Daywatch: Lawmakers to propose merging CTA, Metra and Pace

Good morning, Chicago.

The Chicago area’s public bus and rail systems would be combined under a measure Illinois lawmakers are expected to introduce, which would eliminate the CTA, Metra and Pace as separate agencies.

The legislation comes as complaints have mounted over the Chicago Transit Authority’s struggles to provide frequent, reliable and safe service, and days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker called for “an evolution of the leadership” at the CTA. But it is linked to an earlier report laying out recommendations about what Chicago-area transit could look like in the future, and marks a decision to pursue the more comprehensive of two options outlined in the report to overhaul oversight of public transportation.

The proposal is part of a broader look at transit funding, as the region’s public transit agencies face a combined $730 million budget hole once federal COVID-19 relief funding starts running out, which could be as soon as 2025. Transit agencies have warned failure to plug the financial hole could lead to catastrophic service cuts and fare increases, and the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning was tasked by the Illinois General Assembly with developing recommendations to overhaul transit, which were delivered to lawmakers in December.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sarah Freishtat.

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The next item on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s progressive agenda: A new Bears stadium. Will his coalition embrace it?

Chicago’s progressive movement has long championed social justice interests, from good government advocates to labor rabble-rousers, police abolitionists and public education reformers.

Now, Mayor Brandon Johnson hopes to shoehorn a wealthy new group into the fold: the Chicago Bears.

• True public cost of Bears stadium would be billions more over time

Community mourns slain Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca at visitation

More than two hundred police officers, relatives and members of the public stood in line Sunday outside Blake-Lamb Funeral Home in Oak Lawn waiting for Chicago police Officer Luis Huesca’s visitation services to begin.

Huesca, 30, was shot and fatally wounded driving home from work April 21 in Gage Park while in uniform. Late Friday night, CPD announced a suspect in the case, and a judge signed off on a warrant for the arrest of Xavier Tate Jr.

Chicago voter turnout in March was second lowest in 80 years for a presidential primary

With low enthusiasm and both presidential nominees all but confirmed before Illinois’ primary Election Day even dawned, turnout for the March 19 election was the second-lowest for a presidential primary in Chicago for at least the last 80 years.

6 months after Illinois ended cash bail, jail populations are down as courts settle into new patterns

Newly released data from the Cook County courts offers the first glimpse of detention outcomes, though experts caution that it’s still early to compare rates of court appearances and reoffending before and after the law.

Migrant arrests are up, but they’re rarely accused of violent felonies

The analysis of crimes since Aug. 31, 2022, when Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, began busing asylum-seekers to Chicago, shows that as more migrants have arrived, the number of their arrests has increased. But they’re typically picked up for traffic infractions and thefts, and any misdeeds they’re committing do not appear to have fueled a crime wave.

Illinois lawmakers consider measures aimed at making mental health care more accessible

A bill introduced by state Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, a former social worker who represents a chunk of Chicago’s Northwest Side and chairs the House’s Mental Health and Addiction Committee, is designed to encourage more behavioral health providers to enroll in commercial insurance networks and, in turn, reduce costs for some seeking their services.

The bill’s language was crafted with help from Illinois-based mental health organizations, such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness’ Chicago chapter and the nonprofit social service agency Thresholds, which treats severe mental health and substance use disorders.

86% of Great Lakes litter is plastic, a 20-year study shows. And the plastic is ‘just getting smaller and smaller.’

Using data from more than 14,000 beach cleanups over 20 years, a new report from the nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes found that 86% of litter entering the Great Lakes in a given year is either partially or fully composed of plastic. Previous estimates and computer simulations indicated that 22 million pounds of plastic debris entered the lakes annually, at that time making up 80% of shoreline litter.

Column: Dream of what Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze can do as rookies — but the story is the Chicago Bears’ full roster

It’s easy to get quickly carried away imagining what Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze can accomplish at the outset of their careers with the Bears even when attempting to zero in on what’s realistic considering the inherent challenges for rookies at each position, writes Brad Biggs.

• Caleb Williams is his ‘authentic self’ on and off the field. And the QB plans to use his confidence to lead the Bears to greatness.

• Who did the Bears select in the 2024 NFL draft? Meet the 5-player class.

Candace Parker, a 3-time WNBA champion and 2-time league MVP, announces her retirement

Parker, a two-time league MVP, announced in a social media post on Sunday she’s ending her career after 16 seasons. She played her first 13 seasons in the league with the Los Angeles Sparks.

After publishing White House tapes, the Tribune told Nixon his time was up

On April 30, 1974, the Tribune’s jet landed at Meigs Field on the lakefront instead of Midway Airport on the Southwest Side so its cargo could be delivered to Tribune Tower more quickly.

The Tribune was going for a big scoop. The airplane carried transcripts of secret tape recordings of White House conversations that President Richard M. Nixon had announced would be released on May 1.

• Vintage Chicago Tribune: The paper’s role in the demise of Richard Nixon’s presidency after Watergate

Biblioracle: Netflix’s ‘Ripley’ does justice to Patricia Highsmith’s book

“Ripley,” written and directed by Steven Zaillian, and starring Andrew Scott, demolished John Warner’s skepticism. It is a stunning success in terms of transferring the spirit and impact of the book to the screen.

• ‘Ripley’ review: A remake of ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ has a terrific performance at its center, but lacks heat

Restaurant news: Umaga Bakehouse, a reimagined Filipino bakery, among 9 openings in Chicago

Buttery soft ensaymadas, longanisa-stuffed empanadas and purple ube horchata are among the dozens of different items at a new Filipino bakery in Chicago, if you can get them.

Umaga Bakehouse celebrated its grand opening with lines out the door and sold-out shelves in the Mayfair neighborhood on April 20.