Good morning, Chicago. \u2736<\/h3>\n
\ud83d\udd0e Below<\/b>: Clout-heavy lawyer Allison S. Davis has cost Chicago millions, thanks to a risky real estate venture and unpaid bills, fees and fines. That hasn\u2019t stopped City Hall from doing business with him. Why?<\/p>\n
\ud83d\uddde\ufe0f Plus<\/b>: The CTA promises more cops, the Trump administration cuts a grant for support services at many Illinois schools and more.<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udcdd Keeping score<\/b>: The Blackhawks\u2019 skid continued with a 4-1 loss<\/a> to the Canadiens, 4-1.<\/p>\n \ud83e\udde9 New puzzle<\/b>: We\u2019ve got a new mini crossword \u2014 and clue \u2014 for you to try below.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udce7 Subscribe<\/b>: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.<\/a><\/p>\n \u23f1\ufe0f: A 9-minute read<\/i><\/p>\n Partly sunny with a high near 23 and wind chill values as low as -6. <\/p>\n Alison Davis and a rendering of the hotel he\u2019s proposed to build near the Obama Center.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Sun-Times file; Chicago Plan Commission<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Major losses<\/b>: As a result of deals set in motion nearly two decades ago, five pension plans for Chicago city employers ended up losing more than $54 million on a risky real estate venture run by Allison S. Davis and his business partner, Robert G. Vanecko, a nephew of Mayor Richard M. Daley.<\/p>\n More owed<\/b>: Today, Davis owes taxpayers $6 million for a mortgage Daley handed him to build senior apartments. Davis also owes City Hall more than $40,000 in unpaid water bills for the apartment complex and more than $360,000 in fees and fines related to those apartments and other projects, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s Finance Department.<\/p>\n Debt be damned<\/b>: These losses aren\u2019t stopping the Johnson administration from continuing to do business with Davis, 85, a retired lawyer who headed Davis Miner Barnhill & Galland PC, the firm that hired President Barack Obama when he was fresh out of law school.<\/p>\n The plans<\/b>: The Department of Planning and Development agreed to sell two vacant lots to Davis, who wants to build a 26-story hotel a few blocks south of the Obama Presidential Center, hoping to cash in on tourists when it opens next year. Davis\u2019 proposal has won the backing of the Chicago Plan Commission and Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th), whose ward includes the property.<\/p>\n Yancy rethinks?<\/b>: Asked why City Hall is still doing business with Davis, given his track record, Yancy said he wouldn\u2019t have given his support if he had known about all of the money Davis owes and has cost City Hall.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The CTA says more police officers will patrol its system starting Friday.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Pat Nabong\/Sun-Times file<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Patrols promised<\/b>: More Chicago police officers will patrol CTA trains, platforms and buses under a \u201csecurity surge plan\u201d developed by both of the agencies. The Chicago Transit Authority announced the program will begin Friday, the same day the Federal Transit Administration demanded the agency implement a security plan or face a clawback of federal funding.<\/p>\n How it will work<\/b>: Under the plan, the Chicago Police Department will increase the number of cops patrolling the CTA in its Voluntary Special Employment Program from an average of 77 officers per day to 120, the CTA said. Under the program, officers sign up to patrol the CTA on their days off. Private security canine staffing will also increase from an average of 172 canine guards per day to 188. <\/p>\n Budget OKd<\/b>: In other transit news, the Regional Transportation Authority on Thursday approved the 2026 budgets for the CTA, Metra and Pace<\/a>, keeping fares the same in one of its last big acts before the newly signed transit law eliminates the body.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n The Trump administration is planning to end grants that support programs at 32 schools with 19,000 students across 16 school districts.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times file<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Gerardo Lopez-Moreno\u2019s work van was broken into Wednesday on the North Side.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sun-Times photographers captured every day of \u201cOperation Midway Blitz.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Candace Dane Chambers, Anthony Vazquez, Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere and Ashlee Rezin\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Lex Davis, owner of Lit by Lex, arranges a display at the Renegade Craft Fair in 2023. <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Pat Nabong\/Sun-Times file<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \ud83d\udecd\ufe0f Renegade Craft Fair<\/a> \ud83c\udf84 Millennium Park Holiday Sing-Along<\/a> \ud83d\udc5f Winter Walk and Bonfire<\/a> \u2665\ufe0f Pre-Kwanzaa Holiday Celebration & Marketplace<\/a> \ud83c\udfb6 Noche Buena Alternativa<\/a> MORE THINGS TO DO<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Today\u2019s clue<\/b>: 5A: One of two outside the Art Institute<\/p>\n PLAY NOW<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Maria Sanchez and Liana Lorenzo of Lasting Memories Events organized La Parranda Boricua Pop-Up.