Immigrant visa pause pains Illinois families: The Rundown
Good afternoon! It’s Wednesday, and I need to visit Holiday Club before it closes next month. Here’s what you need to know today.
1. Across continents, Illinois families remain separated by Trump’s immigrant visa halt
Like a lot of couples, music professor Mark Tonelli and his wife Luciana fell in love online. He was in the United States. She was in Brazil. After lots of trips back and forth and video calls lasting for hours, they eventually married in 2024. About a week after the wedding, Tonelli filed the petition to sponsor Luciana and his stepson for an immigrant visa.
As my colleague Alma Campos reports, Tonelli thought the case had reached a major milestone more than a year later, when the couple received an email saying they qualified for their final interview, the last step. Instead, that same day, the State Department halted immigrant visas for families like theirs.
Tonelli’s family is among those affected by the Trump administration’s Jan. 21 pause on immigrant visas for nationals from 75 countries the administration calls “high risk.” The move affects every category of immigrant visas, including those allowing U.S. citizens to legally bring a spouse, fiancé, child and other family members.
Immigrant rights advocates estimate at least 300,000 people in Illinois are affected. For families trying to reunite through legal immigration pathways, the result has been a stressful, confusing limbo that can cost thousands of dollars.
Nicole Hallett, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School and director of the Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, said the visa pause should be viewed as part of a wider set of actions aimed at narrowing legal pathways into the country. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Hogan said prosecutors plan to file a new charging document focused on the remaining misdemeanor counts against the four defendants, my colleague Jon Seidel writes for the Chicago Sun-Times.
Charged in the case are former congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh, Oak Park Village Trustee Brian Straw, 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson Michael Rabbitt and Andre Martin, a former member of Abughazaleh’s campaign staff. All four are involved in local Democratic politics.
The four are set to go to trial May 26, though today’s news could drastically change the course of the case, which revolves around events on the morning of Sept. 26 outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in west suburban Broadview. The four defendants are accused of joining a group that surrounded a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent’s vehicle, pushing, scratching and otherwise damaging it.
U.S. District Judge Perry late last week told prosecutors to bring with them unredacted copies of transcripts showing how prosecutors had explained the law in the case to grand jurors. By dropping the conspiracy count, the feds avoided having to share those transcripts. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Despite the seemingly long odds and the time it’s taking the Bears to make a decision, residents and business owners in Hammond, Indiana, remain hopeful the team will move to the Hoosier state.
Hammond resident Keith Degard told WBEZ he hopes the Bears will cross the state line, and neither the state nor the city should give up trying. He also bristles at the idea the team is just using Indiana as leverage in its negotiations.
“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime to lure an NFL franchise,” Degard said. “Look at the traffic it would generate from the city. They’re all just not driving through. They’re making stops and spending money.”
Retired Chicago firefighter Jose Moreno said Northwest Indiana could use the investment.
“They have a lot of room because the steel mills have closed. A lot of people are hurting from that. It would definitely benefit the residents from not only Hammond but Gary and so forth. Those are the areas that need it,” said Moreno, who lives on Chicago’s Southeast Side. “It will also help my area. People are hurting for jobs there as well.” [WBEZ]
After Gorman’s supporters packed a courtroom today while Jose Medina appeared for his arraignment before Judge Alfredo Maldonado, her father said the family isn’t “interested in political spin.” Gorman’s killing became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration enforcement because Medina is a Venezuelan immigrant.
“We are not interested in slogans,” Thomas Gorman said. “We are not interested in political spin. We are interested in only one thing: to make sure that this does not happen to another family.”
Medina remains held at Cook County Jail. His next court date in the murder case was set for June 1. [Chicago Sun-Times]
5. Herbie Hancock brings home to Chicago an international jazz concert that will stream to millions
Herbie Hancock is having a Chicago moment.
That was true in 1952, when he performed a Mozart concerto with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at just 11 years old. It was true a couple years later, when he fell in love with jazz as a student at Hyde Park Academy. And it was true in 1965, when he played two historic nights at the historic Old Town venue Plugged Nickel with Miles Davis.
As my colleague Erica Thompson reports, the legendary piano player will add another milestone to the list tomorrow during UNESCO International Jazz Day, which Hancock co-founded. He and fellow jazz icon Kurt Elling serve as co-artistic directors for the All-Star Global Concert at the Lyric Opera House, where they will perform alongside more than 40 other artists.
The show will be livestreamed on YouTube at yt.be/jazzday, and free tickets are available at chicagojazzalliance.org for a watch party at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts in Hyde Park.
The concert culminates a month of jazz programming in Chicago, a first-time host for the global celebration. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Here’s what else is happening
- A U.S. Supreme Court decision all but guts a law that protected the collective voting power of racial minorities when political maps are redrawn. [NPR]
- The U.S. will issue commemorative passports with President Donald Trump’s picture for America’s 250th birthday. [NPR]
- Former FBI Director James Comey made his first court appearance in a criminal case related to a photo he posted on social media last year. [AP]
- Uber is adding hotel bookings and vacation rentals to its app. [NBC News]
Oh, and one more thing …
The Chicago Critics Film Festival is unique in the cinema scene, arts contributor Bill Stamets writes, because the annual week of Music Box Theatre screenings is curated exclusively by film critics. Arguably the city’s most selective festival, it is the city’s smallest for a reason. The simplified schedule books only one feature or shorts program at a time.
Among the highlights is the “The Invite,” which kicks off the festival Friday. Director and star Olivia Wilde is scheduled to attend the 6:30 p.m. screening of a 35 mm print. She plays Angela, the wife of Joe (Seth Rogen). Their marriage is shaky, so they figure now is the best time to invite the dodgy couple upstairs, portrayed by Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton, for dinner. What could go wrong? Judging by the trailer, since the film was unavailable for preview, the get-together goes sideways. This screening is sold out, but the film, from ace distributor A24, hits select theaters on June 26.
You can see more of our recommended films in the link. [WBEZ/Chicago Sun-Times]
Tell me something good …
Along with this month’s jazz celebration, Chicago has no shortage of music events throughout the year. So I’m wondering, what is your favorite annual concert or festival?
David writes:
“My favorite annual event is the Fox Valley Folk Music and Storytelling Festival. It is held Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend every year. This year will be the 50th anniversary of the festival, September 6 & 7. The venue is Wheeler Park In Geneva, IL. There’s a main stage with a dozen or so performers or groups each day, smaller concert stages with hour-long themed performances by three performers or groups, a story-telling stage with rotating tellers, a teaching area, a kids activity area, music and craft vendors, food trucks, and more. Sunday evening after the last main stage show there is a community barn dance, followed by a session of spin-tingling tales as darkness descends. You’ll also find scattered jam sessions, both planned and spontaneous, so bring your own instrument. The festival is organized by the Fox Valley Folklore Society.
Full disclosure: My wife and I stumbled on the festival while out for a walk in 1982 and have returned every year since. I’ve been volunteering for the last 25 years and managing the performer merchandise tent since 2012, except the COVID years when the festival was on-line only.”
Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.
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