Daywatch: Cook County housing authority facing potential multimillion-dollar budget shortfall

Good morning, Chicago.

The Housing Authority of Cook County is facing a potential multimillion-dollar funding shortfall that could have broad repercussions throughout the real estate market as the struggling agency looks to cut costs, possibly leading to greater expenses for its housing voucher holders and a decline in the number of the people it serves.

The agency attributes the shortfall to an increase in its voucher usage rate and rising rents, which eat into its limited dollars allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Lizzie Kane.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including Illinois becoming one of the first states to protect medical records regarding autism, a plan to appoint Mayor Brandon Johnson’s chief of staff as the interim head of CPS and Chicago Stars strike Mallory Swanson shares why she’s been out so far this season.

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Federal Reserve leaves key rate unchanged as it sees risk of higher prices and higher unemployment

The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged yesterday, brushing off President Donald Trump’s demands to lower borrowing costs, and said that the risks of both higher unemployment and higher inflation have risen, an unusual combination that puts the central bank in a difficult spot.

Gov. JB Pritzker signs order protecting autism data in response to federal research plan under RFK Jr.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order yesterday that formally restricts the unauthorized collection of autism-related data by state agencies.

Pritzker’s order responds to federal efforts under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to create databases of personal information for those with autism “without clear legal safeguards or accountability,” according to a news release from Pritzker’s office.

School board president paves way for interim CEO to lead CPS without required license

Board members say Mayor Brandon Johnson’s handpicked school board president Sean Harden is leading an effort to vote down a resolution that requires the next interim leader of Chicago Public Schools to have a superintendent licensure in order to install the mayor’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, to serve in the temporary role.

If approved, the appointment would be a major shift in Johnson’s administration and elicit strong reaction from critics of the mayor and his strongest ally, the Chicago Teachers Union.

Mayor Brandon Johnson plan to spur affordable housing with public money passes council

The passage of the mayor’s ambitious “Green Social Housing” plan marks one of his first major legislative wins of the year, one he will certainly point out to his progressive base as evidence he is delivering on his agenda.

The novel policy that will use a revolving pool of city cash to help finance housing construction could serve as an example for other locales seeking to build affordable homes amid waning federal support, even as some aldermen worried that it doesn’t go nearly far enough.

Harold Washington librarians concerned for their safety with security incidents on the rise

Understaffing, inconsistency in how to enforce rules and insufficient de-escalation training are just some of the issues staff at Harold Washington contend they are facing, some of which staff say are part of broader issues in the Chicago Public Library system. As a result, some staff say they are taking on a heavier-than-usual mental load as they struggle to attend to the needs of their patrons while fulfilling their duties and making the library a welcoming space.

Column: 8 observations as the Chicago Cubs battle the fickle winds of Wrigley Field in a 3-1 loss

While waiting on a plume of smoke to rise from the old Wrigley Field scoreboard to announce whether a decision on Cade Horton had been made, Paul Sullivan has eight things to ponder after the Chicago Cubs’ 3-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants.

Mallory Swanson is expecting 1st child with Cubs’ Dansby Swanson

Chicago Stars striker Mallory Swanson and her husband, Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson, announced that they’re expecting their first child.

Mallory Swanson hasn’t played this season after the Stars released a statement Jan. 27 that she wouldn’t be participating in training camp for “personal reasons.” In that same statement, Swanson thanked the National Women’s Soccer League club and its fans “for their understanding during this time.”

Chicago Bears mock 2025 schedule: A wish list for big-stage games and plenty of theater

Dear NFL schedule makers: We know at this point you’re pretty deep into piecing together the 272-game roadmap for the 2025 regular season. But that shouldn’t mean we can’t offer suggestions ahead of the official schedule release.

As it applies to the Chicago Bears specifically, we see a golden opportunity to make the schedule really sing, to sequence it in a way that creates maximum excitement, intrigue and theater.

‘Forever’ review: Updating Judy Blume’s classic about first love — and sex

Judy Blume’s 1975 novel “Forever …,” about a New Jersey high schooler’s first love — and first experiences with sex — is a book Tribune TV and film critic Nina Metz initially encountered with a childhood friend who got her hands on a copy. They snuck off to read the more explicit portions, giggling about them afterwards; the boy has named his penis Ralph and, come on, you have to laugh!

Blume has always been able to capture the inner lives of teenagers as they struggle to figure out how to move through the world in that awkward limbo between child and adult, and it makes sense that Mara Brock Akil (creator of the sitcom “Girlfriends” and the drama “Being Mary Jane”) would want to rethink some of those themes for the 21st century with her TV adaptation for Netflix.

David Cromer’s astonishingly busy spring with George Clooney, ‘Dead Outlaw’ and now ‘The Antiquities’

No American theater professional has had a spring like David Cromer, the longtime Chicago theater director who opened two Broadway shows in New York in a matter of weeks, “Good Night, and Good Luck” starring George Clooney and based on the 2005 movie, and the musical “Dead Outlaw.”

Both have been successes. Cromer was nominated for a Tony Award for his work on “Dead Outlaw” and, last week, “Good Night, and Good Luck” became the first play in the history of Broadway to gross more than $4 million in a single week. On Monday, Cromer opens yet another show, “The Antiquities” at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre.

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