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Afternoon Briefing

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Good afternoon, Chicago.

A federal judge rejected defense attorneys’ argument that the government was conducting a vindictive prosecution of four local political figures for their alleged misconduct outside the Broadview processing center at the height of Operation Midway Blitz last fall.

Those defendants, known as the “Broadview Six” — now four after prosecutors dismissed charges against a garden store worker and a onetime candidate for the Cook County Board — represent the final high-profile criminal case to result from the federal government’s sweeping arrest campaign against immigrants without legal status in and around Chicago that also ensnared hundreds of U.S. citizens. So far, the U.S. attorney’s office has failed to secure a single conviction against protesters and others accused of assaulting or threatening agents.

Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.

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news
Etta Davis, right, speaks to the press outside the Chicago Housing Authority offices on April 7, 2026, to announce the Lugenia Burns Hope Center is filing an Open Meetings Act lawsuit against the CHA in hopes of rescinding the recent CEO vote. Davis is with the Lugenia Burns Hope Center and is the vice president of the local advisory council with Dearborn Homes. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Activists threaten lawsuit over Chicago Housing Authority CEO vote

A group of community activists announced today they plan to sue the Chicago Housing Authority over last month’s CEO vote, the latest turmoil facing the agency after it went 16 months without a permanent leader.

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business
Glen Tullman, left, and David Rockwell inside The Hand & The Eye, 100 E. Ontario St. in Chicago, on April 3, 2026. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

Will The Hand & The Eye, Chicago’s new luxe mansion of magic, save the Magnificent Mile?

There are a lot of maybes involved in The Hand & The Eye, the 36,000-square-foot magic-themed entertainment and dining complex set to open this month inside the distinctively eccentric McCormick Mansion on the corner of Ontario and Rush streets alongside the struggling Magnificent Mile.

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sports
Michigan head coach Dusty May celebrates with his team after defeating UConn, 69-63, in the NCAA title game on April 6, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Column: Fab finish for Michigan as the Wolverines end the Big Ten’s national title drought

The Big Ten had waited 26 long years to win a national championship in men’s basketball. But that legendary drought finally ended yesterday at Lucas Oil Stadium when Michigan held off UConn 69-63 in the NCAA Tournament championship game for its first title since 1989.

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eat. watch. do.
Lupe Fiasco performs at Riot Fest in Chicago’s Douglass Park on Sept. 17, 2021. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Lupe Fiasco and Two Friends will play Fire postgame concerts at Soldier Field

The Grammy-winning hip hop artist Lupe Fiasco will headline a concert on May 23, following the Fire’s match against Toronto FC.

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nation & world
A first responder leaves the site of a strike that, according to a security official at the scene, destroyed half of the Khorasaniha Synagogue and nearby residential buildings in Tehran, Iran, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

President Donald Trump warns a ‘whole civilization will die tonight’ if a deal with Iran isn’t reached

President Donald Trump threatened today that a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran fails to meet his latest deadline to strike a deal that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz, while the Islamic Republic urged young people to form human chains around power plants and other potential targets.

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