Morning
Chicago
Thursday, July 17th, 2025
Good morning, Chicago. Here's your local news at a glance for Thursday, the 17th of July.
CRIME NEWS
- ➤ Kenneth Kilberger, 56, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to defrauding over $3 million in sales tax from Denny’s restaurants across the region, is seeking to have his conviction sealed despite Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul opposing the request because it may block future disciplinary action (he faces potential fines and loss of his CPA license). Daily Herald
CULTURE NEWS
- ➤ At the end of the 1893 World’s Fair, local groups came together to form the Columbian Museum in Jackson Park, a building that preserved fair memories with donated artifacts and evolving collections. Community advocates later fought to save the structure, and it grew into a cultural landmark for natural history + science. Hyde Park Herald
- ➤ Bronzeville’s Morning Star Baptist Church was named a Chicago landmark after City Council voted unanimously last month. The 113-year-old building at 3993 S. King Dr.—a converted auto shop with deep cultural roots—is now protected from changes and can access restoration funding. Hyde Park Herald
- ➤ EXP, a 26,000-square-foot immersive entertainment destination, will open in Rosemont’s Pearl District on Sept. 25 — a project developed with PHI Studio — to offer virtual reality, augmented reality and interactive exhibits, including experiences that let visitors explore the Great Pyramid of Giza and travel through 3.5 billion years; city officials expect the venue to draw a quarter million people each year. Daily Herald
GOVERNMENT NEWS
- ➤ Prospect Heights officials approved a change to the property line between an office building and a demolished hotel site so Sky Harbour can build eight hangars at Chicago Executive Airport—this adjustment keeps parking access for Aviation Plaza. The project will begin with four hangars later this year pending a final review by the city engineer and a Class 6B tax incentive recommendation from Cook County—steps that clear longstanding property issues. Daily Herald
HEALTH NEWS
- ➤ Bonnie Dervis said her husband Greg—who needed urgent brain surgery—was treated in a Dominican Republic hospital on July 8 but his essential medical records have not been released to arrange a medical flight home. Family friends are raising funds to cover his care while officials and insurers work on transferring him back to the U.S. Daily Herald
TODAY'S FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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