The Illinois universities using Flock to surveil campus

Good morning, Chicago. ✶

🔎 Below: Five Illinois public universities use controversial Flock cameras for surveillance in hopes of combating crime and keeping campuses safe. We look into why some students and faculty are pushing back against the tech.

🗞️ Plus: The first violator of a new city ordinance, some can’t-miss picks for free jazz this month and more news you need to know below.

📝 Keeping score: The Cubs beat Atlanta, 8-4; the White Sox fell to the Guardians, 6-3.

🌧️ Today’s weather: Showers and thunderstorms with a high near 75.

⏱️: A 7-minute read

TODAY’S TOP STORIES 🔎

Illinois universities use Flock cams to surveil campus: records

Reporting by Lisa Kurian Philip

Flock U: As cities and colleges in Illinois and across the country cut ties with Flock Safety, a WBEZ review of contracts found that five of the state’s 12 public universities still work with the controversial surveillance tech company. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Illinois Chicago, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Western Illinois University and the University of Illinois Springfield have together spent more than $450,000 on Flock’s services since 2021, records show.

Key context: Flock’s automatic license plate readers use cameras and artificial intelligence to capture data about every passing vehicle, including plate numbers, make and model, dents and bumper stickers. That information is logged onto a database searchable by campus police and outside law enforcement.

The controversy: College leaders say the surveillance helps solve crimes and keep campuses and students safe. But Flock has come under public scrutiny following revelations that police officers have used the company’s cameras to stalk their exes. Data captured by Flock cameras have also led to wrongful arrests. At universities like UIC and Western Illinois University, students have started petitioning their schools to stop working with the company.

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HEALTH AND HOUSING ✶

Historic building is first to violate cooling ordinance

Reporting by Eunice Lee

New era: City officials say the historic Yale Building, 6565 S. Yale Ave., became the first to violate the city’s cooling ordinance this year when its chiller broke in late August. Records show the failed inspection occurred Aug. 31. The first hearing in the case was Sept. 2. Under the ordinance, landlords and building owners can be fined up to $1,000 per day, per violation.

Key context: Chicago’s cooling ordinance was established after the heat-related deaths of three elderly women at the James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park in 2022. The ordinance requires certain buildings — including nursing homes, housing for older persons, high-rises above 80 feet, and residential buildings with 100 or more units — to provide air conditioning in every unit, or maintain a designated air-conditioned common area for residents.

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ARTS AND CULTURE 🎨

Octavio Jones/For the Sun-Times

Artists build hub with Little Village spirit

Reporting by Ambar Colón

Plans maligned: Artists Daniel Silva, Mr. Pintamuro and Julio Anaya wanted Te-Qu, their new exhibition space and cultural hub, open in Little Village by the fall’s busy arts season. But their planned summer start was halted when the city denied them a business license, citing zoning reasons.

Pressing on: The Te-Qu team said the red tape won’t stop them from building on the neighborhood’s arts legacy. They’re planning several upcoming pop-ups and collaborations with neighboring businesses and street vendors along 26th Street, plus the launch of a rotating mural series — all with the hope of officially opening next month.

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MORE NEWS YOU NEED 🗞️

• Jury weighs fed’s case: Federal jurors are considering U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Luis Uribe’s fate after hearing days of arguments that he robbed and sexually assaulted four women in the suburbs in 2022.
• Ex-prison employee sentenced: Danny L. Spyker, a former federal prison employee in Thomson, Ill., was sentenced to more than three years in prison for sexually abusing two inmates, officials announced.
• Man charged in assaults: Zayer Picado-Sevilla faces felony charges for allegedly attacking two women and a teen girl during three separate Avondale incidents Friday, according to county prosecutors.
• Family wants name cleared: The Illinois Prisoner Review Board has scheduled an Oct. 6 hearing in Chicago for a posthumous pardon for Chester Weger, known as the “Starved Rock Killer” after his 1961 conviction in a woman’s death.
• Cop’s firing recommended: An appeals court panel has upheld a decision to fire Alex Wolinski, the Chicago police supervisor in charge of the botched raid in 2019 that led to social worker Anjanette Young being handcuffed in her home.
• Mayor’s win and concession: City Council’s Housing Committee narrowly approved Mayor Brandon Johnson’s newly revised tenants rights ordinance after he dropped a provision requiring landlords to make relocation payments to tenants evicted through no fault of their own.
• Ravinia’s $38M renovations: Ravinia Festival announced another series of renovations, this time to the Martin Theatre, the last original structure standing from when the 36-acre wooded park opened in 1904.
• Reeling’s big kickoff: The city’s LGBTQ+ International Film Festival opens Thursday with the likely Oscar contender, “La Bola Negra,” the first major gay film in Reeling’s 44-year history.

