pursue new clue in Lauren Bolton mystery
Coronation Street’s Nicky Wheatley is set to pursue a new clue in the mystery surrounding Lauren Bolton’s disappearance.
Western Telegraph
Two bodies found in Pembrokeshire spark sadness among coastguards
The volunteer crew members of a local lifeboat, tasked with recovering two bodies from Pembrokeshire coast in the space of 16 hours, have expressed their sympathy to the loved ones of those concerned.
Sky News
Four babies found dead in freezer: Mother will not face criminal charges after discovery in Boston
The 69-year-old mother of four babies who were found dead in a freezer in the US city of Boston will not face criminal charges. District attorney Kevin Hayden called the investigation "one of the most complex, unusual and perplexing that this office has ever encountered". Investigators don't know whether the four babies - thought to be 37 to 40 weeks old - were born alive, which was part of the reason not to bring criminal charges, Mr Hayden said.
The Telegraph
‘Vote for Palestine’ campaign blamed as Labour suffers shock defeat in Oldham
Labour has suffered a shock defeat in Oldham in a warning sign that the war in Gaza could haunt Sir Keir Starmer at the next general election.
SWNS
First pictures show farm at the centre of deadly shoot-out that left man dead
These first pictures reveal the remote farm where a suspected burglar was shot dead and a second injured during an alleged break-in. The drone shots show two police vans and four other unmarked vehicles parked beside the two-story Mosley Hall Farm, in the Peak District today (Thurs). And dozens of forensic investigators were also spotted working at the isolated address, which is set amongst rolling fields near Whaley Bridge, Derbys. Today (Thurs) nobody was answering calls to the farm, which is believed to house a dairy cow milking operation and also have a flock of sheep. The images come after police arrested a man in his 50s on suspicion of murder and attempted murder following a disturbance at the property on Wednesday (May 1).
Storyful
Man Drives Towards Protest at PSU, Pepper-Sprays People While Fleeing
Police said a man was detained after driving towards a crowd of protesters at Portland State University in Oregon on Thursday, May 2, before using “some kind of pepper spray” at a protester, abandoning the car, and fleeing the scene.“The adult male was transported to a local hospital on a police mental health hold,” the Portland Police Bureau said.In footage of the incident, captured by Christopher Landis, a man can be heard warning people to “get away from the car” as it accelerates toward the crowd. The vehicle then comes to a stop and the driver flees the vehicle on foot, spraying a brown-colored liquid at several protesters as they try to stop him. Credit: Christopher Landis via Storyful
CNN
79-year-old man arrested in 1966 stabbing of 18-year-old
A 79-year-old man was charged with first degree murder on Monday for allegedly stabbing a woman more than 120 times nearly six decades ago, authorities said.
Manchester Evening News
'Savage' murdered friend in his own living room before trying to behead him in horror scenes
Matthew Jones murdered 39-year-old William Phelan
Evening Standard
Police issue CCTV image after spate of knifepoint phone robberies on trains
The robberies took place across three days last month
Bristol Live
Cyclist stabbed and shot in brutal daylight 'ambush'
Police are appealing for witnesses after the horrific incident left a teenager in hospital fighting for his life

COPA releases harrowing video of fatal police shooting of Dexter Reed on West Side, which mayor calls ‘deeply disturbing’

Zombie malls and other retail centers getting extreme makeovers to keep up with the times

Chicago Cubs bullpen fails 1st test without reliever Julian Merryweather, who will be sidelined at least a month

Chicago Shakes 2024-25 season: Royal Shakespeare Co. returns, plus Kinks musical and ‘Lord of the Rings’

Norfolk Southern agrees to pay $600M in settlement related to train derailment in eastern Ohio

Latest stories