Solar eclipse 2024, The Chicago Minute, and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s year in review
Plus, Chicago Latino Film Festival kicks off this week
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! We’ve got a good one for you today. It’s your newsletter team — Alexandra, Kiernan, Alex, Meredith, Gia, Jana, Sam, Emily and Elizabeth — back with the first Monday night newsletter of the Spring Quarter!
First, a preview of a new episode of The Chicago Minute, detailing the infamous Chicago sandwich shop Mr. Beef, which also happens to be the location of hit comedy-drama series The Bear. Also, who viewed the solar eclipse today? Across the country, millions of people awaited a total solar eclipse, with Chicago reaching maximum coverage of around 94% at 2:07 p.m. In other Chicago news, the Chicago Latino Film Festival kicks off this week, marking its monumental 40th anniversary. The 12 day festival will run from April 11 through April 22 and will include feature and short films from 22 countries.
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Tonight’s newsletter is sponsored by DePaul’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
With that, let’s get into tonight’s news!
The Chicago Minute Preview: Mr. Beef
Story by Meredith Bach
Trailer production by Alex Reading and Kiernan Sullivan
It is a point of pride for many Chicagoans that the location for the hit comedy-drama series The Bear exists right in the heart of the city, at Mr. Beef's sandwich shop. The restaurant’s location is at 666 N. Orleans St.—where it has been since 1979—continuing to attract herds of adoring fans, loyal celebrities and hungry Chicagoans every day.
Our documentary team, the Chicago Minute, packed up our equipment and headed over to the sandwich shop to capture what an afternoon looks like for staff and customers at Mr. Beef.
To no surprise, the small space was crowded with customers and excited chatter. Under the clock of customers with waiting cash in their hands, workers hurried around the heated kitchen, wrapping sandwiches and yelling orders over their shoulders. It was just like an episode of the series.
When the rush finally cleared, we could have expected the staff to be overcome with exhaustion or overstimulation. After all, customers had been taking pictures and videos of them all day, on top of making their infamous Italian beef sandwiches.
But the team members at Mr. Beef were tried and true; after they breezed through their work with ease, they were delighted to share the story of their beloved restaurant. We talked with them over the counter for hours as employees traded tales of the old days, philosophies of the workplace and their favorite experiences with clientele and fans from around the world.
Through all of it, it was clear that there was a passion and comradery that bound the employees at Mr. Beef together. Working more as a family unit, the team had formed a sense of spirit and strength that guided them through any amount of media attention or demanding customers.
To find out more, you can watch the full documentary this Friday on YouTube here.
DePaul News
By Gia Clarke
DePaul Law and Business colleges gifted $1.6 million
College of Law alumnus Marc Lieberman and his wife Cindy are giving $1.6 million to the law and business colleges through their estate. The fund will go to faculty members to fund new projects, curriculums and programming in an attempt to create a better partnership between the law and business students. This funding will also help grow Business Law, the College of Law’s fastest growing program. Craig Keller from the DePaul Newsline has more.
Author visits DePaul
Cristina Rivera Garza, author of the book "Liliana’s Invincible Summer: A Sister’s Search for Justice", is coming to DePaul on April 17. Rivera Garza’s award-nominated book was chosen to be the topic of DePaul’s Latinx book club since the new year. The book is about Rivera Garza’s younger sister, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. The book is pieced through interviews of her sisters’ friends and family, exploring topics of femicide in Latin America, feminism and domestic violence. Jade Walker from the DePaul Newsline has more.
DePaul awards the Los Angeles Catholic Worker
DePaul gives their annual Berrigan-McAlister Award to Los Angeles Catholic Worker, an organization that emphasizes nonviolence in Christianity. They provide food, shelter and support to low-income and unhoused people in Los Angeles, and have been for more than 50 years. Their commitment to nonviolence is shown through their nonviolent campaigns that highlight injustices like climate destruction and anti-immigrant policies. The DePaul Newsline has more.
DePaul has four new additions to the Board of Trustees
The new Board of Trustees include David Booth, the associate vice president of basketball operations for the NBA, Sister Barbara Reid, O.P., the president of the Catholic Theological Union, Dr. Stephanie D. Shipp, DEI head for the biotech firm Cytiva and Lucino Sotelo, executive vice president of Northern Trust. To learn more about the newly elected board members, DePaul Newsline has more.
