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  "path": "/wbez-newsletter/2026/02/17/the-rundown-chicagoans-mourn-rev-jesse-jackson",
  "publishedAt": "2026-02-17T21:45:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.wbez.org",
  "textContent": "<p><i>Good afternoon! It’s Tuesday, and I’m rushing to finish reading “Wuthering Heights” before watching the movie adaptation this weekend. Here’s what you need to know today.</i></p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"http://wbez.org/obituary/2026/02/17/jesse-jackson-embodied-era-civil-rights-leadership-natalie-moore\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>1. Chicagoans are mourning Rev. Jesse Jackson, a symbol of Black politics and Black America</u></b></a></p><p>Jackson may have been the most recognizable civil rights icon the past half century. But as Natalie Moore writes for WBEZ, his journey always led Jackson right back to Chicago’s South Side, the home base of different iterations of his coalition, today Rainbow PUSH in the Kenwood neighborhood. For decades, his legendary Saturday convenings and their live broadcasts, complete with choirs and guest speakers, captured the zeitgeist of issues facing Black people.</p><p>Jackson’s operation has produced scholarships for youth, pressured Wall Street and other corporations and demanded more from the tech industry. The result has been corporations investing in minority-owned firms and Black board members on Silicon Valley companies. His civil rights message evolved from demands for desegregation in public spaces and voting rights in the 1960s to those calling for racial economic justice in recent years.</p><p>Jackson died Tuesday at age 84, his family said in a statement. In 2017, he revealed he had Parkinson’s disease, but the family said in 2025 that he had progressive supranuclear palsy, a neurological disease that can be misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"http://wbez.org/obituary/2026/02/17/jesse-jackson-embodied-era-civil-rights-leadership-natalie-moore\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>WBEZ</u></a>]</p><p>Jackson’s supporters, from those who picketed with him against unfair hiring practices to churchgoers and those who saw him as family, said he would be missed — but his legacy would live on. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2026/02/17/jesse-jackson-chicago-remembers\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p>Funeral arrangements and a celebration of life will be announced in the coming days, according to the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago/2026/02/17/what-we-know-rev-jesse-jacksons-death-services\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/business/2026/02/17/thomas-pritzker-resigns-hyatt-hotels-jeffrey-epstein-emails\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>2. Thomas Pritzker resigned from Hyatt Hotels’ board</u></b></a></p><p>The news comes months after recently released documents show convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein exchanged at least 20 emails with Pritzker, Gov. JB Pritzker’s cousin, for years after Epstein’s 2008 plea deal on sex crimes charges.</p><p>“My job and responsibility is to provide good stewardship,” Pritzker said in a news release yesterday. “Good stewardship also means protecting Hyatt, particularly in the context of my association with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, which I deeply regret. I exercised terrible judgment in maintaining contact with them, and there is no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner. I condemn the actions and the harm caused by Epstein and Maxwell and I feel deep sorrow for the pain they inflicted on their victims.”</p><p>Pritzker has not been accused of any wrongdoing or been named in any investigation into Epstein’s crimes.</p><p>In email exchanges, Pritzker and Epstein remarked on current events and made plans to see each other, according to a review of some of the 20,000 pages of documents. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/business/2026/02/17/thomas-pritzker-resigns-hyatt-hotels-jeffrey-epstein-emails\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/springfield/2026/02/17/formerly-incarcerated-celebrate-passage-of-illinois-clean-slate-act\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>3. Formerly incarcerated people are celebrating the passage of Illinois’ Clean Slate Act</u></b></a></p><p>Starting in 2029, nearly 2 million Illinoisans with nonviolent criminal histories could have their records sealed automatically under a new law aimed at giving past offenders a second chance, Matt Trunfio writes for the Chicago Sun-Times.</p><p>The law passed the Legislature with bipartisan support and will not include crimes such as murder, sex offenses, human trafficking, drunk driving or domestic violence. Of the 2.2 million adults in Illinois with a criminal record, an estimated 1.74 million would have their records fully or partially sealed two to three years after completing their punishment, as long as no more offenses are committed.</p><p>Critics argue the bill’s implementation will cost the state $20 million over the next five years. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/springfield/2026/02/17/formerly-incarcerated-celebrate-passage-of-illinois-clean-slate-act\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/weather/2026/02/16/chicago-forecast-warm-weather-record-high-temperature-monday\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>4. Record temps sent Chicagoans outdoors — and to car wash lines</u></b></a></p><p>Many people used yesterday’s warm weather to turn their cars from salty reminders of winter to shiny, spring-ready vehicles, my colleague Nader Issa reports.