Good morning, Chicago.

Earlier this year, a former loan officer at the Chicago-based mortgage company Guaranteed Rate filed a lawsuit against two high-producing loan officers at the firm, alleging sexual harassment and gender discrimination.

Her complaint alleges one of the male loan officers sexually harassed her at a corporate event, that the other loan officer pressured her not to report the incident to human resources, and that for the remainder of her employment the man who made the remark used “gender-based and demeaning slurs to refer to” her and other women at the company.

A Tribune investigation published over the weekend found that many former employees who spoke to reporters described experiencing or witnessing persistent verbal abuse and a misogynistic environment while working at Guaranteed Rate.

Many told the Tribune that Victor Ciardelli, the company’s president, CEO and founder, was quick to berate, swear at and demean employees.

“Every person that works directly under Mr. Ciardelli is terrified of his potential anger outbursts,” one former assistant wrote to human resources after she was let go from the company a couple of years ago.

Ciardelli and Guaranteed Rate vehemently denied all of these allegations, describing the company as a positive workplace environment where women in particular are supported. The firm forwarded more than 80 testimonials from current and former employees.

Guaranteed Rate also retained an outside law firm that, even before receiving the reporters’ list of questions, threatened to sue the Tribune for defamation.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Lizzie Kane and Talia Soglin.

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Simone Peña Hernandez describes mementos related to her college experience so far at her family's home, June 13, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Simone Peña describes mementos related to her college experience so far at her family’s home, June 13, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

She may have a full ride to Harvard, but as an undocumented immigrant without a job permit, her future is uncertain

Simone Peña is part of a population of “forgotten Dreamers,” young undocumented people who now once again live in the shadows and are discouraged from pursuing higher education because even if they do, they may never be able to work in their field legally. Her story, said Erendira Rendón, vice president of immigrant justice at The Resurrection Project, reflects the diversity and complexity of the undocumented community and it highlights the need for Biden to provide comprehensive relief and “work permits for all,” not just new arrivals or asylum-seekers from certain countries.

Karter Vaughters, 4, splashes his brother Joshua, 9, while they play at Humboldt Park Beach on Sunday, June 16, 2024, with temperatures over 90 degrees. Chicago's only inland beach officially reopens Monday after a four-year closure. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Karter Vaughters, 4, splashes his brother Joshua, 9, while they play at Humboldt Park Beach on June 16, 2024, with temperatures over 90 degrees. Chicago’s only inland beach officially reopens Monday after a four-year closure. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Heatwave expected to linger in Chicago through the week as temps hover in low- to mid-90s

A heatwave stretching from the Midwest to the Northeast is expected to linger for at least five days, and meteorologists warn that Chicago is one of a dozen large metropolitan areas expected to see temperatures camp in the low to mid-90s for the week.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates speaks as CTU/CPS holds a public bargaining session on “healthy, safe, green schools,” at Marquette Elementary on June 14, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Teachers Union holds first-ever public bargaining session with CPS on ‘Green Schools’

CTU’s proposal includes retrofitting buildings to fix aging infrastructure, adding central air conditioning for days of extreme heat, removing lead pipes, and installing solar or heat pumps to mitigate pollution in South and West side schools located near industrial corridors.

A camponotus ant eats bloodroot seeds during a scientific experiment in Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve on June 13, 2024, in Lake Forest. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
A camponotus ant eats bloodroot seeds during a scientific experiment in Middlefork Savanna Forest Preserve on June 13, 2024, in Lake Forest. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

As cicadas descend upon Illinois, scientists seek to understand cascading food web impacts

In a wooded clearing in Lake Forest, a team of researchers crouched close to the grass. They watched as hundreds of ants crawled over seeds, sipped sugar water and indulged in a seasonal treat: cicadas.

Ants’ foraging activities may seem trivial. But to these scientists, they’re a gateway to unraveling the little-known impact on forest food webs when billions of cicadas emerge from the ground in Illinois.

A developer plans a new housing complex in the Six Corners area. (GW Properties and Pappageorge Haymes Architects)
A developer plans a new housing complex in the Six Corners area. (GW Properties and Pappageorge Haymes Architects)

$110 million development for Six Corners on hold as feud between developer and alderman continues

A long-delayed retail and residential project near Six Corners in the Portage Park neighborhood is experiencing another round of delays as its developer and Ald. James Gardiner, 45th, feud over how to employ union labor.

Joel Gratcyk plays with his sons Wesley, 11, center, and Theodore, 7, in their backyard in Arlington Heights on June 12, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Joel Gratcyk plays with his sons Wesley, 11, center, and Theodore, 7, in their backyard in Arlington Heights on June 12, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

New fathers should be screened for postpartum depression too, study says

An expanding volume of recent research has indicated that fathers, along with their female partners, can develop postpartum depression. Most experts estimate that around 10% of dads will experience the condition, while about 14% of moms will.

