? Below: An off-duty FBI agent fatally shot a 27-year-old in Pilsen on Monday evening. We look into the agency's account and what records show.
?️ Plus: Gov. JB Pritzker backs Dems in battleground states, what this year's unusual weather means for winter and more news you need to know.
? Keeping score: The Blackhawks beat the Kings, 2-1.
☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high near 74.
? Heads up: Completion of work on the Lake Street bridge has been delayed again, causing continued service disruptions on the CTA's Green and Pink lines.
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⏱️: An 8-minute read
Fatal shooting: An off-duty FBI agent fatally shot 27-year-old Oscar Isaya-Corrales Monday evening in Pilsen. According to the FBI, the agent was driving home from work in an FBI vehicle around 5:30 p.m. when he saw the man fire a gun "into a group of innocent people" near 18th Street and Union Avenue. The agent shot Isaya-Corrales "to stop the ongoing threat," the FBI said.
Records show: When Chicago cops rushed to the scene, they found the FBI agent still aiming at Isaya-Corrales after he'd been wounded, according to a police report. A handgun was found under a bicycle, the report said. Isaya-Corrales suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital. His death was ruled a homicide, records show.
Key context: The feds described Isaya-Corrales as a Venezuelan national without legal status who had been "taken into custody at the border and subsequently released" in 2023. He had lived this year at the Pacific Garden Mission shelter on the Near West Side — a worker there told the Sun-Times that Isaya-Corrales did not have any family in the area. He came to the shelter to "try and make his life better," but struggled with drug addiction, the worker said.
Billionaire boogeyman: Mayor Brandon Johnson on Tuesday accused billionaire businessman Michael Sacks of leading a "nasty coalition of billionaires" who are using their wealth to elect school board members who would close more Chicago Public Schools.
Key context: Johnson never mentioned Sacks by name. But it was clear who he was talking about, as Sacks has helped bankroll a political action committee known as Common Ground Collective that has raised more than $5 million to elect Jessica Biggs as school board president and other school board members who would not be beholden to the Chicago Teachers Union.
About the election: For the first time, Chicagoans will elect the entire Board of Education — 20 members plus an at-large president. Our free voter guide helps you find your district and gives you the rundown on your candidates.
Meanwhile, at City Hall: Three City Council leaders who negotiated the compromise that sweetened Stonepeak Partners' deal to acquire Chicago's parking meters are calling a special City Council meeting Monday. They want Johnson to apply the $75 million up-front payment from Stonepeak, which they negotiated, to his budget as an extra payment that chips away at the city’s $36 billion pension crisis.
Abnormal year: This year has been marked by heavy rain, a record number of tornadoes and heatwaves. Then in mid-October, temperatures hit 88 degrees in Chicago. With all that considered, experts say Chicago can expect a milder winter.
Winter outlook: That's thanks to the potential of a "historically strong" El Niño, according to the National Weather Service's winter outlook report. That means a 50% to 60% chance of above-normal temperatures this winter. But the NWS said even a mild winter will likely have "notable" stretches of cold weather and snowstorms.
Key context: El Niño is a weather pattern characterized by unusually warm temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. It leads to changes in the weather worldwide.
Money matters: Gov. JB Pritzker's Ready for the Fight PAC is sending $1.5 million to help Democrats win the Senate in Mississippi and Kansas — part of more than $40 million in spending the billionaire governor is doling out in the midterm elections and to Democratic causes to try to boost anti-Trump candidates and help Democrats win the House and Senate.
Key context: Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and 35 seats are up for election. Democrats must hold all of their seats and flip four GOP seats to take the Senate. In the House, Republicans have a 218-214 majority with all 435 seats up for election (including some currently vacant seats).
On your ballot: You can get an early look at your ballot and even print it out and take it with you when you hit the polls in the coming days, via our free ballot builder tool — no paywall and no sign-up required.
More than one month after Riot Fest’s rain-filled weekend turned Douglass Park into a marsh, cleanup and repair of the area are still underway. Sun-Times' visual journalist Anthony Vazquez took a look at the progress this week.
In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.
History of Soul Train Awards: WBEZ's Arionne Nettles stops by to talk about the show's history and significance ahead of the ceremony next month.
Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.
Today's clue: 4A: Billy ___ Tavern (popular cheezborger spot)
A new mural park, community arts center and gathering space that includes some heavy-hitters from the arts world are set to open next summer in North Lawndale.
The nonprofit West Edge Arts will open on the site of a former auto parts shop, with both indoor and outdoor spaces, and it aims to be an "anchor" for the surrounding neighborhood, said senior project lead Chelsea Dawkins.
Situated on about a half acre, the site will eventually feature about 30 murals and other works by artists like Chicago painter Dorian Sylvain in a mural park curated by local installation artist Bob Faust. A 6,000-square-foot building will house a cafe, classrooms and artist studios. Outside: gardens and a performance stage.
"Our decision to build here was very intentional," Dawkins said at Tuesday's on-site announcement. "This community and the broader West Side have a rich artistic and cultural history."
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Michael Lansu
Copy edited by: Satchel Price
