Voting in the Chicago Runoff Election and tragedy in one Nashville school
important dates for Spring Quarter
Welcome back to ‘In the Loop’! It’s your newsletter team — Kate, Billie, Chinyere, Cary, Lauren, Monique, Bridget and Emily — back after a short Spring Break.
Today, three elementary students and three staff members of a Nashville school were killed at school in a shooting earlier this morning. This is the 13th school shooting that has resulted in injury or death in 2023. We’ve provided brief details in today’s newsletter. As always, we provide a list of mental health resources at the end of our newsletter.
Help 14 East reach our goal of raising $3,500 by March 31st to fund our newsroom and support student journalists. If you want to show support for 14 East and ‘In the Loop,’ we invite you to donate to our newsroom. We receive 100% of your donation.
We’re just 8 days away from the runoff election in Chicago. If you haven’t cast your ballot, keep reading to learn how to vote.
How to vote in the Chicago Runoff Election on April 4
By Kate Linderman
It comes down to Brandon Johnson and Paul Vallas for the top seat in City Hall, plus 14 races across wards to claim the remaining city council seats. With eight days until the runoff election in Chicago, here’s how to vote on April 4.
What’s on the ballot?
Mayor — Former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas received the most votes in the April 28 election, but not enough to reach the 50% of votes required to win the race. Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson received the second-most votes, knocking incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot out of the running for a second term.
City Council — For 14 of the city’s 50 wards, leading candidates could not secure 50% of the vote putting the top two candidates on the April 4 ballot. In the 43rd Ward, which covers DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus, Lightfoot-appointed incumbent Timmy Knudsen faces Sheffield Neighborhood Association president Brian Comer in the runoff. Check the map below to see if there is an aldermanic runoff election in your ward.
Casting a ballot
Are you registered to vote? — If you’re not sure, look up your voter registration via the Chicago Board of Elections website. If you’re not registered, you must do so in person at an early voting site or at your precinct polling place on election day by presenting two forms of ID. One of the two acceptable forms of ID must list the voter’s current address. Deadlines have passed to register by mail and online. For those seeking a name or address change on their voter registration, these guidelines also apply for the runoff election.
Early voting — No need to wait until April 4 to cast a ballot, early voting is open in all 50 Wards and at two additional sites downtown. Any voter can vote at any of these sites, regardless of where they live. The Chicago Board of Elections has the full list of early voting sites and hours.
Vote by mail — Thursday, March 30 is the last day to apply to vote by mail. Registered voters must fill out this short form to receive a mail-in ballot. Once you apply, the Chicago Board of Elections will send emails to update voters on the status of their application and ballot. All vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked by April 4 to be counted. Voters can take their vote-by-mail ballot to a drop box at an early voting site, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners office or send it in the mail. If a mail-in-voter wants to vote in person, they can surrender their ballot at a polling place and vote in person. Voting by mail? Read the complete guidelines to ensure your ballot gets counted.
On election day — Vote at the polling place in your precinct or at any early voting site. Find your precinct polling place here or at an early voting site convenient to you. New voters can register on the day of. Polls will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
DePaul News
By Billie Rollason
Important Spring Quarter Deadlines
March 31 is the last day you can add classes to your spring quarter enrollment. April 10 is the last day you can drop classes for this quarter with a 100% tuition refund if applicable and no grade on your transcript.
Ice Cream Social
Tomorrow, March 28, the Office of Student Involvement will be hosting ice cream social events from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. on both campuses. The Loop campus will be hosting its event in the DePaul Center Lobby and the Lincoln Park event will take place in the Student Center Atrium.
Pillow Talks: LGBTQIA+ Sex Ed
On Wednesday March 29, Planned Parenthood Generation Action will be hosting a sex ed event that also relates to mental, physical and emotional wellness. This event will take place in the Lincoln Park Student Center room 315 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m..
Global DePaul fosters a space for students to come together
The “GlobalDePaulTalks” event offers an informal space that connects students from all over the world in conversation, games and an opportunity to share ideas as well as have fun. Global DePaul will be hosting this event in the Loop on Friday March 31 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.. The event will take place in DePaul Center’s North Cafe on the 11th Floor. If you are interested in attending, sign up on DeHub.
12-hour DemonTHON is back this Saturday
DePaul’s annual dance marathon event for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital returns this Saturday! The event is a 12-hour celebration with members committing to stand for the full 12-hour duration or 4-hour blocks, where they dance every hour on the hour in solidarity with the kids and families battling pediatric illness. On April 1 this event will take place at the Lincoln Park campus' student center in room 120AB from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.. Registration for this event is $15 and serves as a donation to Lurie Children's. Learn more about the event, here.
Lastly, here is your weekend sports update (March 24-26):
DePaul's softball team lost 9-3 and 4-3 against St. John's in a doubleheader Friday.
DePaul's softball team won 3-1 against St. John's Sunday.
DePaul's women's tennis team lost 5-2 against USF on Saturday.
DePaul's men's tennis team lost 4-3 against Butler on Saturday.
DePaul's men's tennis team won 5-2 against Xavier on Sunday.
DePaul's men's golf team sits in 12th place Sunday after the first day of the South Alabama Craft Farms Invitational.
Chicago Headlines
By Chinyere Ibeh
Some Chicago libraries now have mental health services available — The city’s health department now offers mental health services in the Mount Greenwood, Beverly, Blackstone, and Edgewater library branches. The program is part of the Department of Public Health’s work to expand its mental health work in Chicago’s 77 community areas. Clinicians will be able to serve people 13 and older regardless of their ability to pay, insurance or immigration status. Kelly Bauer has the full story for Block Club Chicago.
