Protesters keep beating Trump in federal court
Good morning, Chicago. ✶
???? Below: Cases against 17 of 32 people charged with nonimmigration crimes during Operation Midway Blitz have collapsed, and no one has been convicted. Still, these legal battles are taking a toll on the Chicagoans involved.
????️ Plus: More than 500 students will be displaced by school closings, Chicago's 311 "black hole" and more news you need to know.
???? Keeping score: The Bulls fell to the Trail Blazers, 121-112 — their 11th-straight loss; the Blackhawks were bested by the Predators, 4-2.
☑️ Coming Sunday: Our guide to this year's primary election will hit newsstands, and your inbox via a special edition of this newsletter, on Sunday.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ☀️
Sunny and breezy with a high near 61.
TODAY’S TOP STORY ????
ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago federal court, but battles take toll
By Jon Seidel
After the charges: A growing number of protesters have been left to pick up the pieces after taking on President Donald Trump's administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in court — and winning.
No teeth: Prosecutions for nonimmigration crimes tied to Operation Midway Blitz have disintegrated at an alarming rate at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse since October. Cases against 17 of 32 known defendants have already collapsed.
The toll: The cases still have a cost. A federal prosecution is intimidating. It carries the threat of prison time. Damaging news stories spread online. Freedoms are often restricted. Lawyers are needed, though federal defenders have saved people from big legal bills. Then there’s jail — the 17 cleared defendants spent a combined 150 days in federal custody, records show.
Zooming in: Jocelyne Robledo and Ray Collins were charged last fall with assaulting federal officers. A grand jury refused to indict the couple, and prosecutors wound up dropping the charges. "It’s almost embarrassing," Collins said about having to tell potential employers he was arrested for a felony. But he's resilient. "I know myself and my character, that those things would never stick ... They can’t tarnish what I’ve done in my community. They can’t tarnish who I am as a person."
Related headlines:
- As Midway Blitz cases collapse, ‘Broadview Six’ prosecutors agree to scale back controversial indictment
- The IRS broke the law by disclosing confidential information to ICE 42,695 times, judge says
REV. JESSE JACKSON ✶
Thousands gather to view Jesse Jackson and reflect on his impact
By Erica Thompson, Cindy Hernandez and Somer Van Benton
Honoring Jackson: Politicians, family members and thousands of other admirers of all ages walked through the doors of Rainbow PUSH Coalition in Kenwood on Thursday to pay their respects to the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The celebrated civil rights leader, who died at 84 on Feb. 17, lay in repose in the historic nonprofit’s sanctuary throughout the day.
Elders reflect: Older community members on Thursday took pride in saying they'd followed Jackson's impact over several decades. Whether it was seeing media coverage of him with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. or hearing him speak at their high schools, they said their experiences had a profound effect on their lives. And they hoped to see his legacy carried forward by the next generation.
Honors inside: Inside the sanctuary, community members gathered with quiet reverence to pay their respects. White flowers, a black and white portrait of Jackson, and U.S., Chicago and pan-African flags decorated the area surrounding the casket. Performers including former members of the Soul Stirrers gospel group sang live throughout the day. A rotating group of religious leaders provided prayers, including Cardinal Blase Cupich, who was accompanied by Father Michael Pfleger.
Outside lines: Scores of people waited along Drexel Avenue in the crisp but sunny weather as recordings of Jackson’s speeches blared from speakers. Many chanted "I am somebody" and "keep hope alive," signature rallying cries of the late reverend.
In their words: "I have a lot of respect and admiration for Rev. Jesse Jackson, for all the great things that he’s done for us as a race of people, and how he fought," said Chicagoan Willie Kelley, 67. "It wasn’t just for Black people; he stood for everybody." Read more of what supporters said Thursday here.
WATCH: MOURNERS GATHER FOR JACKSON ▶️
EDUCATION ????
More than 500 students will be displaced by CPS shutdown of Aspira schools
By Sarah Karp
School closing: Chicago Public Schools officials told leaders of the Aspira charter school network Wednesday that the district is transferring students out of their two high schools for the remainder of the school year. The unprecedented move will disrupt the education of some 545 pupils. More than 90% of the schools' students are Latino and more than two-thirds come from low-income households.
Key context: CPS officials told the financially distressed charter network that it was taking this action to "safeguard students’ educational stability" and to make sure it’s complying with state and federal laws. Aspira has been relying on cash advances from CPS to make payroll, but there are state limits.
More in education:
- CPS approves calendars for next 2 school years with longer summer break
- Mentors can make the difference for young Black men in college — here’s how to be a good one
PUBLIC SAFETY ✶
- 311 ‘black hole’: Chicago's 311 system has turned into a "black hole" that leaves people in the dark about the city’s response to their complaints — and fosters distrust of government, according to outgoing Inspector General Deborah Witzburg.
- Man charged in fatal shooting: Bobby Martin, 26, has been charged in a fatal shooting of a man Tuesday in Washington Heights, police said.
- Suspect arrested in St. Louis: Muhammad Thomas, 35, charged in the November shooting deaths of a father and son who owned a Little Village jewelry store, was arrested in St. Louis this week, according to Chicago police.
- Murder suspect pleads not guilty: Tommy Schaefer, accused of committing a murder that triggered an international legal drama spanning a dozen years, pleaded not guilty Thursday in his first public appearance in Chicago since the 2014 overseas death of Oak Park’s Sheila von Wiese-Mack. He apparently intends to represent himself.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED ????️
- Iconic dry cleaner to shut: Pride Cleaners, a Space Age spectacle in Chatham with its radically tilted concrete roof and colorful Vegas-style sign, is set to close Friday.
