A city-sanctioned ‘teen takeover’

Good morning, Chicago. ✶

🔎 Below: When teens gathered for a permitted beach party last month, adult volleyball players disrupted it. Teens say the run-in reinforced the message that they can still follow the rules and be made to feel like they don’t belong in Chicago’s public spaces.

🗞️ Plus: White Sox fans top Cubs fans in recent ballpark arrests, a new era for public transportation begins and more news you need to know below.

📝 Keeping score: The Cubs fell to the Brewers, 8-6; the White Sox lost to the Pirates, 4-2; the Fire tied Inter Miami, 1-1.

🌥️ Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy with a high near 80.

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⏱️: An 8-minute read

TODAY’S TOP STORY 🔎

The city held a ‘teen takeover’ of the beach. Here’s how it went.

Reporting by Somer Van Benton

For Chicago’s teens: On Aug. 19, more than 160 teenagers were hanging out, eating food and taking photos at North Avenue Beach — a party just for the city’s youth, thrown by nonprofit Project Exploration and the Mayor’s Office of Education, Youth and Human Services. The mayor’s office invested more than $10,000 for food, transportation, a video game truck, a handwashing station, a portable toilet, tables and chairs.

Key context: Viral social media posts and news coverage showing large teen trends and “takeovers” have fueled debates about parent accountability ordinances, snap curfews, escort policies and other approaches to manage the gatherings. Project Exploration employs several teens who led the organizing of the Aug. 19 beach party while adults handled the logistics. City officials offered support, saying they want more safe spaces for teens to gather.

Adults dampen fun: Youth organizers said it’s a challenge to both create safe spaces and make teens feel welcome. Aug. 19’s party was interrupted by adult volleyball players who refused to alter their plans for the city-sanctioned gathering, despite signs around the court and adult organizers and teens asking the volleyballers to wait until after the event ended. The players set up anyway, leaving some teens feeling discouraged and unwelcome in a public space they had gone through the proper channels to reserve.

Key quote: “There were absolutely zero fights, there were zero weapons, there were zero altercations,” said Janeicia Williams, who helped oversee the event. “Young people — especially young Black people — are not a threat to the peace that we see here every day.”

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TRANSPORTATION 🚆

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times file

NITA to meet for the first time, marking new era for local public transportation

Reporting by David Struett

NITA ride? The Northern Illinois Transit Authority’s board meets for the first time Thursday, officially launching the agency tasked with transforming Chicago-area public transit. NITA replaces the Regional Transportation Authority, which had governed CTA, Metra and Pace since 1974.

Key context: The reshaping of public transit began last year when lawmakers passed the NITA bill, a last-minute, $1.5 billion bailout to save the agencies from service cuts. The NITA law also restructured transit governance, aiming to elevate CTA, Metra and Pace into world-class services — the NITA board has 20 directors appointed by the governor, mayor of Chicago, Cook County board president and the five collar counties.

What will it do? NITA has several requirements and a timeline to complete them, including coordinating service — and unifying fares — between agencies, voting on whether to create a transit police department, deploying “transit ambassadors,” mandating electric buses and more.

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PUBLIC SAFETY ⚾

Chicago ballparks have seen over 100 arrests since 2021, with the White Sox beating out the Cubs

Reporting by Sophie Sherry

Brawl-game: Since the start of the 2021 season, at least 104 people have been arrested during baseball games at Wrigley Field and Rate Field, according to Chicago police data. There have been 56 arrests at the home of the White Sox, compared to 48 at the home of the Cubs, the data shows.

Box park, Wrigley wrangling: Those arrested have been charged with battering fans and security guards, running onto the playing fields and repeatedly trespassing at Wrigley, among other offenses.