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/p>\n Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere\/Sun-Times<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Open the door to Le Lo Lai Gallery, and you\u2019ll walk into a world meticulously decorated for Christmastime. There are woodwork touches of Puerto Rican heritage, including a replica of the casita, or small house, that Bad Bunny featured on stage during his Puerto Rican residency this past year.<\/p>\n Through early January, Lasting Memories Events has transformed the new gallery at 2716 W. Division St. into La Parranda Boricua Pop-Up.<\/p>\n A parranda is a Puerto Rican tradition in which families and friends gather to sing aguinaldos \u2014 similar to Christmas carols \u2014 on foot around the neighborhood. In Chicago winters, many brave souls still travel on foot, while others charter party buses.<\/p>\n Each week, La Parranda Boricua hosts various community organizations and local vendors for salsa, bachata, bomba and cumbia workshops; coquito-making classes; toy drives; and nighttime fiestas.<\/p>\n Organizers Liana Lorenzo and Maria S\u00e1nchez hosted a parranda pop-up last year that was so popular that they decided to bring it back and extend it to six weeks.<\/p>\n This year, they began \u201cfinding ways to incorporate community and anybody that wants to be part of it,\u201d Lorenzo said.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n Yesterday, we asked you: How do you feel about the Bears <\/b>looking past Arlington Heights<\/b><\/a> for possible stadium sites, including in Northwest Indiana?<\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s some of what you said\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cA move outside Chicago will cause tremendous financial harm to [the] city\u2019s hotels, restaurants, shops and … tax revenues. If [the] Bears move even inches outside the city, Chicagoans should boycott the team.\u201d \u2014 Manisha Makwana<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cThe site they\u2019re looking at is 24 miles from Soldier Field. Arlington Heights is 30 miles away. What\u2019s exciting is you can still build lakefront and Chicago skyline views in Northwest Indiana.\u201d \u2014 Michael Vicari<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cCall the Bears bluff! Say, \u2018Go ahead and move!\u2019 They will stick with Arlington Heights.\u201d \u2014 Robert Haugland<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cGary Bears! … It\u2019s been a long time coming. I could see them at Calumet Park as well. Big beautiful lakefront property \u2014 plenty of space right of the Skyway.\u201d \u2014 R. Larios<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cLet the Bears owners do what they want. It is their team. Don\u2019t ask for our tax dollars to keep money in your pocket.\u201d \u2014 Lawrence Rogers Jr.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cSomehow, the Hammond Bears or the Munster Bears doesn\u2019t quite have the same ring to it.\u201d \u2014 Davin Loh<\/i><\/p>\n Thanks for reading the Sun-Times Morning Edition! Written and curated by<\/b>: Matt Moore The Chicago Sun-Times is a nonprofit supported by readers like you. Become a member to make stories like these free and available to everyone. Learn more at suntimes.com\/member<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTODAY\u2019S WEATHER \ud83c\udf24\ufe0f<\/h4>\n
TODAY\u2019S TOP STORY \ud83d\udd0e<\/h4>\n
Why does City Hall keep doing business with Obama\u2019s old boss who\u2019s cost Chicago millions?<\/a><\/h3>\n
By Tim Novak<\/a><\/h5>\n
TRANSPORTATION \ud83d\ude86<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/picture>\nUnder CTA \u2018security surge plan,\u2019 more police will be on trains, platforms, buses<\/a><\/h3>\n
By David Struett<\/a><\/h5>\n
EDUCATION \ud83d\udcda<\/h4>\n
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MORE NEWS YOU NEED \ud83d\uddde\ufe0f<\/h4>\n
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IMMIGRATION \u2736<\/h4>\n
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WEEKEND PLANS \ud83c\udf89<\/h4>\n
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5-8 p.m. Friday; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday<\/b>
\ud83d\udccdMorgan Manufacturing, 401 N. Morgan St.<\/a>
The annual fair returns with more than 170 curated artists hocking jewelry, ceramics, clothing and more.
Admission<\/b>: $5 suggested<\/p>\n
6-7 p.m. Friday<\/b>
\ud83d\udccd Cloud Gate, 21 E. Randolph St.<\/a>
Grab a provided songbook and join fellow Chicagoans and visitors near the Bean to sing some merry tunes.
Admission<\/b>: Free<\/p>\n
9 a.m.-11 a.m. Saturday<\/b>
\ud83d\udccd Big Marsh Park, 11559 S. Stony Island Ave.<\/a>
Join Chicago Park District staff for a guided walk through Big Marsh Park\u2019s landscape, followed by hot cocoa around a fire.
Admission<\/b>: Free<\/p>\n
11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday<\/b>
\ud83d\udccdWashington Park Refectory, 5531 S. Russell Drive<\/a>
A celebration of unity, family and heritage with crafts, food, music and storytelling.
Admission<\/b>: Free<\/p>\n
8 p.m. Saturday<\/b>
\ud83d\udccd Color Club, 4146 N. Elston Ave.<\/a>
Local indie band Iniquitous headlines this \u201choliday party by Mexican Americans for everyone.\u201d
Admission<\/b>: $18<\/p>\nFROM THE PRESS BOX \ud83c\udfc8\ud83c\udfc0<\/h4>\n
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CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD \ud83c\udf2d<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/picture>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nBRIGHT ONE \ud83d\udd06<\/h4>\n
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<\/p>\n<\/picture>\nA parranda pop-up takes inspiration from Puerto Rican Christmas traditions \u2014 and Bad Bunny<\/a><\/h3>\n
By Ambar Col\u00f3n<\/a><\/h5>\n
YOUR DAILY QUESTION \u2615\ufe0f<\/h4>\n
Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.<\/a><\/p>\n
Editor<\/b>: Eydie Cubarrubia<\/p>\n