- DePaul Art Museum closing: After nearly 15 years of striving to be a venue for underrepresented artists, DePaul announced the museum will shut its doors for good June 30, citing financial strains.
- Buckner backs Waymo: State Rep. Kam Buckner is championing still-pending state legislation that would make a test of driverless cars possible in five Illinois counties: Cook, Sangamon, Madison, St. Clair and Monroe.
- Double Door won’t reopen: With renovation estimates ballooning to $9 million, Double Door owners are abandoning plans to revive the venue at Uptown's Wilson Theatre.
BEARS STADIUM ????
Bears property tax incentives advance in Illinois House over city opposition
By Mawa Iqbal, Fran Spielman and Matt Trunfio
Big play: A tax incentive plan aimed at keeping the Bears in Illinois advanced Thursday in the state House amid opposition from City Hall and questions about whether Democrats can whip up enough votes to pass it.
Key context: The legislation, introduced by state Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, would allow the NFL team to negotiate a freeze on property tax assessments with local taxing districts — in this case, Arlington Heights, Cook County and local school districts.
Meanwhile, in Indiana: Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed a sprawling tax- incentive plan in hopes of luring the Bears across state lines. It's the latest development in the high-stakes bidding war between Illinois and Indiana over which state can lay claim to one of the NFL’s most storied franchises as the team looks for the exits from its longtime lease at Soldier Field.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ????⚾????
- Leaked NFLPA survey: First-year Bears head coach Ben Johnson got an "A" grade from his players in the NFL Players Association report card.
- Friends reunited: The careers of the Cubs' Alex Bregman and Dansby Swanson have run parallel; now they've converged for a second time.
- WNBA could start late: The league says if a collective bargaining agreement isn't reached by March 10, the season won't begin on time.
- Boys basketball: Meet the 2026 Sun-Times all-area high school boys basketball team — and the player of the year, Warren’s Jaxson Davis.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD ????
Today's clue: 2D: Color on all White Sox jerseys, ironically
BRIGHT ONE ????
Wine shops are on a sellout run with multicultural wine tastings
By Maggie Hennessy
Casual wine education in Chicago these days favors traditionally overlooked and under-the-radar makers and stories, and leans into nerdiness without pretense.
It jumps headfirst into historical deep dives and tours lesser-known winemaking regions and globe-trotting grapes. It embraces fun, sometimes oddball pairings like funky orange wine with stinky cheese, or blind tastings with a "Heated Rivalry" theme in reference to the buzzy HBO series.
The wine industry may be struggling, but in Chicago, in-store wine education is alive and evolving beyond lessons rooted in the historic powerhouse regions found in California, France and Spain. There’s a flourishing menu of classes representing viniculture from Baja and Hungary — and they are quickly finding an audience.
"We’ve done, gosh, I don’t know, hundreds, maybe over a thousand events? And pretty much all of them sell out," said Melissa Zeman, owner of BottlesUp!.
Since opening in 2019, this cheery storefront has hosted weekly classes. They range from cheese pairings and intros to wine from the Republic of Georgia to slightly sillier takes like "Shuck Yourself," which teaches how to marry wine with oysters.
Try for yourself: These eight local shops deliver smart Wine 101 lessons.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Yesterday, we asked you: What do you think about self-driving cars operating in Chicago?
Here’s some of what you said, edited for space and clarity:
"I do not understand why cities are approving autonomous taxis and delivery services. It increases local unemployment with no economic benefits to the area's economy [that] I can discern. It just seems like a way for big tech companies to funnel money out of Chicago and into their pockets." — Mike McMains
"I am fine with it, but I want them to show why the disaster that occurred during the power outage in San Francisco won't happen here. Strangely enough, I was driving across SF during that power outage. Every intersection had a dead Waymo square in the middle of each intersection, screwing up traffic wildly." — Austin Schraudenbach
"Why would we want self-driving cars here? If we want to make the roads safer, we can lower speed limits and reengineer our roads to be friendlier to bikes and pedestrians. If we want to prevent drunk driving, a robot cab won't be cheaper than Uber, Lyft or an old-fashioned taxicab. If we want to improve congestion, we can invest more in transit ... Waymo sounds like a solution looking for a problem." — Benjamin Recchie
"Generally, I'm not in favor of anything that takes away jobs from real people just to enrich shareholders and CEOs who would never dream of driving a cab or driving for a rideshare service, and are pretending they're altruists who care about drunk driving and people with epilepsy. The most equitable, environmentally friendly way to prevent drunk driving is to invest in public transit, but that doesn't make Waymo any money." — Jordan Mainzer
"As a bicyclist and pedestrian, I rely on interacting with [a] driver to confirm that they see me and to agree on who will proceed. Until the robocar can communicate with pedestrians and cyclists, I don't want them." — Joseph Schuman
"I fear that they will not do well in the winter, when curbs and lane stripes are difficult or impossible to see. Also, breaking conditions are difficult and extremely variable in the winter. And I wonder if they are programmable for Lake Effect snow." — Thomas Medina
"As we continue to take jobs away from people who rely on [work] as taxi drivers or Uber drivers, I can’t help but wonder: At what cost? Does it make our cities better? Do autonomous vehicles make our streets safer? We see the data, and we still think this is a good idea. But I want to be around the first time one of those driverless cars finds itself on Lower Wacker. Good luck with that!" — Shimmy Miller
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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