HYDE PARK — Over 200 people rallied at the University of Chicago campus Friday, joining nationwide protests at college campuses calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Organized by student coalition UChicago United for Palestine, demonstrators called on university leaders to “divest, disclose and repair.” Organizers want UChicago to cut ties with Israeli companies and the Israel Institute, publicize its investments in weapons manufacturers, and commit to a program of reparations “from Palestine to the South Side,” among other demands. Owing to longstanding issues surrounding the university’s relatio ..read more

PILSEN — Former Foxtrot employees rallied Friday morning outside the company’s Pilsen food commissary, demanding 60 days of back pay after this week’s sudden closure of Foxtrot and Dom’s stores. Workers said parent company Outfox Hospitality should have given employees 60 days’ notice of the closures. The abrupt shutdown Tuesday of all 35 stores in Chicago and other U.S. cities left them with “no preparation, no prospects and no income,” they said. Employees could be entitled to up to two months’ worth of wages and benefits if Outfox failed to comply with the state’s WARN Act, which they beli ..read more

This story was republished from the Illinois Answers Project, a nonpartisan investigations and solutions journalism news organization. CHICAGO — The City of Chicago has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $10 million from a north suburban woman and her real estate company in connection with a vacant-lot-turned-dumping-ground on the South Side, claiming that she is a “scourge on the city and its residents” and “the city’s worst landowner.” The lawsuit, filed last week, targets Northbrook resident Suzie B. Wilson and her company, Regal LLC, which owes the city more than a quarter million dol ..read more

CHICAGO — A good governance group headed by the city’s former inspector general is joining calls to fold the CTA into a “centralized” regional transit agency. A new report by the Civic Federation recommends the state take advantage of a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to consolidate Chicago-area transit systems as CTA, Metra and Pace lobby for funding ahead of an impending $730 million fiscal cliff in 2026. Joe Ferguson, Civic Federation president and former city inspector general, said state lawmakers should use the “change and leverage moment” to bring transit operations for CTA, Metra a ..read more

IRVING PARK — Crews will begin tearing down the Ruby Dry Cleaners buildings in Irving Park this spring to make room for a new four-story apartment building with a first-floor day care.  Tiny Giants Early Learning Center owners Farah and Amir Essa closed on their $2.6 million purchase of the 2801 W. Montrose Ave. property in October. Since then, the owners have been working with Seek Design + Architecture to plan what the new building will look like, Farah Essa said. A rendering of what the new building at 2801 W. Montrose Ave. will look like from the corner of California and Montros ..read more

BEVERLY — Miranda Winters was supposed to be enjoying herself last summer. The singer and guitarist for the excellent tempo- and time-signature-warping Chicago rock outfit Melkbelly had recorded her debut album, “Lawn Girl,” under her solo moniker, Mandy. It should have been a time for celebration. Instead, she had a vocal hemorrhage. “I have asthma, and every time I get any kind of a cold it just goes full bronchitis,” she said during a recent conversation with Block Club, during which she was once again fighting off, yes, bronchitis. “So I expected it [the hemorrhage] to happen eventually ..read more

DOWNTOWN — Mayor Brandon Johnson is going all-in for a multibillion-dollar Chicago Bears stadium, defending the massive project as a boon for local jobs, public recreational space and tourism as well as the hometown team, which has threatened to move to the suburbs. Johnson joined NBC Sports Chicago’s Laurence Holmes Wednesday for an exclusive 15-minute Q&A session after a flashy press conference where Team McCaskey pitched their plan for a state-of-the-art domed lakefront stadium with expanded green space for public use. The catch: Taxpayers would have to cough up as much as $1.5 bi ..read more

CHICAGO — The news was relentless this week, but so were we. See what Block Club reporters captured while covering the neighborhoods this week. Soldier Field on April 24, 2024. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Read more: Here’s What The Bears’ $4.6 Billion Lakefront Stadium Could Look Like Thomas and Beverly J. Walker pose for a portrait at their home in the 5800 block of West Race Avenue in Austin on April 16, 2024. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club ChicagoThe Walkers’ home in the 5800 block of West Race Avenue in Austin on April 16, 2024. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago Read ..read more

ALBANY PARK — Chef Isao Tozuka and his wife Chiyo realized their dream of opening their own restaurant in 1990. The Japanese immigrants had looked around Chicago. Downtown was too expensive. They considered something by O’Hare International Airport but that didn’t fit their plans. So they landed in Albany Park. For them, it was the crossroads of Chicago. Chicago Kalbi, 3752 W. Lawrence Ave., is in its 34th year of serving Japanese-Korean food. That’s an impressive streak for any restaurant, let alone a 60-seat mom-and-pop tucked away along a stretch of Ecuad ..read more

GREATER GRAND CROSSING — Joseph Williams founded Mr. Dad’s Father’s Club six years ago, not anticipating what it would become. Williams’ nonprofit mentors South Side men and fathers to be present in children’s lives and helps children develop social and emotional skills in the classroom and beyond. In a few short years, Mr. Dad’s Father’s Club grew from one person — Williams — reading books in his daughter’s classroom to 150 men volunteering at 15 schools as part of Mr. Dad’s Bookshelf. Williams started Mr. Dad’s Summer Explorers on his own dime so young people could have a paid summer experi ..read more