Retail giant Costco recently announced that it stop stocking books year-round. They will focus their bookselling efforts exclusively during the holiday buying season. Copies of the book "The Room Where it Happened" a memoir by John Bolton are viewed at Costco in Marina del Rey, California on June 23, 2020. (Chris Delmas/Getty-AFP)
Copies of the book “The Room Where it Happened” a memoir by John Bolton are viewed at Costco in Marina del Rey, California on June 23, 2020. (Chris Delmas/Getty-AFP)

Costco to stop stocking books year-round

As one of the relatively few large retailers that made books an attractive impulse purchase, Costco has played a vital niche in the overall bookselling ecosystem.

Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze goes through drills during Chicago Bears rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on May 10, 2024. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze goes through drills during Chicago Bears rookie minicamp at Halas Hall on May 10, 2024. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

‘He thrives on those moments.’ Get to know Chicago Bears rookie Rome Odunze.

JaMarcus Shephard, now at Alabama as wide receivers coach and co-offensive coordinator, spoke to the Tribune recently to offer his assessment of Rome Odunze.

An exterior view shows the Douglas Park Auditorium building in Chicago, circa 1911. (Chicago Daily News collection/Chicago History Museum)
An exterior view shows the Douglas Park Auditorium building in Chicago, circa 1911. (Chicago Daily News collection/Chicago History Museum)

Yiddish theater and radicals found a home at Douglas Park Auditorium

If the walls of the Douglas Park Auditorium could talk, they might well speak Yiddish, writes Ron Grossman. A three-story structure, its facade sporting bas-relief lions and angels, it stands at the intersection of Kedzie and Ogden avenues. When it opened around 1911, Eastern European immigrants were transforming North Lawndale into a Jewish neighborhood.

A plate of smothered pork chops, corn muffins with sides of slick mustard greens and candied yams, and a strawberry lemonade on June 7, 2024, at St. Rest #2 Country Kitchen in Chicago. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
A plate of smothered pork chops, corn muffins with sides of slick mustard greens and candied yams, and a strawberry lemonade on June 7, 2024, at St. Rest #2 Country Kitchen in Chicago. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)

Column: St. Rest #2 Country Kitchen, a soul food restaurant legacy saved in Chicago

Daniella Coffey gave up nearly everything to keep her father’s soul food restaurant open just a few years ago, writes Louisa Kung Liu Chu.

She and her husband sold their house. They emptied his 401(k) account. And it still wasn’t enough to pay off more than $600,000 in inherited debt. Then a five-figure grant was received.

St. Rest #2 Country Kitchen in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side, one of the oldest Black-owned soul food restaurants in Chicago, had been saved — a legacy nearly lost.

Co-writer, producer and director Kevin Costner stars in "Horizon: An American Saga," part one of which opens in theaters June 28. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Co-writer, producer and director Kevin Costner stars in “Horizon: An American Saga,” part one of which opens in theaters June 28. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

Talking to Kevin Costner about ‘Horizon’: He’s bet everything, will it pay off?

“I’ve got so much at risk on this,” Kevin Costner told Tribune film critic Michael Phillips during their interview at the Western-themed Frontier restaurant on North Milwaukee Avenue. Read what he said of influences on the project, his childhood and when Costner first rode a horse.

Kali Uchis at Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on May 15, 2023, as part of her Red Moon in Venus Tour. (Trent Sprague / Chicago Tribune)

Trent Sprague / Chicago Tribune

Kali Uchis at Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom in Chicago on May 15, 2023, as part of her Red Moon in Venus Tour. (Trent Sprague / Chicago Tribune)

70 concerts for summer 2024: Missy Elliott to Metallica, live music for the next few months

Summer starts on Thursday. Never mind for a moment that Chicago’s summer really began Memorial Day weekend, the calendar says the season officially runs June 20 to Sept. 22 — or 94 short days to soak up as much live music as we can. What we’re sharing is a simple list of as many shows as we could fit.

Brody Grant and the cast of "The Outsiders" perform onstage during the 77th Annual Tony Awards at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on June 16, 2024, in New York City.  (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)
Brody Grant and the cast of “The Outsiders” perform onstage during the 77th Annual Tony Awards at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on June 16, 2024, in New York City. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

Tony Awards 2024: ‘Outsiders’ and ‘Stereophonic’ are big winners, plus a long-awaited nod for Daniel Radcliffe

“The Outsiders,” the stirring, coming-of-age musical based on the 1967 young adult novel by S.E. Hinton, won the Tony award for best musical Sunday night, even as Shaina Taub won best book and best score for “Suffs,” a musical about the struggle of the U.S. women’s suffrage movement, and perhaps enough for its multi-hyphenate creator to establish herself as one of Broadway’s leading auteurs.



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