Good morning, Chicago.

When AT&T Illinois boss Paul La Schiazza received an email from the son of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan asking for a charitable contribution in 2017, he forwarded it immediately to a member of his government relations team with a note that reads almost like a weary sigh.

“Here we go … this will be endless,” La Schiazza wrote about the request from Andrew Madigan. The assistant, Bob Barry, responded, “I suspect the ‘thank you’ opportunities will be plentiful.”

“Yep … we are on the friends and family plan now,” La Schiazza replied.

Those words were displayed for jurors at La Schiazza’s bribery trial Monday, where prosecutors allege they show his state of mind in the weeks after Madigan helped shepherd AT&T’s bill ending mandated landline service — known by the acronym COLR — through the General Assembly.

Shortly after presenting the emails, prosecutors rested their case after calling a total of 14 witnesses over four days of testimony. After a short sidebar with the judge, the defense also rested its case without putting on evidence. La Schiazza declined to testify in his own defense after being informed about his rights in a sidebar.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jason Meisner and Ray Long.

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Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions after a press conference at Soldier Field on Sept. 16, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson answers questions after a press conference at Soldier Field on Sept. 16, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Johnson dismisses criticism after staff changes, controversy

After facing an onslaught of criticism last week for a shake-up in his City Hall lobbying team that involved elevating a key appointee who drew fire for comments about police officers and the Gaza war, Mayor Brandon Johnson downplayed the mounting broadsides Monday.

Chicago Ald. David Moore, 17th, comments on ShotSpotter during a Chicago City Council meeting on May 22, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago Ald. David Moore, 17th, comments on ShotSpotter during a Chicago City Council meeting on May 22, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

ShotSpotter fight continues as system’s days in Chicago dwindle

Tomorrow’s meeting could offer two chances for the City Council to voice its support for ShotSpotter. The first is being led by South Side Ald. David Moore, 17th, who has signaled he will to use a parliamentary maneuver to force a vote on an ordinance compelling the police superintendent to extend the contract.

Meanwhile, members of the council’s informal pro-police caucus called for a separate special vote immediately following the regular City Council meeting on a measure allowing the head of the city’s Office of Public Safety Administration to extend that same contract.

Oday Alfayoumi and others carry the casket of his son, Wadee Alfayoumi, to the burial at Parkholm Cemetery in La Grange Park on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Oday Alfayoumi and others carry the casket of his son, Wadee Alfayoumi, to the burial at Parkholm Cemetery in La Grange Park on Oct. 16, 2023. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Congressional hearing will be the first one to address slaying of 6-year-old Palestinian boy from Chicago area

Faith leaders, community activists and family members of victims are heading to Washington for a congressional hearing today to address the alarming rise in hate crimes in America, with a focus on tragic cases like that of Wadee Alfayoumi, the 6-year-old Palestinian boy who was stabbed to death in Plainfield.

Rishi Shah, former CEO and co-founder of Outcome Health, arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for the continued hearing on his sentencing on June 26, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Rishi Shah, former CEO and co-founder of Outcome Health, arrives at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse for the continued hearing on his sentencing on June 26, 2024. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Former Outcome Health CEO will remain out of prison pending appeal

Former Outcome co-founder and CEO Rishi Shah was supposed to surrender himself Sept. 26 to begin his sentence. But Shah filed a motion in July asking to be granted bail until the resolution of his appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin granted that motion yesterday.

The exterior of Kroger's fulfillment center is shown on July 27, 2022 in Dallas, Tex. (Rebecca Slezak/The Dallas Morning News via AP, File)
The exterior of Kroger’s fulfillment center is shown on July 27, 2022, in Dallas, Tex. (Rebecca Slezak/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

A state’s experience with grocery chain mergers spurs a fight to stop Albertsons’ deal with Kroger

Washington state went to court yesterday to try to block a proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger, saying shoppers would pay hundreds of millions more for groceries each year if the supermarket chains are no longer closely competing.

The entrance gate to Michael Jordan's estate in Highland Park Friday, April 29, 2016. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
The entrance gate to Michael Jordan’s estate in Highland Park, April 29, 2016. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)

Retired Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan inks deal to sell his Highland Park mansion

Long-retired Chicago Bulls basketball star and NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan has finally inked a deal to sell his massive mansion on 8.4 acres in Highland Park, which has been on the market for more than a dozen years and which has a current asking price of $14.855 million.

Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso (10) goes to the basket past Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith, left, in the third quarter of a WNBA basketball game Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso (10) goes to the basket past Minnesota Lynx forward Alanna Smith, left, in the third quarter of a WNBA basketball game, Sept. 13, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Chicago basketball report: Kamilla Cardoso questionable for the Sky in final playoff push — and the young Bulls core camps out

The Chicago Sky are teetering on the edge of playoff elimination after dropping a pair of losses to the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury — and they might have to close the season without either of their rookie stars.

Kamilla Cardoso was listed as questionable for today’s game against the Atlanta Dream due to a lingering shoulder injury. Cardoso dislocated her shoulder in the Sky’s first preseason game against the Lynx in May, an injury that caused her to miss the first three games of the regular season.

White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn during a game against the Giants on Aug. 19, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
White Sox first baseman Andrew Vaughn during a game against the Giants on Aug. 19, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Andrew Vaughn’s community outreach earns the Chicago White Sox 1B a Roberto Clemente Award nomination

Chicago White Sox players lined up along the top step of the home dugout at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday while Andrew Vaughn received recognition as the team’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.

Gary resident Robert Prusynski hangs a sign in honor of the recently-passed Tito Jackson as fans gather at the Jackson family home in Gary to mourn the artist's death on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)
Gary resident Robert Prusynski hangs a sign in honor of the recently-passed Tito Jackson as fans gather at the Jackson family home in Gary to mourn the artist’s death on Sept. 16, 2024. (Kyle Telechan/for the Post-Tribune)

‘He will be remembered’: Tito Jackson dies at 70, visitors mourn at family home

Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson, Gary native and one of the members of the Jackson 5, died Sunday at 70 years old. Throughout Monday, visitors and community members traveled to the Jackson family home to pay tribute.

Kristen Wiig in an advertisement for Dunkin holding a Dunkalatte. (Dunkin)
Kristen Wiig in an advertisement for Dunkin holding a Dunkalatte. (Dunkin)

Column: Dunkin’ introduces Rhode Island coffee milk to the nation with its Dunkalatte. Is that good thing?

When Christopher Borrelli was a kid attending Catholic school in Rhode Island, during lunchtime in the cafeteria he was offered a choice of milk: whole milk, chocolate milk or coffee milk. It’s the official state drink and something of a curiosity even among the rest of close-knit New England.

And Dunkin’ just introduced coffee milk to Illinois. Actually, it offered coffee milk to the entire nation at once, courtesy of its new fall menu. Seeing it on a drive-thru screen the other day, Borrelli was startled, delighted — then uneasy.

Naoise O Caireallain and Michael Fassbender in
Naoise O Caireallain and Michael Fassbender in “Kneecap.” (Helen Sloan/Sony Pictures Classics)

Irish American Movie Hooley hits the 10-year mark with 3 winning films

You have to hand it to Mike Houlihan, one of the city’s most inexhaustible and creative characters, as he is set to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the only Irish American film festival in the world. He started it, creating a decade ago what he called the Irish American Movie Hooley, “hooley” meaning an Irish party usually with music, and “Houli” being, not at all coincidentally, the nickname by which Houlihan has long been known.



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