Daywatch: How the Fed’s interest rate cut could impact downtown Chicago

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Good morning, Chicago.

The Federal Reserve announced yesterday its first interest rate cut since the pandemic, a move real estate developers say could eventually help kick off the construction of new apartment complexes across downtown Chicago and dot the skyline with cranes.

Thousands of residents want to move downtown, especially to amenity-rich neighborhoods in the West Loop such as Fulton Market, and developers have been aching to break ground on new projects, but some proposals got too costly after the Fed began hiking interest rates in 2022.

“We need to have cranes in the sky,” said Regina Stilp, founding principal of Farpoint Development, one of the developers aiming to build a 7 million-square-foot innovation hub on the former site of Michael Reese Hospital in Bronzeville. “We have a (Fulton Market) multifamily that we want to get in the ground but can’t. The cost of construction is too much.”

Rate cuts goose the economy by making it cheaper to borrow money, helping consumers purchase new cars and homes. Lower rates also make it more affordable for builders to obtain the construction loans typically needed to underwrite new skyscrapers.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Brian J. Rogal.

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What to know about the two waves of deadly explosions that hit Lebanon and Syria

Just one day after pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon Wednesday in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted an extraordinary number of people.

Both attacks, which are widely believed to be carried out by Israel, have hiked fears that the two sides’ simmering conflict could escalate into all-out war. This week’s explosions have also deepened concerns about the scope of potentially-compromised devices, particularly after such bombings have killed or injured so many civilians.

Brother of Chicago woman imprisoned in China makes a plea on Capitol Hill: ‘Bring my sister home’

Retired Chicago police Officer Tim Hunt’s testimony Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill was the latest step on his decadelong journey to bring his sister home from a Chinese prison. Dawn Michelle Hunt, a lifelong South Side resident, was arrested by Chinese authorities on dubious drug smuggling charges in 2014.

She was raped, had multiple blood transfusions and may have cancer, according to her family and medical documents. The Hunt family is calling on the U.S. to do more to secure her release.

ShotSpotter’s future again in question in City Council days before gunshot detection tool goes offline

The City Council again rebuked Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to rid Chicago of ShotSpotter Wednesday, voting to keep the gunshot detection technology around just days before it was set to go offline.

However, Johnson appears poised to nonetheless move ahead with his plan to boot the technology from the city.

Ethics ordinance targeting lobbyist donations to mayoral candidates passes in City Council

The measure bans lobbyists from donating to a mayor’s or a mayoral candidate’s political committee and adds fines and suspensions for lobbyists who break the rule. The effort to reinstate a 2011 executive order signed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel was essential given how many elected officials at Chicago City Hall have been “indicted, convicted and gone to prison,” sponsor Ald. Matt Martin said.

Chicago-based Oak Street Health to pay $60M to settle kickback allegations

Chicago-based Oak Street Health has agreed to pay $60 million to settle allegations that it paid kickbacks to insurance agents in exchange for their help recruiting patients.

Chicago Sports Network and DirecTV announce deal, but holes in TV viewing market remain ahead of launch

As expected, the Chicago Sports Network and DirecTV formally announced an agreement to carry the new TV home of the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks when it launches Oct. 1.

The first pay-TV partner for the nascent 24/7 regional sports network will air 300-plus games and additional sports programming for DirecTV subscribers across a five-state footprint, including Illinois, Iowa and portions of Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, filling in a part of the viewing puzzle for fans of the three teams.

The Chicago Sky still have a shot to make the playoffs. Here’s what needs to happen on the WNBA’s Decision Day.

With one game left in the season, the Chicago Sky are still in contention for a WNBA playoff spot.

Barely.

‘The Substance’ review: Demi Moore is a Hollywood veteran who risks everything on a new body of work

“The Substance” blowtorches a single idea for two hours and 20 minutes, and narratively it turns to ashes by minute 40, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. It’s easier for a movie to become a talking point that way. Film festival buzz, which “The Substance” enjoyed at its Cannes world premiere, tends to emanate from movies that dictate a point, early and often, rather than aim a lot of complementary or even contradictory ideas at each other.

The Cannes buzz regarding Demi Moore is a different matter. The film wouldn’t work at all without her, probably, and doesn’t really work with her, because she’s so much better than her material. The technique and sly emotional detail Moore brings to “The Substance” is the film’s substance.

Column: Forget labels like ‘Dad TV,’ general audiences are broader than we think

As a producer of television, Amazon has had extraordinary success adapting the Harry Bosch book series by Michael Connelly, as well as the Jack Reacher book series by Lee Child. New seasons of both are expected sometime next year, and they are often referred to as “Dad TV” because of their stolid, no-baloney leads who rely on their patience and intelligence until it’s time to rely on some unflinching firepower.

It’s true, plenty of dads gravitate to these portrayals. Plenty of moms too. Also: People with no children. That’s because these shows are aimed at a general audience, which is a far more useful way to understand who is drawn to — and watching — different kinds of TV and film, writes Tribune TV and film critic Nina Metz.

The MCA presents Chicago Performs series at a museum facing big changes

With the Art Institute recently announcing it had secured a $75 million gift aimed at constructing a new building for modern art, eyes turned to Chicago’s smaller museum up the street dedicated to the subject. The Museum of Contemporary Art was created in 1967 in part to fill a gap left unattended by the Art Institute, conceived as a “place of experiment, a proving and testing ground, a laboratory,” said founding director Jan van der Marck in Time magazine that same year. “I want to show what is living in the minds of artists today.”

In 2024, the MCA is still thinking outside the box. The museum prioritizes living artists, positioning itself as a gathering space where the public can eat, work and socialize. Increasingly, the MCA is pulling away from the museum model of static paintings on white walls. But it is also coping with fewer resources, staff turnover and a unionization campaign.