Chicago news roundup: Lightfoot signs executive order on abortion, Obamas to get new murals

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about a 5-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

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Afternoon Edition

Chicago’s most important news of the day, delivered every weekday afternoon. Plus, a bonus issue on Saturdays that dives into the city’s storied history.

Top story

Lightfoot signs executive order on abortion rights

In 1985, then-Mayor Harold Washington issued an executive order prohibiting city employees from enforcing federal immigration laws to protest the federal government’s decision to conduct random searches of city records to find and prosecute undocumented immigrants.

Today, Mayor Lori Lightfoot followed a similar trail — this time, to prevent the landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade from ushering in an era of investigation and prosecution.

Lightfoot signed an executive order prohibiting the Chicago Police Department or any other agency of local government from collaborating to criminalize women who come to Chicago seeking abortions banned in their home states or medical providers and others who assist them.

The order will remain in place until September, when the Chicago City Council is expected to approve a more sweeping ordinance championed by Ald. Rossana Rodriguez Sanchez (33rd) and her progressive colleagues.

During a City Hall news conference today, Lightfoot said it is “horrifying” to see the “race to the bottom” occurring in other states since Supreme Court’s June 24 decision.

“Not only banning abortion, but making zero exception for the health and life of a mother. Zero exception for victims of rape or incest. Never in my lifetime did I ever think that we would see the kind of horrific legislation … gleefully being passed by states controlled by Republican legislatures,” Lightfoot said.

“We’re not gonna be complicit in living out the dreams of another state that wants to criminalize women for seeking access to health care.”

Fran Spielman has more on the executive order here.

More news you need

1. A day before Lightfoot issued her executive order, Ald. Rodriguez Sanchez shared that when she was a 19-year-old living in Puerto Rico, she had an abortion, which she described as a “very scary moment” that she remembers “very vividly.” Rodriguez Sanchez’s comments came at a City Hall news conference with other Progressive Caucus colleagues calling to pass the ordinance mentioned in the story above.
2. A customer at a West Side hot dog stand claimed he was disrespected by an employee before returning with a gun and killing the worker, Cook County prosecutors said today in court. David Struett has more on the case.
3. Chicago police targeted African Americans in 63% of traffic stops last year even as Black residents make up less than 30% of the city’s population, a state report found. Tom Schuba has more on the ACLU’s report, which says Black drivers were 1.7 times more likely to be pulled over than white motorists.
4. Former President Barack Obama and ex-first lady Michelle Obama will return to the White House on Sept. 7 for the official unveiling of their portraits. These new paintings are not to be confused with the two portraits of the Obamas unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in 2018, Lynn Sweet writes.
5. Two standard-bearers of community journalism, the Hyde Park Herald and the South Side Weekly, are combining forces. The two publications will team up under nonprofit ownership as the Herald’s longtime publisher, Bruce Sagan, retires.

A bright one

40 years ago, ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ defined an era

When we talk about “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” a flurry of funny, R-rated moments spring to mind:

• Judge Reinhold’s Brad fantasizes about Phoebe Cates’ Linda emerging from the backyard swimming pool in slow motion and unclasping her bikini top to the sounds of the Cars’ “Moving in Stereo,” only to have the moment interrupted in humiliating fashion when the real-life Linda walks in on him in the bathroom and catches him … well. Thinking about her.
• Sean Penn’s Spicoli showing up late for American History class and saying his new schedule is totally confusing, Mr. Hand (Ray Walston) ripping up said schedule and saying, “I think you know where the front office is,” and Spicoli blurting out, ”You d—!”
• Linda using a carrot in the school cafeteria to give the less experienced Stacy (Jennifer Jason Leigh) a lesson in oral sex.

Etc. etc.

“Fast Times,” which was released 40 years ago in August of 1982, is filled with nudity and frank sexual talk and raunchy, explicit humor (and a couple of homophobic “jokes” that would not play in today’s world) — but upon further review, it’s also a surprisingly serious film at times, with some straight dramatic scenes addressing the issues of teenage sexuality, pregnancy and abortion in empathetic fashion.

Unlike many of the mostly forgotten teen comedies of the 1980s, e.g., “Porky’s,” “Spring Break,” “Private School,” “Private Resort,” “Hardbodies,” “Homework,” “Losin’ It,” and we could continue but we won’t, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” continues to resonate as a substantial time capsule of the period, capturing the music, the fashions, the attitudes and the social mores of the time.

Read the rest of Richard Roeper’s look back at the 1982 classic here.

From the press box

Your daily question☕

What’s the best (or worst) part of Lollapalooza taking over Grant Park for the next four days? Explain.

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

Yesterday, we asked you: What’s the first thing you remember doing on the internet? Here’s what some of you said…

“Looking up a birth defect called Craniosynostosis that my son was born with. A work colleague showed me how to log on to the internet. Circa 1994.” — Mary Ann O’Rourke

“Getting killed trying to capture a flag in Quake.” — Wesley Allen

“Ordering DVD rentals from Netflix when they actually mailed them to your house.” — Victoria Moore

“I remember logging into AOL dial up waiting to log on. Looking up my friends to see who’s online and chat. I still use my AOL email. Also played some great games online as a kid from the Nickelodeon site. Actually it’s pretty amazing how far we have come with technology.” — April Catchings

“Being able to look at scores before bedtime and seeing the standings update in real time, while not having to wait for the morning paper (where late West Coast games weren’t updated until two day later), was absolutely mind-blowing in 1992!” — Bill Renje

“Meeting people in AIM chat rooms and Setting up my Blackplanet page! Good times! Simpler times.” — Nicole Johnson

“Literally surfing for anything and everything. I couldn’t believe it was real.” — Carolyn Frazier

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