Local leaders, lawmakers and residents are mourning the loss of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died in his home Monday at the age of 84.

Jackson will always be considered one of the giants of the Civil Rights Movement.

Zoom in: While he made his name on the global stage, he also spent decades on the ground in Chicago, fighting racism and intolerance with movements, protests and boycotts.

Zoom out: The more recent boycotts of large brands over social justice causes are possible because of the success Jackson had throughout his career.

Here are three of the biggest boycotts that shaped the city we live in:

1966: Operation Breadbasket

One of Jackson's first missions in Chicago was to shed light on how food companies like Jewel or Pepsi were not hiring Black people for jobs or management positions.

The result: According to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, Jackson procured over 2,000 jobs for Black workers and $15 million in economic activity for the Black community.

1982: ChicagoFest

Mayor Jane Byrne's city music and food festival was met with an Operation PUSH boycott over the lack of Black vendors at the city-run festival, which was a precursor to the Taste of Chicago.

• It also had to do with city politics, as Jackson was critical of Byrne's Department of Housing.

The result: Stevie Wonder backed out as headliner that year, and the boycott galvanized the Black community to get behind a Black candidate for mayor.

• Harold Washington beat Byrne the next year.

1985: WBBM-TV

Jackson led a boycott of Channel 2 after they removed Harry Porterfield from the anchor desk in favor of a Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson reunion. Operation PUSH was calling for more Black and female representation in reporting the news.

The result: WBBM-TV settled in 1986 and hired Chicago's first Black general manager, Jonathan Rodgers, and young anchor Lester Holt.

More boycotts

Pastor Stephen Thurston and the Rev. Janette Wilson's work with the Rev. Jesse Jackson started early.

The big picture: Thurston grew up playing at the Jackson house, and his grandfather was close with Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr. The King children used to stay at Thurston's grandparents' house when King was in Chicago.

• As a teenager, Wilson participated in Operation Breadbasket and marched on picket lines. She returned after law school to provide legal aid at Rainbow PUSH.

Flashback: Jackson's teaching methods were trial by fire, Wilson and Thurston told Axios last month.

• "It's 'Follow me.' It's 'Watch me.' He would take me on the road with him," Thurston recalled. "If you want to know him, you must travel with him," Wilson added.

The intrigue: Despite daily conversations with global and national leaders, Wilson said, Jackson was effective because he was driven by helping those most in need. Wilson recalled a trip to Mississippi in the '80s when they met a woman living in squalor, surrounded by cockroaches and drinking brown water.

• Jackson got her out of there, Wilson said. "He said, 'Behavior is shaped by the conditions, not by the people's attitudes so much. It's about what they are forced to live in and we must fight against that.'"

More thoughts on Jackson

Clergy are expected to enter the Broadview immigration facility today for the first time in months after a federal judge ordered DHS to let them in.

Why it matters: Religious leaders have been on the front lines in Chicago, Minneapolis and other cities in demanding justice for immigrants during the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement.

Driving the news: Ash Wednesday marks the start of Lent, considered one of the holiest times for Catholics and Christians.

Catch up quick: Clergy, including the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL), sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last November for denying them access to Broadview.

• DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Axios at that time that clergy were not allowed because Broadview was not technically a detention facility, where the practice is allowed.

The latest: A federal judge in Chicago issued a preliminary injunction last week, allowing CSPL and others to enter Broadview today to offer ashes and Communion.

State of play: About 3,000 people are expected to gather at 6pm tonight for a Mass and procession at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Melrose Park.

• The Mass will be celebrated by Chicago Archbishop Cardinal Blase Cupich.

Keep reading

💳 Chase Bank is discontinuing its Chicago Skyline debit card, upsetting customers. Current cardholders can use their cards until they expire, but new ones aren't being issued. (Block Club)

🎤 The Department of Homeland Security's top spokesperson, Tricia McLaughlin, is stepping down. (ABC 7)

🤑 The Bears are raising season ticket prices by an average of 13.5% for 2026. (Sun-Times)

🎸 Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are coming to the United Center on April 29. (Tribune)

👋 Hey, it's Justin! All this month, we've been showcasing sites that reflect Black history and culture in our great city.

Where am I today? Here's a hint:

• A skyscraper before its time
• One that survived King's fall
• A place that still holds our cash
• famous for live radio calls.

Guess here!

🗓️ Save the date! Several major candidates running in the 2026 midterms will join us on stage at The Hideout on March 11 for our first-ever "Midterm Madness" rapid-fire interview show.

The guests: Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi, Ald. Brendan Reilly, Lyons Township Assessor Pat Hynes, and perennial favorite Bob Fioretti.

Let's celebrate the election cycle together!

• Doors open at 6pm and the show runs from 6:30–8pm.
• It's free.

Tickets here!