</p><p>“It’s a vacation day,” Denise Cameron said of the unseasonably warm Presidents Day as she waited for her car at Bert’s Car Wash in West Town. “Everything’s nice — when your car is cleaned and your house is cleaned, everything is good.”</p><p>The beginning of this week is giving the city a short reprieve from a snowy and cold winter that saw a 20-day stretch of subfreezing temperatures — the longest in almost two decades — and several snowstorms.</p><p>If the weather stays on the warmer side, it’s possible Monday through Thursday could all hit the 60s. That would be the warmest few February days since 2017, when temps hit the high 60s and 70s for four days. Alas, even more snow could be in store by Friday, according to the National Weather Service. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://chicago.suntimes.com/weather/2026/02/16/chicago-forecast-warm-weather-record-high-temperature-monday\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/food-drink/2026/02/12/polish-paczki-cafe-chicago-paczki-day\" target=\"_blank\" ><b><u>5. At Polish Pączki Cafe, tradition is the secret ingredient</u></b></a></p><p>Preparation for Fat Thursday — not a typo — starts the morning the day before, when the restaurant on the Northwest Side pauses regular service and makes a few thousand handmade pączki over 36 hours straight.</p><p>The original filling — a mix of plum, rose and raspberry marmalades imported from Poland — is hand-folded into the dough before frying, rather than injected afterward.</p><p>“Last year [the line] stretched all the way to Harlem [Avenue],” one customer, Michał Kąsek, said of Fat Thursday.</p><p>Poles in Chicago and in Poland eat pączki throughout the year, with many bakeries, delis and supermarkets offering a variety of fillings and glazes. But the real celebration is on Tłusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday), which precedes America’s Pączki Day (Fat Tuesday), and is traditionally a time to consume all fats and sugar before Lent. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/food-drink/2026/02/12/polish-paczki-cafe-chicago-paczki-day\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><b>Here’s what else is happening</b></p><ul class=\"rte2-style-ul\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-inline-start:48px;\" id=\"rte-c486ab03-0c46-11f1-9477-01f417f62ee9\"><li>U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him, a federal judge ruled. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://apnews.com/article/abrego-garcia-immigration-ice-ec79dc6e073493ec8a8284fa32c7a2fb?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_top_pages\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>AP</u></a>]</li><li>Former President Barack Obama shut down alien buzz and said there is no evidence they’ve made contact with Earth. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://apnews.com/article/obama-aliens-podcast-area-51-a23f03ebb1b4c3009415b20bec3df26b?__vfz=medium%3Dstandalone_top_pages\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>AP</u></a>]</li><li>U.S. women’s figure skaters could’ve been rivals. Instead, they’re the “Blade Angels.” [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/02/17/nx-s1-5716204/olympic-figure-skating-women-glenn-liu-levito\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>NPR</u></a>]</li><li>The stage adaptation of “Hamnet” is playing at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/in-the-loop-with-sasha-ann-simons/2026/02/16/from-passion-to-birth-to-grief-hamnet-play-hits-chicago-shakespeare-theater-stage\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>WBEZ</u></a>]</li></ul><p><b>Oh, and one more thing …</b></p><p>Since opening in November, a 600-square-foot space in Irving Park has been home to people looking to slow down thanks to wooden tools used to spin raw wool into yarn, my colleague Mariah Rush reports.</p><p>Inclement Craft, 3436 W. Irving Park Road, is a fine fiber retailer and studio space that has created its own community for people, from experienced spinners and fiber artists to those curious about working with yarn. The studio frequently hosts classes, such as Handspinning 101, and events like indigo dye parties.</p><p>The fiber arts have gained more popularity, particularly after the pandemic, as the trend of an analog life — less phones and more human experiences — gains traction this year. [<a class=\"Link\" href=\"https://www.wbez.org/business/2026/02/17/irving-park-inclement-studio-visitors-spinning-wool-yarn-fiber\" target=\"_blank\" ><u>Chicago Sun-Times</u></a>]</p><p><b>Tell me something good …</b></p><p>Pączki Day is this week. Where is your favorite spot in the Chicago area to get this traditional sweet treat?</p><p>Ron writes:</p><p>“Our favorite spot for paczki is Bennison’s Bakery in Evanston! A paczki about as big as your fist, loaded with custard, blueberry, raspberry, lemon or other fruit jellies, and sprinkled with sugar or lathered on top with chocolate. They’ve perfected the recipe, and make the most delicious on the North Shore!”</p><p>Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.</p>",
  "title": "Chicagoans mourn Rev. Jesse Jackson: The Rundown",
  "updatedAt": "2026-02-17T21:45:02.260Z"
}