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MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️

• Loop housing milestone: City and project leaders on Wednesday celebrated the opening of the Bellwether Residences, the first office-to-residential building conversion to be completed under the city’s La Salle Street Corridor Revitalization program. The city aims to add more than 1,000 apartments to the area by developing vacant office spaces.
• Border Patrol agent’s trial begins: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer Luis Uribe is accused of using his gun and badge during attacks on four women in the suburbs in 2022. A jury heard opening arguments in his trial Wednesday.
• Ald. O’Shea calls it quits: Bemoaning how the job of a City Council member has changed, Ald. Matt O’Shea announced this week that he will not be seeking reelection after four terms in the 19th Ward.
• Casino controversy: During a City Council committee hearing, Bally’s said it can deliver a $1.7 billion casino and entertainment complex, but has slowed construction to protest video gambling terminals that could “cannibalize” casino revenue. One alderperson tried to call the gambling giant’s bluff; another called the hearing a “circus.”
• Kiss-cam saga: In Lyons Township, the elected board held a raucous public meeting, its first since footage from surveillance cameras surfaced showing Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek kissing Lyons clerk Elyse Hoffenberg at the township’s Countryside offices.
• Open House Chicago lineup: The Chicago Architecture Center has released the lineup for this year’s roaming festival, adding 20 new sites to tour. Among them: the Muddy Waters Mojo Museum, Chinese American Service League Kam Liu Building and the Cadillac Palace Theatre.

WATCH: METER DEAL EXPLAINED ▶️

Chicago’s parking meter deal has roiled and perplexed residents for nearly 20 years. Journalist Kieran Stover looks back on the deal’s origins and where we are today. Tap above to watch.

MUST-READ COMMENTARY 🗣️

ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻

In the Loop with Sasha-Ann Simons, 9 a.m.

• Chicago’s climate resilience: According to a recent report, Chicago is the most climate-resilient big city in the world. Experts stop by to discuss.
• Brick-by-brick: Will Quam, founder of Brick of Chicago, discusses his passion for the city’s brick buildings.

Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith, 10 a.m.

• How does your job protect your health? A corporate wellness counselor and callers weigh in.

LISTEN LIVE 🎧

PRESS BOX 🏈👟⚾🏀

• Fallout after alleged racism: Dozens of students walked out of Lincoln-Way East High School in Frankfort on Wednesday after allegations surfaced that classmates made racist comments toward Homewood-Flossmoor High School students. H-F officials said they were weighing whether to continue to compete against Lincoln-Way East.
• Pirates-Sox scuffle: The White Sox’ Sam Antonacci was unapologetic after a hard slide that saw his elbow make contact with the Pirates’ Brandon Lowe, and the benches cleared in a tense confrontation.
• Bears futures: What’s the best-case scenario for the 2026 Bears as they try to top last season’s wild ride? Jason Lieser considers the question in his latest.
• Cubs confidence: Amid bullpen panic, the Cubs say they “still have all the faith” in Jacob Webb, and others, to recover in time for playoffs.
• Finding her path: Now on her fourth team in three years, the Sky’s Kate Martin is still figuring out who she is as a player. Coach Tyler Marsh thinks she can become more than a three-point shooter.

CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭

Today’s clue: Muddy Waters ___ Museum (Kenwood spot added to the Open House Chicago roster)
PLAY NOW

BRIGHT ONE 🔆

Garfield Park Conservatory fest embraces roots as celebration of ambient music, plant life

Reporting by Selena Fragassi

Plantasia is the one time every year when the greenhouse turns into a house party. Held at Garfield Park Conservatory on Thursday and Friday, it’s a two-day celebration of ambient and electronic music set among palm trees and succulents that some believe is just as much for plants as it is for the people.

“I do believe plants have certain receptors to vibration,” said performer Makaya McCraven, “and communication through vibration and connection is part of the intangibles of sound and music.”

The local jazz luminary will headline the final day of Plantasia, which is now in its eighth year. But the roots of the event and this intersection between music and horticulture go back decades to Mort Garson’s 1976 electronic album made for plants: “Mother Earth’s Plantasia: Warm earth music for plants … and the people that love them.”

While the first year of Plantasia was wholly devoted to recreating Garson’s soundscape, the program has since expanded to welcome ambient and experimental artists of all flavors performing original works.

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YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️

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Editor: Satchel Price