* What are y’all’s food recs for the DNC?…

* Journal Courier…

The Redneck Fishing Tournament, an annual quest to have fun while ridding the Illinois River of an invasive species, is ready for another run this summer.

The tournament, hosted by the 279 residents of Bath, takes place along the Illinois River, which forms the western border of the village. This year’s event will be Aug 1-3. Activities on the first day are dominated by a kids’ fishing tournament.

The tournament is a blend of fun and a serious mission. The fun is the festivities and the fishing. The serious part is fundraising and trying to reduce the number of copi, formerly known as Asian carp, in the Illinois River.

“Ugly fish, cold beer, good causes and great times. If you haven’t experienced the Redneck Fishing Tournament, you owe it to yourself to check it out,” said tournament organizer Nikki Gregerson.

* The top copi catchers…

If you’re curious you can try copi during the State Fair at Conservation World.

*** DNC***

* Sun-Times | Where Chicago DNC hosts will get the parties started: The Chicago 2024 Host Committee on Wednesday announced the locations of the three giant parties it is throwing to kick off the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The convention runs Aug. 19-22, with thousands of delegates and journalists expected to begin arriving the weekend before.

* The Triibe | Chicago Police to get the bulk of $75 million in DNC security funds: The document states that $26.7 million of the DOJ funds will be spent on personnel. Of that, more than $17.6 million is allocated to CPD for personnel, including operations and training, as well as regular and overtime pay. The Fire Department will get $4.7 million for operational and personnel costs. The OEMC will receive nearly $800,000 for the event. Another $3.7 million is going toward “Asset Protection Personnel,” according to the budget document. In an emailed statement, the OBM said the Asset Protection Program “is typically a term used to describe strategies and measures implemented by governments to safeguard valuable assets from risks or loss.” However, OBM could not disclose whether the program is part of another agency or a standalone entity.

* CBS Chicago | Chicago’s DNC Organizers Hosting Virtual Community Impact Meetings For Residents: These meetings come after neighbors who live near the United Center have said they’re concerned about the effect of all the tight security restrictions and large crowds. Police and the Secret Service addressed just those concerns. In July, officials unveiled the security perimeters around both the United Center and McCormick Place during the DNC. The secure areas for the convention are divided into a vehicle-screening perimeter and a pedestrian-restricted perimeter.

* Tribune | Chicago business owners unsure if they’ll see DNC business boost: Owner Rick Cheng speculated that diners might be trying to avoid the area during the Democratic National Convention. The Oyster House, at 1933 S. Indiana Ave., is located within the security perimeter outside of McCormick Place. […] Cheng said that typically people booking private parties during other large conventions book reservations months in advance. For the DNC, during which Chicago expects 50,000 visitors to descend upon the city, Cheng said, “We got nada.”

* Block Club Chicago | Illinois Black Panther Party Honored In New Exhibit Ahead Of DNC: When the Democratic National Convention came to Chicago in 1968, the Illinois Black Panther Party was just beginning. That August 56 years ago, Bobby Rush, Bob Brown and Fred Hampton came together to found the party’s Chicago chapter. Now — ahead of another Democratic National Convention in the Windy City — the Epiphany Center for the Arts, 201 S. Ashland Ave., and the Historical Preservation Society of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party are honoring the Illinois chapter’s history of Black political struggle in a new exhibit.

*** Chicago ***

* Injustice Watch | Rising rents, unlivable apartments leave tenants desperate, confused, and often helpless: An Injustice Watch investigation found thousands of lower-income renters in Chicago are trapped in unsafe buildings, forced to pay rising rents, even as many landlords are allowed to shirk their responsibilities to keep buildings safe, warm, and free of rats.

* People’s Fabric | “Y’all jump out on us every day”—Tactical team that killed Dexter Reed was involved in a shooting 24 hours earlier: The new videos from March 20 show the squad who killed Reed rolling through the same West Side neighborhood with another unmarked police SUV. Nine plainclothes tactical officers stop and hop out of their vehicle to search a man sitting in a chair on the sidewalk, citing a “large bulge” in his waistband on their investigatory stop report. Cops ultimately found nothing. Within seconds, however, the encounter turned fatal—not for a human, but somebody’s pet. Body-worn camera videos activated after the fact capture, without audio, officer Michael Ambrose pumping multiple rounds into a gray pit bull who approached him excitedly.

* Crain’s | Climate change is slowing moves from the Snow Belt to Sun Belt: The implications for Chicago and other cold-climate cities are obvious in a study that says “the U.S. population is starting to move away from areas increasingly exposed to extreme heat days toward historically colder areas, which are becoming more attractive as extreme cold days become increasingly rare.”

* Crain’s | American Bar Association names new president: Thompson Coburn partner Bill Bay has been tapped as the next president of the Chicago-based American Bar Association. Having served as chair of the ABA house of delegates and chair of the ABA section on litigation, Bay brings experience to the role, which he assumed yesterday following the close of the ABA house of delegates meeting in Chicago. He replaces Mary Smith.