Chicago Headlines
By Jana Simović
Total eclipse of the ‘heart’ — almost – Between 12:51 p.m. to about 3:21 p.m., Chicago caught a glimpse of a rare partial eclipse, with the maximum coverage of around 94% occurring around 2:07 p.m. The Adler Planetarium was one of the many places where people chose to flock and watch the incredible sight, enjoying warm weather and sunny skies. As more than a dozen states got a chance to see the astrological phenomenon, it’s safe to say that “rare” sums it up, as the next won’t be visible to view in the U.S. for another 20 years. For more details and live updates, check out WBEZ and Chicago Sun-Times’ staff reporting here.
Chicago Public Media announces job cuts – The journalism world received another devastating blow last week — and this time in the heart of Chicago. On April 3, it was announced that nearly 15% of the 62 unionized content creators of Chicago’s National Public Radio affiliate will be facing layoffs. In addition to this, Vocalo will discontinue its radio programming by May 1. This sudden announcement raises many questions, including the future of the $61 million WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times merger which closed just over two years ago. Additionally, the cut coincides with the debut of a new WBEZ studio located at Navy Pier, as well as a double-digit percentage pay increase for CPM’s top executive. To read more about the details regarding this announcement, make sure to check out WBEZ’s Dave McKinney’s reporting here.
Karen Yarbrough, Cook County Clerk, passes away at 73 – Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough passed away on Sunday afternoon surrounded by her family and husband, after being hospitalized for a serious medical condition. Yarbrough was the first black person and the first woman to serve as Cook County clerk and was in elected office for more than two decades — including as the Cook County recorder of deeds and as a state representative. To read more about Yarbrough’s passing, go to Chicago Sun-Times’ Emmanuel Camarillo and Violet Miller’s article here.
CPS releases plan for allocating staff and funding to schools next year – Recently Chicago Public School officials announced numbers that shed light on how the switch to the new position-based budget formula will affect schools, teachers and students as it’s partially based on needs. According to these numbers, elementary schools will get one teacher for every 26 students; a ratio that will decline for higher-needs schools, which will be determined using a recently updated “Opportunity index,” which measures a school’s need to distribute resources more equitably. Out of the $9.4 billion budget for the current 2023-24 school year, $4.8 billion is categorized as school-level funding. For more details, make sure to check out Chalkbeat Chicago’s Becky Vevea’s article published for Block Club, here.
April 4 marked Johnson’s first year as Mayor – When Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson became Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson on April 4, 2023, promises were made regarding enacting a progressive agenda to unify the city of Chicago. Exactly a year later, Johnson has found himself facing constant pushback, from both critics and supporters alike. To read Mayor Johnson’s statements regarding his first term, make sure to read Block Club Chicago’s exclusive interview with Johnson here.
National Headlines
By Sam Freeman
Actor Jonathan Majors avoids jail time after assault and harassment sentencing – After a New York jury found him guilty of assaulting and harassing his former girlfriend, Grace Jabbari, Jonathan Majors was sentenced to 52 weeks of a domestic violence intervention program and probation. He will not serve jail time. The decision came Monday morning, when Judge Michael Gaffey issued a protection order for Jabbari and insisted that Majors continue attending therapy. He also said jail “was not necessary.” Majors was found guilty in December of assault in the third degree and harassment in the second degree. However, the jury found Majors not guilty of intentional assault, meaning they believe Majors did not go into the situation with the intention of hurting Jabbari. Last month, Jabbari filed a civil suit against Majors for assault, battery and defamation, and the actor is preparing counterclaims, according to his attorney Priya Chaudhry. Anastasia Tsioulcas from NPR has the story.
Crowds of people await a total solar eclipse – Millions of people across the country awaited a total solar eclipse, although forecasters predicted clouds. Almost everyone is guaranteed at least a partial eclipse while some areas like Texas would experience four minutes of midday darkness around noon. The darkness was expected to last 4 minutes, 28 seconds, almost twice as long as the last coast-to-coast eclipse seven years ago. It will be another 21 years before a total solar eclipse on this scale is experienced by the U.S. Experts from NASA and scores of universities are prepared to launch research rockets and other experiments. Marcia Dunn from the Associated Press has more information.
