>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago tonight.

I'm Nick Blumberg.

Brandis Friedman has the evening off.

It's what we're looking at.

>> It's a good night.

Were the people of the state of Illinois.

>> Illinois House passes a bill boosting large developments.

But is it enough to move the Chicago Bears?

Chicago has seen heavy rainfall so far this spring.

We explore the impact flooding is having on the region and potential solutions.

And the bears are about to be on the clock.

The team's biggest need heading into the NFL draft.

Former Bear James big cat Williams breaks it down for us.

>> First off tonight, the CTA gets ready to break ground on the long-awaited REDLINE extension.

The transit agency is planning a ceremonial groundbreaking tomorrow on the nearly 6 billion dollar effort to extend the city's busiest rail line south from its current and point at 95th Street down to 100 30th Street.

It'll have stops in between at 100rd Street, 100 11th and Michigan Avenue near 100 16th.

The project's fate had been uncertain after the Trump administration moved to freeze some 3 billion dollars in funding for the extension and other efforts.

Late last month, a federal judge ordered the U.S.

Transportation Department to pay up.

Chicago public schools.

Leaders are offering details on the May 1st day of civic engagement.

In a letter to family CEO Macklin King assured parents that many teachers and staff are planning to join rallies, but network and central office staff will fill in at any schools.

The shortages King also stressed that it will be a full day of instruction.

All those students may engage in demonstrations at their schools or at civic actions.

Elsewhere with a large afternoon rally planned in Union Park.

King also said the district approved a civics curriculum for classroom discussion.

The letter comes amid push back to the district's move which came after pressure from the Chicago teachers Union.

A group of parents presented school board members a letter today questioning how CPS came to its decision.

Got more details on our website.

Cook County celebrates the 60th anniversary of Stroger Hospital's trauma unit elected officials, staff and former patients stress the importance of the public hospital.

Specialized care at an event today, leaders touted that structures.

Trauma and burn unit is the city's only trauma unit verified by the American College of Surgeons and patients.

Thank medical staff for providing care to everyone who needs it.

>> I want to inform you all the trauma recovery is does about fixing broken bones.

But it's about man and a spirit.

Those were some those are some really dark days in ICU bit.

But every time I feel like or someone is for Was there to remind me that I had a future.

We're fighting for.

>> Bill that could keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois.

We explain right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexander and John Nichols family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these donors.

>> an effort to keep the bears this side of the state line is moving forward.

The Illinois House yesterday passed a so-called mega projects bill by a vote of 78 to 32.

The economic development measure would apply to a potential new Bear stadium in Arlington Heights, though, the team says it's still looking for more changes.

Joining us now from Springfield is Brandon Moore, statehouse reporter with Capitol News, Illinois.

Brandon, thanks for being with us of this.

Bill is different from a measure that we saw back in February.

What are the key provisions that folks should know?

>> Yeah.

So while the bill that passed February was a mega project Bill, this one is a broader economic development bill that has a mega project component to it.

So I would say the biggest difference in terms of the mega project aspect is there's a property tax relief provision in there.

That means that half the pilot payment would go to property tax relief concerning taxing districts to a statewide fund.

But then they're also a lot of provisions in there for other economic development measures such as rail yards, which can be used in Chicago for perhaps the one central development parcel of field or perhaps in the South loop for a White Sox stadium.

And there's a start on language in there.

So it really is kind of a Christmas tree.

And it will be interesting to see how it is received in the Senate.

>> Yeah.

And that pilot payment for folks who aren't familiar with you know, outline for us how that would offer something like the Bears pretty several decades of of certainty on how much they be paying.

>> Yeah.

So basically payment in lieu of taxes is what pilots and it would allow for the Bears negotiate their property taxes with the local taxing bodies.

In this case Arlington Heights.

And it would give them some certainty whether going to be pain instead of kind of the every year you kind of the women, the assessor, in what your what your payment going to be.

So it kind of gives them that certainly they see as necessary to build in Arlington Heights.

not go to Indiana.

>> You mention, you know, some of what the Bears are looking for.

In a statement.

They said they welcome the progress, but they're looking for additional amendments.

Do we have any sense of of what else the team is asking for here?

>> Yeah, they didn't specify in that statement.

But if read between the lines, I think they're going to want a change to that property tax provision because you're putting 50% of the pilot payment toward property tax relief, that is money.

That's not going to go Nestle to the schools or to the municipality's and the other taxing districts.

So the worry with these that they're going to ask for perhaps double what they would have originally asked for because they want to get.

>> The money for for their services that they provide.

>> And not necessarily have it siphoned away for property tax relief.

So I think that is something that is probably going to be looked at.

That was language was added in.

The house was not a negotiated with the governor with the Senate.

So I think that is something that's probably not going to be revisited.

>> We've got to just about 30 seconds left.

But this has passed the House.

Do we have any sense of what folks in the state Senate or Governor Pritzker think of this measure?

>> Yeah.

So they were very of the governor's office the time ago here in the Senate were measured in their reaction to this bill.

Passing.

But it seemed pretty clear that they're going to be some changes coming that.

While kind of the you know, got of the governor Governor Pritzker said last week they had tied the staff putting of a deal in place.

I think that's still true.

I mean, you still have the pilot concept, but some of the details got changed.

And network really negotiated with either the governor or the Senate.

And so I think that when the Senate comes back, they're going to be some discussions about, you know, what can pass their lets people in the House and try to get some agreed language.

And with the Bears to a try to get some great language on something that can pass both houses get Governor Pritzker's signature something that the Bears would find acceptable in order to put some troubles on the ground in Arlington Heights.

>> All right.

We know you'll be keeping an eye on whatever the changes are.

Brandon Moore, thanks so much for joining us.

Always a pleasure.

And you can read Brandon morris full story on our website.

It's all at W T Tw Dot com Slash news.

Flooding has always been a threat during Chicago's warmer months, but that threat is more and more present in the spring since March.

Multiple rounds of severe storms have caused not only flooding but hail damage and even tornadoes.

Joining us to discuss flooding its impact and how we can manage them are Kevin Fitzpatrick, assistant director of engineering at the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District and via zoom, Ashish arm of the climate and urban sustainability lead at the University of Illinois's Discovery Partners Institute.

Thank you both for being here to to talk about this with us.

She if I could start with you, please.

You know, how is climate change affecting the threat of severe weather here in Chicago?

>> Yeah, thank you for having me.

I think it's a good question.

If you look at damage and impact he's seeing or the ministers, a backpack, above normal precipitation checked into a storm track 100 buildings.

So basically the most is a lot more warmer than normal speeding up lot questions.

And then motion is turning into a bit rainfall because of higher instability and getting to a of thunderstorms and tornadoes as And if you think of a business has become a classic recipe for us to get out there and you're like, I would just help needed more often.

>> Yeah, certainly quite frequent this spring.

You know, Kevin Fitzpatrick, the NW Rd plays a key role here for folks who aren't familiar.

What infrastructure doesn't manage to help contain floodwater.

Most people don't realize we are an independent government agency.

We serve the city of Chicago and 128 suburbs and we have a stormwater management authority that we gained in 2004 as a as a regional stormwater district for all of Kerr County.

>> And some of the infrastructure we have the tenure as our planner deep tunnel as most people know it.

And we also have.

Over 35 a storm water reservoirs that help prevent over bank flooding from a exacerbating it from I guess I leaving the banks of rivers working its way into homes and streets and then we do stormwater management partnership projects with several different partners around the county to put in things like green infrastructure conveyance projects, stormwater conveyance storage, underground storage projects.

So we have several We have a very diverse array of projects.

>> And, you know, when heavy rains are in the forecast, what sorts of things WR do you do to prepare for that?

>> Well, one of the things we about over 100 years ago now we reversal for the Chicago in Calumet River's.

I think most people know about that project in Chicago is kind of famous for that.

But as part of that project recreated 76 miles of manmade waterways, which we have the ability to somewhat control the level of so in advance of a storm we can reduce.

We can let more water out of those canals downstream and create about 5 billion gallons worth a storage in the canals.

So that when it does rain, a lot of that water can be absorbed within the canal itself.

And of course, is that level does continue to rise during a storm.

We have the ability to release some of it to Lake Michigan.

If the lake level is low enough.

>> She Sharma, you know, we sometimes call floods 50 year floods or 100 year floods.

I mean, look what exactly, you know, do those phrases mean, you know, is that meaning changing as the climate does?

>> Yeah, I think those that are going off of flood pitch happens for a specific paint them generally that are turning to really send it over to having to do it.

it has India.

But happening these days?

It is committee of storm on the floor.

In fact, the kissing is not 100 flood.

It has become 10 to 20 and even take isn't helping.

The local happened multiple times over the years.

>> most especially in the Midwest right now.

>> And you've worked on a project to help forecast weather sort the individual neighborhood level.

How do you hope folks can use that tool?

>> Yeah, definitely.

So we all fish another forecasting for the whole state of At one it is a mission and the forecast weather for the next 48.

I from same time the forecast and throw it being fought in doesn't because it doesn't all of its case.

So the different theft over forecasting.

If the if you see that a substantial don't offend people happening, then the and forecasting model and those that up Bismarck get tradition of then a condition marked of the big 17, is to go into effect The time 2 point, if I was in the collaborative depended largely on this and be published a minuscule piece in pay and give it a proud of the work to provide much more nuanced and had a solution forecasting for the region.

you can go up to a few feet of the solution, employed debt, as Fed spent.

>> That's interesting work.

You know, Kevin Fitzpatrick, some of the sewer systems that feed into NW R D Project, they can be quite old.

What sorts of challenges does that present?

Yeah, it is a huge challenge so that, you know, I mentioned earlier that or a plan project, spent a lot of my career on.

>> And it's it's really this amazing engineering project.

It's got 110 miles tunnels underneath.

Basically every waterway in the Chicagoland area.

For most of them.

And it captures flow from local sewers.

So combined sewers that have both domestic wastewater and rain, water previously would discharge to the waterway and put the waterway and then the waterways are back up flood people's homes.

Now it can drive down into the deep tunnel.

It over 400 locations.

And when I say deep tunnel 300 you know, about the longest once stretches from on comes under the North Shore channel through downtown and out of the southwest suburb and discharges into reservoir which we saw earlier on the show.

It's an enormous Corey that has been repurposed into this storm.

Water reservoir.

So during a storm we can capture up to 11 billion gallons of water in the type system.

And then we hold it until after the storm and then pump it back to one of our treatment plants in clean, et before returning it to the environment.

But the problem we're seeing today with climate change and some of these more intense storms is that the water can even make its way through the local sewers to the deep tunnel system so it can back up within the neighborhood.

So now we're trying to focus how do keep water, where it falls through things like green infrastructure or little local storage projects.

>> Yeah, she Sharma.

You know what?

What is some of that look like to have a climate, resilient infrastructure in place?

>> Yeah, I can put are going to be a great point that the first step for us as it rains hoping to contain and slow down.

The water are absorbed the water it rains and then think about it moves and then feel cable can be managed that stage.

So first as mitigation is because as we think about so infrastructure permeable pavement, screamed rules, anything that can be a nice slow down the water flow absolve.

But again, it infiltrated.

And then can think of how the water can move to a bike foot system that they have could use facility and so on.

And and then all safety and are able to contain it, then it becomes the months outflows, including to the dugout and streams.

So I think solutions of infrastructure, maybe you should have to think getting standards in 2 different houses and more public awareness of using less water going and the storms less laundry, washing utensils and so on and be conservative.

But even using water.

>> Yeah, some of it is, you know, the infrastructure.

Some of it is the mindset certainly, you know, given with that some of the the waterways, the tunnels, the reservoirs, all connected.

How do you try to make sure that, you know, failure at one point doesn't cause problems, you know, across the whole system.

Yeah.

Well, we believe in a lot of redundancy in our system so that tunnel, for example, where it's pumped out.

>> We make sure we have totally separate pump stations at it.

A couple different locations so that if one, if something catastrophic happens at pump station, were still able pump it out with with another pump station.

And other than that, we had been are connected systems where we can help relieve one area if if another area has a problem.

So it's not all for lying.

On one point.

>> We've got just about 30 seconds left.

We mentioned some of the challenges of age, but, you know, just working in an urban environment like Chicago, what sorts of challenges does that present?

Very difficult this highly, you know, in dense area.

There's not a lot of room to put in a new reservoir.

So we're after do get creative.

One of one great example as we work with we partnered with the city of Chicago.

>> Department of Water Management and Public Schools to transform 34 asphalt parking lots that are kind of disrepair.

34 different schools and turned them into beautiful play yards for the kids that they could do.

Outdoor learning in classrooms and stuff like that.

But the beauty is they now are permeable and we can soak water and to them and stored underneath them and we can capture up to 6 and a half million gallons every time it rains.

We've got to get creative and think of projects like that.

Yeah, very interesting approach.

There.

All right.

That's all the time we have for this evening.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, she Sharma, thank you both for your time.

>> Thank you, Thank you for Up next, breaking down with the Bears might do in the NFL draft.

Just over an hour.

The 2026 NFL draft is set to get underway in Pittsburgh with 7 picks.

Key roster losses and a pivotal year ahead for quarterback Caleb Williams.

How the Chicago Bears try to shape the future of the franchise.

Joining us with his thoughts on that is James Big Cat Williams.

Former Chicago Bears offensive lineman.

Good to see you.

Thanks for joining us so.

The Bears have 7 picks about 4 of them in the first 3 rounds on paper sounds pretty solid.

But, you know, given some of the holes in the roster, do you think that's enough to make meaningful You have you have to.

You have like a ship.

4 picks in the top 100.

>> Eagles picks to be productive.

You need to be able to figure out guys that are going to work well in their system or be offensive.

We're defensively and they're going to produce for your very might not starters right off the might come in play special teams before they move on.

But they need to be part of the rotation.

you've got to find those guys.

Yeah.

>> So you know, the Bears traded wide receiver DJ Moore.

They lost a number of key defensive players in this offseason.

do think they should be drafting for need something like offensive line or edge rusher.

Should they just be going for the best guy available?

I think when you're picking a 25 year trying to find the best fit for your organization for your team, whether it's an offensive lineman or defensive lineman, you have to find somebody can come and be productive.

New characters bring not gonna bring in from one.

>> At that, 25 pick just sit on the bench.

There were.

So you want somebody that's going to help you out along the way and progress as they go along.

So that's what they're looking There are a lot of holes that you need to fill.

So we're going to see what they Yeah, I want to come back.

Some of that.

>> First round, though, dropping from 10 minutes to 8 minutes for each team to make their pick.

Do you think that's going to have an impact on teens?

Don't know.

I really I really don't know.

is going to be a very interesting process because, you know, about 2 minutes could make a difference.

You're talking about teams trying to trade teams time to trade back, trying to work with 2 or 3 different teams at the same time.

>> And now you have a shorter period of time.

We have to figure that out sitting at home watching also will be great going to what it's like watch people calling around be.

So will be interesting for the people in those words.

Yeah, I'm always impressed by the folks who are there to win the Brad.

Yes, there's a lot of and think, oh, yeah.

just the NFL announced the Bears are not going to receive compensatory draft picks after the departure of the former assistant GM, Ian Cunningham went to the Atlanta Falcons.

>> The formula for this kind situations seems to indicate they should have what you make of Like you the formula says they should have gotten the pick.

>> For some odd reason, the NFL has voted or the man I Chicago shows that's what should wearing.

A has said that's what should be.

don't understand why the NFL won't give up that Interesting.

Okay.

>> Well, we've got Caleb Williams heading into his 3rd year how evaluate his development so far.

>> It's getting better.

you know, I'm anxious to see year under Ben Johnson to see how very what they are able to put together.

things that he is able to come down in Cairo.

You know, some of the things you don't want him to come down because that's what makes him great.

But there are certain platforms, certain schedules.

ban is going to want him to stay on schedule with.

And once he was able to do that, I think that'll make him and all around better point.

Yeah.

And having you know, Ben Johnson now in his second season, Caleb, in his 3rd, maybe they've they've sort of settled into that to the world more and to their relationship or think told from Jump Street know you did well last but it's going to get even a little harder because I'm going ask more out of want to do more things.

I'm going to want you to be more productive from Jump Street from having to quite quite turnaround jumpers and helped engineer last year.

>> All right.

So talk about the offensive line great last year.

But senator dominant higher to 27 I to is expected to miss a lot of the season with a knee injury.

How important is it shore up that line?

>> I think it's important have breakfast in.

Jones is going to coming back in from all indications.

Everybody's talking about looks healthy.

He looks smaller, you know, more fit now.

You don't know anything to put the pads to get him lined up at left tackle to figure out how Bradbury is going to work at center.

You still have questions.

You know, we came into last year's or with questions just far as how well Joe and I think we did a good job of Joey and I think Ben Johnson, they're a good job of putting them in situations where they could succeed now, yes, do it all over depending on how everything works Yeah, I mean, how about that?

It was such a great run last year.

Do you think fans should expect them to?

>> To build on last season's success or might we see a little backsliding?

>> That's a hard question to answer because you might see a little bit of backsliding, but you also might see them as a team play better not have to come from behind and so many games not have to use the last to move some a game to figure out exactly where this team So if they're able if they only may have 10 wins and it's a win less than last year, but they did it in good fashion.

Then OK with that.

most of the time.

But we've talked lot about But when you think the biggest need is on the defensive side of the ball.

>> I'm not sure you need to safety.

I you to core you definitely need to edge rusher.

You need a defensive tackle.

You have positions on the defensive side of the ball that you need to work on, that you need to try and get a little better.

>> And you've got a connection to Pittsburgh yourself.

yeah, I'm glad I'm not the route an exciting see them.

Get a little bit of the spotlight shine from weather holds up to be beautiful down there.

Big-serving for deserved.

>> All right.

Can be very interesting to see what the Bears to James Big Cat Williams, thank you so much.

Thank you.

And that's our show for this Thursday night.

Don't forget, you can stream Chicago tonight on our W T Tw YouTube Channel every evening.

Catch up on any programs you may have missed.

Join us tomorrow night at 5.37, for the week in review.

Now for all of us here in Chicago tonight, I'm Nick Blumberg.

Thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good night.

>> Closed captioning is made possible by Clifford and Clifford Law offices, Chicago, personal injury and wrongful death with more than 40 years