* Block Club | Cellphone Thefts Ruin Lollapalooza For Some, But Fest Arrests Down: The music festival, which ran Thursday-Sunday in Grant Park, saw arrests drop to a five-year low, with nine arrests made and seven citations issued, according to the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. There were 63 ambulance transports made over the course of the fest. […] But cellphone thefts remain a stubborn problem at Lollapalooza.

* NBC Chicago | Meet ‘Oscar from Chicago,’ Lollapalooza fan plucked from crowd to drum with The Killers: NBC Chicago caught up with the lucky fan, 20-year-old Oscar Reza Bautista, on Monday. “I had seen people play the drums with them before, and I said, ‘I want to be one of them,’” Reza Bautista said. “Brandon starts looking at my sign and pointing at it, and everything starts shaking.”

* Tribune | ‘Hot Ones’ live event coming to Chicago on Aug. 28: Stella Artois will host the event Aug. 28 at Moonlight Studios from 6-9 p.m. as part of Stella Artois’ Let’s Do Dinner Summer Series. The series will also have stops in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City. More than 300 contestants at the event will take part in the “Wings of Death” in an eat-along experience with 10 mouth-watering hot sauces. Evans will be joined by a special celebrity guest, who will be announced the week before the event.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Capitol News Illinois | South suburban airport could bring over $1B in economic activity, per report: A study from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute, a think tank with ties to organized labor, found that building a cargo-focused airport in the south suburbs would create around 6,300 total jobs. […] The Illinois General Assembly has recently taken several steps to advance progress on the long-delayed south suburban airport. In 2023, state legislators passed a law requiring the Illinois Department of Transportation to develop a process for requesting contractors and other developers to submit plans.

* Daily Herald | Jury orders city of Naperville to pay $22.5M in damages connected to wrongful conviction in arson, murder: A federal jury awarded the damages to William Amor’s estate, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday. […] He spent 22 years in prison before a judge ruled that advances in fire science proved descriptions in his confession were impossible. The judge later acquitted him. Amor filed a federal lawsuit against the city in 2018. He died last year before the case went to trial.

* Naperville Sun | Naperville police make 21st gun-related arrest in Topgolf parking lot since August 2023: Officers approached Altman-McCray and another person after they retuned to the vehicle and found that while Altman-McCray possessed a valid Firearm Owner’s Identification card and Concealed Carry License, he had improperly stowed the weapon and was in possession of the firearm while allegedly intoxicated, Munch said. […] Naperville police also have been making arrests on drug-related charges outside the facility in recent weeks.

* Daily Herald | ‘Everything was gone’: Burglars tunnel through stores to steal $1.5M in jewelry from Woodfield: Schaumburg police said the crime was discovered by a construction worker who entered a vacant store adjacent to Marquise Jewelry at about 9:30 a.m. Monday and reported a hole in the drywall. Police said they found the suspects covered one of the surveillance cameras to avoid detection. More disturbing was how the burglars gained access to their store. The couple found a small hole in the wall, and later learned from police the burglars cut through the walls of three other businesses to get to their jewelry store.

* Patch | Will County Brewing Company Closes Channahon Bar For Good: About a year and a half after Will County Brewing Company opened their second location, taking over the shuttered River Hawk Brewery along Route 6, the owners of the Shorewood-based microbrewery have decided that enough is enough, it’s time to close the Channahon location forever.

*** Downstate ***

* WICS | Pork Patio serves up family favorites at Illinois State Fair: The menu will feature budget friendly classics, including chop on-a-stick, pork twister, pork burgers, pork chops, and BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. JBS, Smithfield, Tyson, and Rantoul Foods have generously donated pork for the patio. Illinois pig farmers, industry organizations, sports teams, and other volunteers graciously spend time working shifts at the fair to serve customers and make the patio a success.

* WPSD | Southern Illinois sinkhole causes apartment building to ‘fall into the earth’: A sinkhole forced three families to evacuate Sunday, Aug. 4, after shifting an apartment building 23 inches, according to Carrier Mills Police Chief Scott Isaacs. […] The sinkhole was discovered Sunday morning when a spouse of a city street department employee was traveling on Russell Street and noticed the road had buckled, according to Isaacs.

* River Bender | Southern Illinois University Carbondale Faculty Secure New Contract: The agreement not only provides salary adjustments for faculty but also reforms office hour policies to encourage more comprehensive student engagement, and it provides support for program directors and coordinators who work to recruit and grow students in programs across campus.

* WSIL | Carterville’s National Night Out helps the community meet their local police officers: Officer Travis Morgan hopes these events help remove any divides between the police and the people they serve. “But I’m big on the personal relationship between the police and the community. Especially since becoming a school resource officer and seeing the kids recognize you,” Morgan says. “So tonight it’s a good time. It’s great for the kids and the families.”

*** National ***

* AP | NASA delays next crew launch to buy more time at the space station for Boeing’s troubled capsule: Tuesday marked the two-month point at the space station for Starliner’s test pilots, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who should have been back by mid-June. NASA is weighing all its options for returning the two veteran astronauts, including a ride home in a SpaceX capsule. “NASA and Boeing continue to evaluate the spacecraft’s readiness, and no decisions have been made regarding Starliner’s return,” NASA said in a statement. Further details were expected at a news conference set for Wednesday.