Follow Rev. Jesse Jackson's homegoing service
Good morning, Chicago. ✶
???? Below: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a main face of federal immigrant enforcement in the Trump administration, is out at the department.
???? Live blog: Follow along with today's homegoing services for Rev. Jesse Jackson via our live blog.
????️ Plus: Buddy Guy isn't just a key part of "Sinners," nominated for a record 16 Oscars next weekend — he's a local blues legend.
???? Keeping score: Bulls beat Suns, 105-103.
⏱️: An 8-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ????️
Showers, fog and a high near 70.
TODAY’S TOP STORY ????
So long, Rev. Jesse Jackson: Live details from Friday’s homegoing service
Reporting by Sun-Times and WBEZ staff
Final journey: The funeral service honoring Rev. Jesse Jackson begins 11 a.m. at Chicago’s House of Hope. Three former U.S. presidents — Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and Joe Biden — alongside other distinguished guests and speakers are expected to attend. The family will livestream all services at JesseJacksonLegacy.com.
Honoring the man: Jennifer Hudson, gospel artist Bebe Winans and Pastor Marvin Winans are scheduled to sing. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will speak.
Resting place: A smaller service at Rainbow PUSH headquarters is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday. Performers will include Stevie Wonder. Afterwards, there will be a procession to Oak Woods Cemetery.
IMMIGRATION ✶
Trump ousts Kristi Noem; Pritzker says ‘don’t let the door hit you on the way out’
Reporting by Tina Sfondeles
Out at DHS: Months after she led aggressive immigration operations in the Chicago area that left one person dead and another surviving being shot five times by a federal agent, controversial U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is leaving the role at the end of March.
Lateral move?: Noem is the first Cabinet secretary to leave during President Donald Trump’s second term. Nominated to replace her is Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin. She's not out of the federal government, however — Trump says he’ll make Noem a "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas," a new security initiative he said would focus on the Western Hemisphere.
Gov. gets messy: In addition to his cheeky sendoff, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker posted a fake LinkedIn profile with Noem’s face and an "#opentowork” label. U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, who last week met with Noem and reminded her that her days were numbered, wrote on X, “Good riddance! We still have to impeach her, Melt ICE and dismantle DHS.”
Mayor's take: “Her tenure will be remembered by her brazen corruption, the reckless exploitation of vulnerable families to advance a far-right agenda, and willingness to put the President’s interests over those of the American people,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED ????️
- Offer to move: Residents of Chaney Braggs Apartments, near the soon-to-open Obama Presidential Center, say they’ve been told a prospective owner is offering low-income renters $2,000 to move out.
- Person to person: Peer support programs within prisons could be a small step toward improving Illinois' abysmal prison health care system, a new report says.
- Tough on crimes against animals: The City Council’s Committee on Public Safety this week agreed to strengthen penalties against animal neglect offenses, calling animal cruelty a "precursor to crime" against people.
- State Farm dividend: The Bloomington company will pay $5 billion to auto insurance customers through a cash dividend starting this summer, making onetime payments averaging $100 per vehicle to qualifying customers.
- Entertainment and art: D.K. Harrell, Girl Tones and "Matisse’s Jazz: Rhythms in Color" at the Art Institute are among things to do in the week ahead.
RELIGION ✶
First Latino-led mosque in the Midwest opens
By Michael Puente
Midwest first: On Feb. 17, the first day of Ramadan, the Ojala Islamic Center opened its doors in west suburban Berwyn — making it the first mosque in the Midwest geared toward Latino Muslims. The center is in a former church nestled in a quiet neighborhood.
'Amazing feeling': Efforts culminating with the mosque's opening started more than a decade ago, when there weren’t many options for Latino Muslims in the Chicago area and no space of their own. "It’s been an ongoing effort for a very long time," said Alma Campos, a member of the Ojala Foundation board. "Us being able to purchase our own space where we could have all of the things that we were not able to have, and provide that for the community — it’s an amazing feeling."
ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN ????
Will Art Institute expansion leave historical Chicago Stock Exchange room in the cold?
By Lee Bey
Opulent space endangered?: The old Chicago Stock Exchange Building trading room — Adler & Sullivan’s gilded age space rescued from demolition 54 years ago — could be uprooted from its longtime Art Institute of Chicago home under preliminary expansion plans being considered by the museum.
Key quote: "The east side of the building — where the Trading Room is located — represents the area where gallery space could increase the most," the Art Institute said — the first time it has publicly announced the possibility that the historic room could be affected by expansion plans.
Storied history: The trading floor is listed on Preservation Chicago’s 2026 list of the city’s seven most endangered places. The ornate two-level 5,700-square-foot space was the centerpiece of the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan-designed Chicago Stock Exchange at 30 N. LaSalle St., which was wrecked in 1972 and replaced by a skyscraper. Before the building was demolished, a team deconstructed the room piece by piece, then oversaw its reinstallation at the Art Institute.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ????⚾️????
- DJ Moore traded: The Bears receiver thanked Chicago as he headed to the Buffalo Bills.
- Limited TV menu: Cubs and White Sox fans' demand for spring training broadcasts isn't being met.
- IHSA sectional finals: High school basketball features six big-time matchups between 12 ranked teams that are squaring off Friday.
BRIGHT ONE ????
Buddy Guy’s screen time in ‘Sinners’ is brief, but his legacy runs deep
By Reginald Ponder
A cold night with temperatures plunging below zero in Chicago can’t stop Buddy Guy. A standing-room-only crowd packed into his Legends club on a frigid January night, waiting in anticipation for not just the master of the blues, but the genre’s protector and champion.
"I’m a lucky guy, because I got a chance to play with all of them [blues legends] before they passed away, and they told me, 'Buddy if you can do me a favor, just keep the blues alive,' and that’s all I’m trying to do," he told the crowd.
When Guy finally took the stage, silence fell over the audience. The next sound was not a musical note, but Guy being the color commentator of his own performance. He proceeded to weave in and out of being musical master and master storyteller.
"I know y’all don’t want me to talk, but I like to explain some s--- that I’ve experienced by being a guitar player well enough to be invited around the world," he said. Guy then opened with "Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues."
It’s his approach to the blues that fills a room. Writer and director Ryan Coogler uses that to anchor the film "Sinners" and pay tribute to the music as well as the culture. The film, which has garnered a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations, displays the journey of a young man in the South navigating all the obstacles life threw at him and just trying to survive it all. That story is very similar to Guy’s.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Yesterday, we asked you: What political race on the Illinois primary ballot do you care about the most and why?
Here’s some of what you said…
“The U.S. Senate. This is Illinois chance to put up a great role model similar to Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders etc. Someone of great clarity, integrity and insight. I am voting for Dr. Robin Kelly.”
“Governor, of course. We need to keep Illinois blue, and moving forward.”
“7th Congressional District, just because it’s my district and there are 12 people running and it’s nuts!”
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore and Esther Bergdahl
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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