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roughly 16,000 immigrants in illinois are about to lose their food assistance. federal eligibility changes that took effect april 1 cut SNAP benefits for refugees, asylum-seekers, and survivors of human trafficking. the changes came from the "One Big Beautiful Bill" passed by Congress last July. benefits don't disappear overnight — they phase out at each person's semiannual redetermination — but the illinois department of human services confirmed the number at risk. this includes people who are legally present in the country. the city of chicago has a page up at chicago.gov/SNAP with information on work requirements that are also tightening. if you know someone affected, that's the place to start.

the CPS CEO said no to closing schools on may day. the board might say yes anyway. the chicago teachers union has been pushing for months to make may 1 a "civic day of action" so teachers, students, and parents can join nationwide protests against trump administration policies. CPS CEO macquline king — who the board just hired permanently last week on an 18-1 vote — rejected the request, arguing it would disrupt academic activities. in a memo to board president sean harden, she said she believes "every minute in the classroom is vital." but she also noted the board can overrule her with a formal vote. the CTU bargained for this in their contract, ratified last year. CTU vice president jackson potter said: "we've made this known that this was our intention to participate in this historic day of action nationally, not just locally, because of the stakes that are so high." as of sunday, no special meeting has been called. the deadline is getting closer and nobody has made a decision, which is the system working exactly as designed.

the city council zoning committee hasn't met in three months. over 40 projects are in limbo. ald. bennett lawson, the interim chair, told the tribune he won't hold a meeting in april either. that's january, february, march, and now april without a zoning committee meeting. the holdup is a political standoff over who gets to be permanent chair — lawson has been acting chair for roughly half of mayor johnson's term after former chair carlos ramirez-rosa stepped down. the chicagoland chamber of commerce says more than 40 development projects are stuck waiting for committee approval. lawson says he has a political maneuver that will end the impasse. he also says it hurts him to stall the committee because there are good projects the city needs. both things can apparently be true at the same time.

a cook county jury just hit abbott laboratories with a $70 million verdict over baby formula. four families alleged that abbott's cow's-milk-based similac formula for premature infants caused their babies to develop necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening bowel disease. the jury awarded $53 million in compensatory damages on thursday and added $17 million in punitive damages on friday. this is the first NEC baby formula case to go to trial in illinois. abbott, headquartered in lake county, faces hundreds of similar lawsuits. the families were awarded between $7 million and $16 million each. the company's stock is fine. the babies are not.

dupage county charged four people with aggravated fleeing and eluding in a single week. all four were detained pre-trial. one of them, Matt Waldow, 39, of west chicago, was also charged with two counts of attempted armed robbery after allegedly pointing a loaded gun at a man sitting in his car before leading police on a chase. the dupage county state's attorney's office posted about it like it was a weekly recap, which, apparently, it now is.

the will county forest preserve board just approved $1.18 million in trail projects. the messenger woods nature preserve entrance road will be reconstructed. the dupage river trail will be extended. a trail at theodore marsh in crest hill will be paved. separately, intergovernmental agreements with lockport and channahon will create new trails, including a loop trail along the I&M canal. all funded through the 2025-2030 capital improvement program, which set aside $50 million for land acquisition and facility improvements. this is the rare government spending story where the money is going to a thing you can actually walk on.

test your sump pump before the april rains do it for you. pour a bucket of water into the pit. if the float rises and the pump kicks on, you're fine. if nothing happens, you have time to fix it now instead of standing in two inches of water at midnight during a thunderstorm. takes three minutes. costs nothing. this is the entire tip.

eat: schneider deli at 1733 N. Halsted in lincoln park. jake and ariel schneider's second spot — they started as a pop-up out of the ohio house motel in river north. melts, egg salad sandwiches, soups, and a deli hot dog. pink walls, green booths, retro diner energy. opened april 1 next door to boka. all-day hours.

do: steppenwolf's windfall, running through may 31. 1650 N. Halsted in lincoln park. 7:30pm. tickets from $60. it's a new play and steppenwolf doesn't miss often. if you've been meaning to go to a show for three months, this is the week you actually do it.

avoid: pop up bagels opening day on friday, april 17 at 2321 N. Lincoln in lincoln park. connecticut-based chain making its midwest debut with a portillo's giardiniera schmear collab and 25 planned locations across the city and suburbs. go the following week when the hype has cooled to merely unreasonable.

hey — if you’d like to put your business in front of the readers of this very email, reply with a little about what you do. small, weird, or local: we like all three.

handyman hal is at the riviera theatre this friday, april 17 at 6:00pm. live show, high energy, involves a "dino-sized science experiment" and a secret building project your kids will get to help with. the riviera is at 4746 N. Racine. tickets are available online. it is loud and chaotic and your children will love it and you will survive.

southern living's april issue features an alabama lane cake for the magazine's 60th anniversary. it's a layered bourbon-soaked southern classic that's equal parts cake and commitment. the april issue has 17 recipes total — including some revisited classics — but the lane cake is the one they chose to celebrate six decades of telling you how to cook. the full recipe is on their site. make it this week while you still have the energy to separate eggs and pretend you're patient.

chicago magazine's "the justice league of chicago" tells the story of the secret six, a vigilante group that chased bootleggers and extortionists in the 1930s. based on kevin e. meredith's new book The Secret Six, the piece traces how the chicago association of commerce funded a private crime-fighting operation led by colonel robert isham randolph. they solved 18 cases, foiled an extortion plot against oscar stanton de priest — the only black member of congress at the time — and al capone blamed them for his downfall. they also wrongly detained an innocent investment clerk named william kuhn for days, lost a $30,000 lawsuit, and eventually got cut off by the mayor and defunded by the chamber that created them. "the secret six had become little different from the gangsters they swore to shut down," meredith writes. the story of private citizens deciding the law isn't working fast enough and making it worse has aged with disturbing relevance.

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if you're wondering whether the zoning committee will meet in may, the answer is: maybe, but probably not until someone gets the chair they want.
also: go test your sump pump. do it tonight. it takes three minutes and past-you will thank present-you.

tips, corrections, your best lane cake recipe? reply and let us know.

reply with your neighborhood and one thing that made you pause, squint, or text someone “???”

talk thursday.

-sam