ROGER SIMON 1948-2026 ✶

• Remembering Roger Simon: As a beloved columnist for several publications, including the Sun-Times, Mr. Simon covered the dramatics of politics with humor and wit and made complex topics accessible. He died last week at age 78.

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ON WBEZ 91.5 FM 📻

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

• DIY bus benches: Members of a neighborhood group building their own wooden bus benches join the show to explain their non-city-sanctioned project.
• Children’s voting book: L’Oreal Thompson Payton, owner of bookstore Zora’s Place and author of “Violet Goes Voting,” discusses teaching civic engagement.

Say More with Mary Dixon and Patrick Smith

LISTEN LIVE 🎧

FROM THE PRESS BOX 🏈⚾🏒🏀

• Bears v. Vikings: The Ben Johnson-Brian Flores chess match is the best in the NFL, writes Patrick Finley.
• Cubs’ Sox fan club: Some Cubs players say they’re rooting for the Sox. “I think it would be cool to be Cubs-White Sox in the World Series,” Colin Rea said.
• Roster math and line combos: Here are five storylines to watch for as the Blackhawks’ fast-tracked training camp gets underway.
• NBA 2K27 Review: There’s a definite Chicago touch to NBA 2K27 with Derrick Rose one of the featured covers, but the depth of the game modes and storylines engulfs an entire basketball experience, writes Joe Cowley.

CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD 🌭

Today’s clue: Chicago native Chaka, whose album Chakzilla drops Friday

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BRIGHT ONE 🔆

Free jazz sets to catch this month

Reporting by Courtney Kueppers

Chicago has had an especially big year for jazz, beginning when the city hosted the UNESCO International Jazz Day in April. But local fans know September is the city’s true jazz month, with free festivals across town.

From Thursday through Sunday, the 27th annual Englewood Jazz Festival, founded by saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, will feature up-and-coming musicians, including members of the longstanding training ensemble, the Young Masters. The event will also celebrate all-time greats like John Coltrane, born 100 years ago.

Then, Sept. 26 and 27, the multi-venue Hyde Park Jazz Festival will ring in its 20th year.

We’ve rounded up 10 sets you won’t want to miss at these South Side festivals.

Our picks include: The Julius Tucker Trio and the Live the Spirit Residency Expanded Ensemble (Englewood Jazz Festival); plus, Orbert Davis’ sextet and a jazz fest anniversary band featuring trumpeter Marquis Hill, drummer Makaya McCraven, bassist Junius Paul and vibraphonist Joel Ross (Hyde Park Jazz Festival).

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YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️

Both of Chicago’s airports have again been ranked below average in JD Power’s airport customer satisfaction survey, with O’Hare tying for last in “mega airports” with New Jersey’s Newark Liberty Airport. So we want to know: What would you change or improve about Chicago’s airports? Be sure to tell us which airport you’re talking about.

Reply to this question via email (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.

Yesterday, we asked you: How do you feel about City Council’s potential new parking meter deal?

Here’s some of what you said, edited for length and clarity:

“It seems like keeping the rates reasonable should be part of the deal. And I’d much prefer that the city buy the contract and get the meters back under its control.” — Glenn Burkhardt

“I’m tired of deals the city makes. Their shortsightedness always makes them losers in the short and long run.” — Donald Smith

“I’m really impressed with the gains made by the city council team. Actually, I’m shocked! Could it be that government can be functional? The original deal has been an albatross. … The fact that city council members got together to negotiate a decent outcome is to be applauded.” — Kathleen Alaimo

“It’s great that the old parking deal is evolving, but it’s difficult to square ‘lucrative benefits for the city and motorists’ with important city goals to improve living conditions and reduce costs by moving away from private car travel.” — Melanie Eckner

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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Michael Lansu