Former ComEd executive Fidel Marquez takes the stand in the “ComEd Four” trial — Marquez agreed to cooperate with investigators in 2019 and secretly recorded his colleagues currently on trial (former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, former ComEd lobbyist Michael McClain and former City Club President Jay Doherty). Earlier in the trial, prosecutors played eight wiretapped recordings, including one where Pramaggiore tells McClain that she’s becoming the CEO of Exelon Utilities, the parent company of ComEd. Pramaggiore told McClain that her promotion wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for McClain, Hooker and Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan. Over the weekend, prosecutors argued that the primary issue of the case is the intent of the four defendants. Chicago Sun-Times’ Tina Sfondeles and Jon Seidel have the full story.
Both mayoral candidates hit the campaign trail and received huge endorsements over the weekend — At the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Al Sharpton announced his endorsement for Brandon Johnson. During his speech, Sharpton spoke about public safety, saying “we are not the defund the police. We are the define the police.” While Johnson received Sharpton’s endorsement, Paul Vallas received support from U.S. Sen. Majority Whip Dick Durbin. Durbin said that he believes Vallas could lead the city forward and unite the people of Chicago. For the entire story, read Christian Farr and Matt Stefanski’s article for NBC Chicago.
Three universities in Illinois are bracing for possible staff strikes — The University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100 faculty and staff unions at Eastern Illinois University, Governor’s State University and Chicago State University announced their intent to strike. The move comes from what they called “minimal progress” in bargaining. Teachers and staff at Eastern Illinois University plan to walk out on April 6 if a deal regarding pay doesn’t come to terms. The earliest strike dates for CSU and GSU are April 3 and April 7, respectively. WGN TV’s Alonzo Small has all of the details regarding these intents to strike.
National Headlines
By Cary Robbins
Heavy rainfalls kill at least 16 people in southern Ecuador — On Sunday night in southern Ecuador, heavy rains caused a mudslide killing at least 16 people and affecting almost 500. President Guillermo Lasso has declared in 14 provinces in Ecuador a state of emergency in the past month because of their impact by extreme weather. Since January 1, 2023, 22 people have been killed due to disasters caused by heavy rainfall. Emergency workers are searching through debris and mud with torches to find 7 remains of people that are missing and others who are injured in the town of Alausi. Read more about this devastation and continue to follow what is happening in Ecuador with this article from Al Jazeera.
Three children and three adults killed in school shooting in Nashville— Monday morning, three 9-year-old students, identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, and three adult staff members, identified as Cynthia Peak, Katherine Koonce and Mike Hill, were killed at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, a private religious school. The school serves children in preschool to sixth grade. The shooter has been identified by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department as a 28-year-old woman, who had a rifle, pistol and handgun, was killed by officers once they entered the school building. Students were eventually escorted out of the building into a nearby church and were reunited with their parents. Read more about this incident and the effects mass shootings have had on communities in this article by Jonathan Mattise, Travis Loller and Holly Meyer published in AP news.
Tornado in Mississippi kill at least 25— On Friday night, at least 25 people in Mississippi and one person in Alabama were killed due to a tornado that tore through western Mississippi. The tornado “destroyed buildings and left hundreds without shelter,” according to an article in NPR. The National Weather Service said that the tornado was unusual because this tornado had a path that spanned 59.4 miles compared to a common 1-2 mile path. Read more about how tornadoes and the line between tornadoes and climate change in this article by Rachel Treisman for NPR.
The U.S. begins a three-nation African tour and announces security aid — Vice President Kamala Harris began her three-nation African tour that will be a weeklong “series of visits by senior US officials as Washington seeks to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.” Harris announced on Monday the United States’ plan to provide $100 million to Ghana and four other West African countries with the hopes of helping the countries “deal with instability and violence from armed groups.” Read more in this article from Al Jazeera about China’s investment in African countries within the past two decades and Harris’ planned topics to be discussed in her tour of Africa.
Hey, Check This Out!
With Featured Columnist Lauren Sheperd
Hello everyone! I hope you had a great spring break and first day of spring quarter. Today, I’m bringing you another restaurant recommendation from Time Out Market in West Loop: Demera. However, it also has a location in Uptown.
Demera is an Ethiopian restaurant that was started in 2007 by Tigist Reda. With its main location in Uptown, Dimera quickly became a staple of Ethiopian food and culture in Chicago. According to Demera’s website, Reda is originally from Ethiopia and learned how to cook traditional Ethiopian food from the older women in her family. After moving to Chicago over two decades ago and discovering her passion for hosting and entertaining, Reda decided to open her Uptown location. Now, Demera is known for its service and the Ethiopian traditions it emphasizes in both the food and the space itself.
Though I didn’t go to the Uptown location of Demera, I still was able to experience the traditional, family-style, hand-eaten food it has to offer. I was able to share the Siga Alicha Injera Roll with my boyfriend. The roll was sandwich-like, and came with about six rolls. On the Injera Bread – which is a spongy, traditional Ethiopian bread – there was stewed beef and house-made Ayib or farmer’s cheese. It was delicious, and I need to go back. Time Out Market, however, only has a limited menu. In order to get the full experience (and menu) next time, I plan on traveling up to N. Broadway and W. Lawrence in Uptown.
Resources
Need resources regarding cooling 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