Trump says an abortion ban should be left to the states – In a video statement on Monday, former President Donald J. Trump said abortion rights should be left up to the states. This statement comes after months of mixed signals that Trump and his advisors are concerned may cost him the election. Trump said states should decide legislation and “whatever they decide must be the law of the land, and, in this case, the law of the state.” He also said he is “strongly in favor of exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother.” Trump seemed to move past the topic of abortion fairly quickly without discussing a federal ban – a ban that he has privately discussed. Leaving the decision up to the states opens the door to some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Trump added that he was “proudly the person responsible” for overturning Roe v. Wade and eliminating the constitutional protection of abortion. Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Swan and Michael Gold of The New York TImes have more information.
Salvage crews began removing containers from the ship that collapsed Baltimore’s Key bridge – Salvage crews have started moving containers from the deck of the cargo ship that hit and collapsed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. The removal will continue throughout the week, according to a statement from the Key Bridge Response Unified Command. The ship was trapped under disfigured steel in the Patapsco River since the crash on March 26 that killed six workers. President Biden took a helicopter tour on Friday to observe the wreckage, and he also spoke with the families of those who died. More than 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are there to remove parts of the bridge from the waterway. The Associated Press has more information.
14 East Pueblo: The Chicago Latino Film Festival Kicks off This Week
By Emily Figueroa
The Chicago Latino Film Festival is back April 11 through April 22, marking a monumental 40th anniversary for the festival and their commitment to sharing Iberoamerican cinema. Hosted by the International Latino Cultural Center of Chicago (ILCC), a nonprofit organization that supports multidisciplinary art in Latino culture, the festival has created a strong community and has reached over 35,000 attendees.
In the 12 day run of the festival, feature and short films from 22 countries like Argentina, Peru, Cuba and more will be included. In a personal statement on the festival’s website, founder and executive director Pepe Vargas mentioned that they received 725 submissions, but only 50 features and 35 shorts made the final cut.
“Those numbers reflect the abundance of offerings coming from our Pan-Latino diaspora and how difficult it is to select what will play at our Festival,” said Vargas. “This is a good problem to have.”
With a short amount of time and a large number of films to see, the festival offers a passport book that lets attendees skip the line for 10 film screenings. General public prices start at $125 and ILCC members pay $105 for the booklet.
To kick off the festivities, their opening night gala will screen The Wingwalker, directed by Alonso Alvarez-Barreda, on April 11. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. at the Davis Theatre and the screening begins at 6:15 p.m. General public tickets cost $75 and members of the ILCC can buy tickets for $65, but each ticket includes entrance to the event, food, drinks and live music.
Screenings will be held at Landmark Century Center, Davis Theatre and Instituto Cervantes for a special event. Click here to learn more about the festival and their mission to display Latino art and heritage.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Elizabeth Gregerson
This week’s recommendation is five months and six award shows behind schedule - but absolutely still worth watching if you haven’t seen it yet!
When the film The Holdovers was released in October 2023, it was met with immediate acclaim. Critics and audiences praised it online, both for the film’s message and the cast performances.
The Holdovers tells the story of a teacher, a cafeteria manager and a student in 1970, all left to stay at the boarding school they either work for or attend during winter break. With seemingly nothing in common, and no family nearby, they must find a way to make it through the holiday season together.
The most recognizable name in the cast is Paul Giamatti, who won both a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice award for his portrayal of teacher Paul Hunham. New to the industry, actor Dominic Sessa won a Critics’ Choice and a BAFTA for his very first film role, student Angus Tully.
It is actress Da'Vine Joy Randolph‘s performance as cafeteria manager Mary Lamb that has received the most recognition and accolades. Some may recognize Randolph from her work on Broadway, various films or her roles in television series like Empire and Only Murders in the Building. Her performance in The Holdovers earned her an Oscar, a Screen Actors Guild award, a Critics' Choice award, a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and a New York Film Critics Circle award.
Available to stream on Peacock, Amazon Prime and Apple TV, The Holdovers is a sentimental, at times heart wrenching, must see film.
Resources
Need resources regarding warming centers, rental assistance, abortion access, COVID-19 testing and vaccines or mental health? Check out our complete list here.
That’s it for today! See you next Monday.
The 14 East Newsletter Team