Good afternoon, Chicago.
After another long holiday weekend that saw scores of people killed or wounded by gunfire — many of them children — city leaders gathered at Chicago Police headquarters this morning to once again decry the city’s entrenched violence and call for accountability for those who carried out the shootings.
More than 100 people were shot in Chicago between July 4 and the end of the holiday weekend.
Nineteen people were killed, according to Chicago police. Among them: a brazen daytime shooting in Greater Grand Crossing on Thursday left two women and an 8-year-old boy, Bryson Orr, dead.
Mayor Brandon Johnson stressed that his administration has recently sought more federal funding to address root causes of violence, but still called for punishment for those who make “a choice to kill.”
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.
Subscribe to more newsletters | Puzzles & Games | Daily horoscope | Ask Amy
![Alicia Perkins, center, holds balloons during a balloon release at a memorial for her relative, Jayden Perkins, a 11-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in his home on March 13. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)](https://i0.wp.com/www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/CTC-L-jayden-perkins-memorial-30_184898588.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
In high-profile Jayden Perkins murder case, defendant takes unusual step of defending himself against experienced prosecutors
Crosetti Brand is serving as his own attorney, arguing the case without the expertise of a licensed lawyer, and he has demanded a speedy trial — meaning the case is proceeding toward trial at a pace nearly unheard of in a building where murder cases can linger for years or even a decade. Read more here.
More top news stories:
![Chase Briscoe races down Balbo Drive during the NASCAR Chicago Street Race in Grant Park on July 7, 2024. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)](https://i0.wp.com/www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CTC-L-NASCAR-Chicago-Street-Race-58_199855034.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Downtown Chicago streets begin to open overnight following the NASCAR race. Here’s the full schedule.
DuSable Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue will be reopening on Monday and Tuesday after closures due to NASCAR race. Read more here.
More top business stories:
![Colten Brewer #54 of the Chicago Cubs punches the dugout wall after being relieved in the third inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field on July 06, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)](https://i0.wp.com/www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CTC-Z-2160917878_199812730.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Column: Chicago Cubs manage to out-Cub themselves with another dumb injury
Colten Brewer joined Sammy Sosa, Kerry Wood, Ryan Dempster, Mike Remlinger and others in the history of strange Chicago Cubs injuries. Read more here.
More top sports stories:
![Jean Claudio and Ryan Huemmer in](https://i0.wp.com/www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CTC-L-ENT-CORDUROY-03.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Review: ‘Corduroy’ has a young audience cheering him along at Chicago Shakespeare
Amber Mak directs this adaptation of Don Freeman’s beloved picture books with inventive stagecraft, circus-inspired physicality and plenty of opportunities for audience interaction. Read more here.
More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:
![President Joe Biden attends a church service at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)](https://i0.wp.com/www.chicagotribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AP24189556291539-1.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&ssl=1)
Biden tells Hill Democrats he ‘declines’ to step aside and says it’s time for party drama ‘to end’
President Joe Biden, in a letter to congressional Democrats, stood firm against calls for him to drop his candidacy and called for an “end” to the intraparty drama that has torn apart Democrats since his dismal public debate performance. Read more here.
More top stories from around the world: