Good morning, Chicago. ✶
🔎 Below: Illinois sued to stop deployment of the National Guard but a judge refused the state’s plea. Troops could hit Chicago’s streets as soon as Tuesday.
🗞️ Plus: An attorney for a woman shot by U.S. Border Patrol disputes the feds’ claims, Mayor Brandon Johnson orders “ICE-free zones” and more news you need to know.
📝 Keeping score: The Cubs face playoff elimination after a 7-3 loss to the Brewers in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
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⏱️ A 9-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ☁️
Cloudy with a chance of showers and a high near 65.
TODAY’S TOP STORIES
Judge refuses to immediately block National Guard deployment to Illinois
By Jon Seidel and Tina Sfondeles
State, city sue: National Guard troops could hit Chicago’s streets as soon as Tuesday after a federal judge refused a plea from Illinois’ attorneys to immediately block a deployment they called “illegal, dangerous and unconstitutional” in a highly anticipated lawsuit Monday.
Troops arriving: A federal judge said Monday she wouldn’t hear arguments over Illinois’ bid to block the deployment until Thursday, even after a lawyer for the Trump administration confirmed Texas troops were on their way.
Key context: Gov. JB Pritzker announced Sunday that President Donald Trump had ordered 400 members of the Texas National Guard to deploy into Illinois, Oregon and elsewhere. He also said 300 Illinois National Guard troops were being federalized against his “vigorous objections.”
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Attorney for woman shot by Border Patrol claims officer said ‘do something b—-‘ before shooting
By David Struett and Kade Heather
Video allegations: Body-camera video of a U.S. Border Patrol agent involved in the shooting of a woman who allegedly chased agents in Brighton Park Saturday shows an officer saying, “Do something, b—-,” before pulling over and shooting the woman five times, her attorney said in federal court Monday.
Disputed details: The video appears to contradict the government’s allegation that Marimar Martinez, 30, drove toward officers before one of them opened fire on her Saturday morning on Kedzie Avenue near 39th Street, her attorney said at a detention hearing at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
Suspects freed: U.S. District Judge Heather McShain denied a request by the federal government to detain Martinez and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, who was also arrested Saturday, pending trial. Martinez and Ruiz, who wore orange jumpsuits for the detention hearing, were charged Sunday with felony assault of a federal officer.
WATCH: CARS ALLEGEDLY INVOLVED IN SHOOTING ▶️
Video footage obtained by the Sun-Times shows the vehicles allegedly involved in an incident in which a Border Patrol agent shot a woman.
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Mayor Johnson’s executive order declares city-owned properties ‘ICE-free zones’
By Fran Spielman
‘ICE-free zones’: City property — including parking lots next to Chicago public schools, libraries, parks and city buildings — cannot be used as staging grounds for raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, under an executive order signed Monday aimed at what Mayor Brandon Johnson called President Trump’s “forceful display of tyranny.”
Key context: It’s the latest of three executive orders Johnson has signed in what so far has been a failed attempt to stop or slow the deportation campaign that has sown fear and chaos in the Chicago area and at times triggered clashes between protesters and federal immigration agents.
More headlines:
MORE NEWS YOU NEED
- Pastor walks to NYC: The Rev. Gary Graf of Our Lady of the Heights in Chicago Heights began a walk Monday from Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in Dolton to Ellis Island in New York City. Upset by the Trump administration’s detention and deportation of immigrants, Graf hopes his efforts mobilize Americans toward compassion.
- For Wadee Alfayoumi: Nearly two years after the fatal hate crime stabbing of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy, Illinois elected officials are honoring what would have been his eighth birthday by pushing for improved safety of immigrant and refugee children.
- Jackson jumps back in: Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is staging a comeback that will upend the open race for the 2nd Congressional District — and his competitors are prepared to pounce on his past.
- Pandemic-related fraud: Rahshone Burnett, of west suburban Westchester, was charged last month with stealing money from the federal pandemic unemployment program. In June, he was sentenced to prison for defrauding the Paycheck Protection Program.
- Remembering Al Llorens: An Englewood native and education labor leader, Mr. Llorens was beloved for his decades of teaching, advocacy and commitment to public education. He died Sept. 25 at age 73.
- Corporate closing: Walgreens said it would close its sprawling space at the Old Post Office near the Loop in January 2026 and move downtown employees to the pharmacy chain’s Deerfield headquarters.
- Jellycat on Mag Mile: The British company behind the popular plushies now has a permanent shop inside Nordstrom’s Michigan Avenue store.
WAR IN GAZA ✶
Israelis and Palestinians mark 2 years of war
By Associated Press, Mitchell Armentrout, Neil Steinberg
Oct. 7, 2023: It’s been two years since thousands of Hamas-led militants poured into southern Israel after a surprise barrage of rockets. They stormed army bases, farming communities and an outdoor music festival, killing some 1,200 people including children and older adults and abducting 251 others.
Yearslong war: In response, Israel launched an offensive into the Gaza Strip that has killed tens of thousands of people and razed entire towns and cities. As the U.S. seeks to broker a ceasefire, those who can are fleeing another Israeli invasion of Gaza City. But many are unable to make the arduous and costly journey south. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll in the war reached 67,160 Monday.
Local activist: Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, has organized many of Chicago’s largest pro-Palestinian demonstrations. In an interview with the Sun-Times, he reflected on Tuesday’s “somber commemoration” and renewed his call for an end to what a United Nations commission has deemed genocide by Israel in Gaza.
Government official: Elad Strohmayer, consul general of Israel to the Midwest, spoke with the Sun-Times about the Israeli government’s goals in Gaza. “We want the hostages back, and we want Hamas to lay down its arms so it would never be able to threaten Israel,” Strohmayer told columnist Neil Steinberg.
FROM THE PRESS BOX ⚾🏒🏀🏈
- Cubs drop Game 2: Down 0-2 in the best-of-five series, the odds are stacked even more dramatically against the Cubs.
- Preseason takeaways: The Blackhawks were fortunate the NHL’s shortened preseason schedule doesn’t go into effect until next year. New coach Jeff Blashill needed every day of training camp before the Hawks’ season opener Tuesday.
- Bulls analysis: The team took huge strides offensively last season, but that came with a price on the defensive end. That’s where the focus has been through one week of training camp, writes Joe Cowley.
- High school football: Mount Carmel remains on top after beating Brother Rice. Kankakee and Yorville join for the first time this season in Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 rankings for Week 7.
BRIGHT ONE 🔆
The Midwest finally delivers to crossword puzzlers their own tournament
By Sofie Hernandez-Simeonidis
It’s a weekend morning in the University of Illinois Chicago’s student center, and about 200 people are waiting anxiously for a proctor to hand out sheets of paper. A timer starts and everyone simultaneously flips their sheets, pencils in hand, and gets to work.
But it’s not an exam or essay, and these aren’t students. The sheet contains a crossword puzzle, and some of the Chicago area’s most engaged puzzlers have gathered for the challenge.
Welcome to the Midwest Crossword Tournament, the first of its kind dedicated to serving Midwestern puzzle solvers and crossword constructors. Tournaments like these have existed for decades on the East Coast, but this regional competition — held this past Saturday and already on the books to return in October 2026 — makes the case for the Midwest as a blossoming talent market for word games.
The beauty of a Midwest tournament is that it is hyperlocal, with clues like “Uses C.T.A.’s Blue Line, e.g.” (answer: TAKES THE L) or “Iconic menu option at Ole and Lena’s Minnesota State Fair food stand” (that’s HOT DISH ON A STICK). On Saturday, crossword enthusiasts self-sorted into three categories: Chicago Fire, the expert level; Minnesota Nice, for everyone else in the solo division; and Pairs, exactly what it sounds like.
GAMES AND CROSSWORDS 🧩
This week’s Chicago-style crossword theme is: The Chicago Marathon.
Here’s your clue: 29A: Like a highly skilled distance runner
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Where is the best place in the city to cheer on Chicago Marathon runners? Tell us why — and whether you plan to watch this year. 👟
Email us (please include your first and last name). We may include your answer in Wednesday’s Morning Edition newsletter.
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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