Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Maybe you’ve been here before: You’ve got the day off and you’ve mustered up the motivation to go through that collection of boxes in your closet or garage and start organizing.
Personally, this usually involves confronting worthless things I’ve hung onto “just in case,” like empty cellphone cases or random cables that connect to nothing I own.
Below, we share the story of how a suburban man happened to stumble on a valuable trove of photographs capturing a crucial time in American history — all there in his family’s garage. ????
Plus, we’ve got the community news you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Historic Sears garden will get revival help
Reporting by Lee Bey
A landmark revival: A $5 million plan to revive the Sears sunken garden on the West Side is in the works, with hopes of turning the garden back into the showplace its original designers intended. Recently, the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation announced that it’s contributing $1 million toward the effort.
Steeped in history: The garden was built in 1907 by Sears & Roebuck and was a centerpiece of the then-mighty retailer’s expansive campus headquarters. Sears famously abandoned the campus for the Sears Tower in the 1970s. But most of the original Sears buildings are still there, as is the pretty fancy, nearly blocklong sunken garden the company created for its employees, complete with a Greek Revival pergola. The garden originally featured pools, fountains and colorful plantings.
Plans for the redesign: The redesign will include new plantings, accessible paths, a reflecting pool and the restoration of the garden’s signature piece: a 100-footlong concrete and wood pergola flanked on each end by Doric columned porticos. The concepts were shaped by a series of design workshops during which North Lawndale residents voiced what they wanted for the new park.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
This photo of John F. Kennedy Jr. saluting the casket carrying his slain father, President John F. Kennedy, was among the photos discovered by a Vernon Hills man who was going through his mother’s belongings while preparing for an estate sale.
Christie’s
- Stumbling on a treasure trove: A Vernon Hills man preparing for an estate sale found a binder of black-and-white prints that captured the period around the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. To his surprise, the binder contained high-quality photos in “near-perfect condition” of first lady Jacqueline Kennedy and of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald.
- Police close River North nightclub: Chicago police have shut down Blüm Restaurant & Bar a day after eight people were wounded in a mass shooting outside the establishment.
- Activists rally for Columbus: About 100 people gathered in Little Italy today to celebrate Christopher Columbus and demand the return of Columbus statues removed during former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration.
- New musical about Louis Armstrong: Premiering Wednesday at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, “A Wonderful World” will tell the jazz legend’s story from the perspective of the women in his life.
- High school football rankings: Week 7 was much wilder than expected, which resulted in four new teams joining Michael O’Brien’s Super 25 — an unusually high number so late in the season. Mount Carmel and Loyola remain 1-2 with just one more week of games before their Oct. 21 matchup.
- Butkus the actor: The late Dick Butkus appeared in dozens of movies, television shows and commercials after his nine-year playing career with the Bears. Here are some of his most entertaining moments.
SUN-TIMES STAFF SUGGESTS ????
Grab a bite at Jackalope Coffee and Tea House
Outside Jackalope Coffee and Tea in Bridgeport.
David Struett/Sun-Times
When searching for coffee or an affordable meal on the South Side, my colleague David Struett tells me he prefers Jackalope Coffee and Tea House in Bridgeport.
Nestled in a cul-de-sac on 32nd Street, just off Halsted, this part-punk-themed cafe offers gourmet coffee, sub-$5 breakfast sandwiches, herbal tea and smoothies.
Enjoy the wall art featuring plenty of jackalopes (mythical horned rabbits) and even an adorable print of a young Dolly Parton embracing a kitten.
“This is a great neighborhood spot where locals keep coming back. It feels like the heart of the community,” David says.
????Jackalope Coffee and Tea House, 755 W. 32nd St.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Savanna Restaurant co-owner/chef Enrique Calderon (left) and co-owner Luis Calderon.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Chicago Latin Restaurant Weeks celebrates diverse Latino cuisine while providing key resources for eateries
Reporting by Lisa Shames
While Chicago is no stranger to various restaurant weeks, Latin Restaurant Weeks, which kicked off Friday and run through Oct. 20, put a unique spin on how they showcase participating eateries.
What began in 2019 in Houston as a grassroots effort to highlight the diversity of Latinx-owned culinary businesses — think restaurants, bakeries, bars, food trucks and coffee shops with prix fixe menus and special dishes — has since grown to include other cities, including Chicago.
Now in its third year in Chicago, Latin Restaurant Weeks feature more than 30 restaurants across the city, ranging from Wicker Park’s Costa Rican restaurant Irazu and Birrieria La Tapatia de Ocotlan in Pilsen to Uptown’s Oaxacan restaurant Kie Gol Lanee.
“What we found was that traditional restaurant weeks typically showcase mostly fine dining restaurants,” says Karinn Chavarria, who founded the initiative with her partner, Warren Luckett. “We wanted to take it a step further and create a holistic campaign that would spotlight those who oftentimes aren’t given a seat at the table.”
At Savanna Restaurant’s three locations, owners and brothers Luis and Enrique Calderon are offering 12 specials from their breakfast/brunch-focused menu, all of which include a cup of chicken tortilla soup.
“We want to be part of this country with our tastes and flavors,” said Enrique of their Ecuadorean heritage.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers