Poor air quality continues today

Good morning, Chicago.

At Promontory Park in Hyde Park, normally a spot for picnickers and parkgoers to admire an impressive view of the city, a group of four wore masks and looked across Lake Michigan at a whitish and gray skyline.

Miranda Mireles, 23, who grew up in Chicago and went to school in Washington state, said the scene felt “eerie.” She said the poor air quality had given her a headache.

“We’ve never had to deal with forest fire smoke,” Mireles said. “I was familiar with it (in Washington), but not here.”

As thick smoke from Canadian wildfires coated Chicago and the surrounding areas yesterday, weather officials warned more bad air is expected today.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Vivian La, Jenna Smith, Nell Salzman and Laura Rodríguez Presa. Search air quality index levels here.

And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.

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A woman who accused former WTMX-FM morning host Eric Ferguson of coercing her to perform sexual acts, then retaliating against her at work when she stopped complying, has dropped her explosive lawsuit against the sidelined radio personality.

The lawsuit by former assistant producer Cynthia DeNicolo, filed in May 2021, sparked a tumultuous two years of public battles for Ferguson and Hubbard Radio Chicago, the company that owns the adult contemporary station at 101.9.

CTA journeys are about to get more arduous for commuters heading to the Illinois Medical District, students heading to UIC and travelers connecting to Amtrak at Union Station.

CTA Blue Line tracks between the West Loop and the Illinois Medical District are set to temporarily close this summer, as work gets underway to remove some of the slow zones that plague the Forest Park branch of the line.

A six-bedroom, 9,815-square-foot mansion in Elmhurst sold June 1 for $4.2 million, setting what easily is a record for the highest-priced home sale in that DuPage County suburb’s history.

Elmhurst’s previous highest-priced sale was a seven-bedroom, 11,108-square-foot mansion in south Elmhurst that traded hands in November 2021 for $3.35 million — fully $850,000 less than the sale price of the mansion that sold in June.

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The American Library Association conference that just ended at McCormick Place tends to be a predictably tame six days. The annual gathering of librarians, publishers and information professionals has been happening since the 19th century. The Chicago-based ALA greets librarians from rural towns, big cities, colleges, high schools, libraries in other countries. They eat a hot dog and take a boat tour and, for a week, dig into the latest archiving techniques, discuss methods of bolstering diversity and forecast digital trends.

That was before the book banners, writes Christopher Borrelli.

“Dial of Destiny” marks the fifth and probable final “Indiana Jones” movie with Harrison Ford front and center. It’s also the first one — and you can tell, right away — not directed by Steven Spielberg, writes film critic Michael Phillips.

The Blackhawks have the first pick today, giving them the right to select consensus No. 1 prospect Connor Bedard. But they also have a second first-round pick, No. 19 from the Tampa Bay Lightning, that could yield what would be top-10 value in other drafts, writes Phil Thompson. 

There have been fouler smells emanating from Wrigley in years past, but usually it was due to the play of the Cubs, writes Paul Sullivan. The smell during yesterday’s game was more like a campout at Wrigley, and a smoky crowd of 37,072 turned out to watch a jet-lagged Cubs lineup look lifeless against Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez, who held them to one run on four hits over 7 1/3 innings.

Although Revival Food Hall is always a popular destination for Loop lunchers, the grand opening of Hot Chi last month kicked things into overdrive.

A line extended around the block as customers hungered for a taste of the South Side-born chicken concept. And while many were drawn in by the mouthwatering menu, others were there specifically seeking out halal food.