Axios Chicago

October 29, 2024
📉 It's Tuesday. On this day in 1929, the stock market crashed leading to the Great Depression.
- 🌞 Today's weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 81.
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🎂 Happy birthday to our Axios Chicago members Andrew Ericson, Daniel Cotter and William Carr!
🚧 Situational awareness: Up to three southbound lanes of DuSable Lake Shore Drive will be closed from 9am to 4pm today between Hollywood and LaSalle as the city completes resurfacing work.
Today's newsletter is 947 words — a 3.5-minute read.
1 big thing: Bears roasted after loss
The Bears lost in humiliating fashion on Sunday, but a player's behavior late in the game has embarrassed fans more than the actual loss.
Driving the news: With the Bears one play away from victory, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson was caught taunting the D.C. crowd.
- Stevenson was yelling towards the crowd when the ball was snapped. He didn't realize the play had started, putting him out of position as Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels heaved the ball downfield.
- Stevenson then absent-mindedly tipped the ball up in the air, where Commanders receiver Noah Brown caught it for the last-minute game-winning touchdown.
State of play: His undisciplined behavior and head coach Matt Eberflus' head-scratching defense call have analysts and fans calling for action.
Here's what could happen this week:
Stevenson is fined: Stevenson could be fined by the league for his taunts, but also by the Bears for his lack of focus on the final play.
- He apologized to his teammates yesterday.
The Bears (or NFL) suspend Stevenson: It's hard to see what grounds the league would take to suspend the player, but the team could take it into their own hands.
The Bears cut Stevenson: Fans are out for blood, wanting the Bears to release the cornerback. He's still on his rookie contract, so it wouldn't be a huge salary cap hit.
- Yes, but: Stevenson, who was drafted in the second round, is too good to cut.
The Bears fire Eberflus: Sunday's game puts Eberflus back on the hot seat. The ugly last-minute loss hurts the team in the standings, and the undisciplined ending is damaging the team's reputation.
The Bears do nothing: This is the odds-on favorite move. The Bears aren't an organization moved by sentiment. They have a long history of not holding players and coaches accountable for losses and ugly storylines.
2. Scoop: Brad Edwards moves on from journalism
CBS 2 former anchor Brad Edwards has reemerged with a new career, months after quietly disappearing from the Chicago television station.
The big picture: Edwards, who most recently was anchoring digital newscasts, has been missing from the CBS 2 broadcast since June without explanation.
Driving the news: After months of radio silence and rumors swirling about his sudden departure, the award-winning anchor and reporter tells Axios that he was let go from CBS and is now leaving journalism for a new venture.
- He is starting BE Media Inc., a communications firm with longtime politico Pat Brady and adviser Lisa Berron.
Zoom out: CBS' parent company Paramount has laid off thousands of workers in 2024.
- Locally, in addition to Edwards, sports anchor Marshall Harris was let go, while morning anchor Ryan Baker was shuffled back to the 10pm news to cover sports.
Flashback: Edwards, the first openly gay main anchor in Chicago, started at CBS 2 in 2012 as a general assignment reporter and worked his way up to the anchor desk.
- He was replaced as the main 10pm news anchor by Joe Donlon in 2022 so he could anchor the station's digital efforts.
The bottom line: The mystery of where Edwards may be solved, but Chicago television news will be different without the enigmatic anchor and reporter.
3. Chart of the Day: Your Halloween forecast
As is often the case, this year's trick-or-treating will be chilly.
What to expect: Thursday temperatures will be warmer during the day but could sink to the upper 40s by night.
Zoom out: Fall temperatures have fallen an average of 2.5 degrees since 1970, and in Chicago, that number is even greater, according to Climate Central.
Yes, but: Over the last 50-plus years, our temps on Halloween night have gone up by three degrees.
The bottom line: For this Halloween, be prepared to wear sweats or a coat over your carefully planned costume. Bummer.
4. Tips and links: Pizza nom nom ... nominees
🏆 Jean Banchet Awards officials announced finalists in 13 Chicago dining categories, including Best Pizza. (Axios)
💰 Facing a $1 billion deficit and City Council unrest, Chicago leaders may struggle to pass a budget this year. (Tribune)
✋🏽 Southwest Side community groups want Mayor Brandon Johnson to halt a permit review for a scrap metal shredder seeking to operate in Pilsen. (Sun-Times)
5. Bobbi Brown celebrates Jones Road store
Wilmette-raised makeup artist and entrepreneur Bobbi Brown is coming home to celebrate her cosmetics line Jones Road Beauty.
Catch up quick: Brown sold her Bobbi Brown Cosmetics company to Estee Lauder in 1995 for nearly $75 million.
- As soon as her noncompete clause was lifted in 2020 she started Jones Road.
Why it matters: Brown started Jones Road to offer products that create a more natural look that became popular during the pandemic.
Driving the news: On Wednesday, she is hosting a block party at the Bucktown Jones Road store, which is one of only a few locations in the U.S.
Zoom in: Some of the company's best-known products include "Miracle Balm" meant to give a dewy look and "What the Foundation," which is similar to a tinted moisturizer for lighter coverage rather than caked on foundation.
What they're saying: "I'd much rather use makeup to enhance what's good than say, 'Oh, let me look and try to change the way I look,'" Brown tells Axios.
What's next: The Jones Road Block Party runs 12:30-2 pm Wednesday at 1655 N. Damen.
- There will be freebies.
6. Tourney: Eight terrible name changes remain
All this week, we are on a journey to crown the worst name change in Chicago history.
We started yesterday with 16, and today we are down to eight.
The biggest win: Willis/Sears Tower and Macy's/Marshall Field's name changes easily won their first-round matchups.
Most surprising: In what can only be described as an upset, the CIBS/Shubert Theatre name change easily defeated the Allstate Arena/Rosemont Horizon name change.


This sets the stage for some intriguing second-round matchups!
Vote here! We'll keep the polls open until 4pm.
Edited by Lindsey Erdody.
🍪 Carrie is doing her civic duty and telling you that voters get a free brown butter chocolate chip cookie at Daisies on Election Day!
👚 Monica is trying to figure out what to wear to the Carl Sandburg Awards this week. She's marching in her first Parade of Authors on stage.
🧀 Justin loves food writer Dennis Lee's exploration of the Portillo's cheesy beef sandwich he wrote about last week. Dennis takes it to another level! Kudos!
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