Lollapalooza begins with excitement — and caution – Chicago Tribune

Good morning, Chicago.

Lollapalooza begins tonight, but the usual excitement for one of the city’s largest festivals comes with a bit of caution.

For downtown Chicago hotels, it’s one of the best weekends of the year — and it’s already been a great summer for the hospitality industry. The Tribune’s Brian J. Rogal reports tourists returned in big numbers when the weather improved and seem willing to pay high rates for their rooms, finally fattening the bottom lines of long-suffering hotels.

Less than a month after the mass shooting at a Highland Park parade, eyes are on security at Lollapalooza.

Paige Fry and Jake Sheridan write Chicago officials are confident they can keep one of the city’s largest festivals safe this weekend. “We, this group that is part of putting together Lollapalooza, reviewed the Highland Park incident, and that’s typically what we do (in) instances that take place across the country,” said Rich Guidice, executive director of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications.

Take a look at our Lollapalooza guide for the must-see bands and all the entry details. And here are our recommendations on where to go after Lollapalooza, from after-party shows to late-night food.

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A Lake County grand jury indicted Robert Crimo III on 117 felony counts for the July 4 mass shooting in Highland Park that killed seven people and wounded dozens of others.

Crimo, 21, already faced seven counts of first-degree murder for the shootings. The indictments announced Wednesday add an additional 14 counts of first-degree murder for a total of 21 — three counts for each of the seven people killed.

The Consumer Price Index hit 9.1% in June as Chicagoans continued to manage sky-high prices of everything from food to gas. Now, back-to-school costs are adding up, too. In Illinois, parents who buy school supplies and certain clothing Aug. 5-14 will benefit from a state sales tax holiday that will reduce the rate from 6.25% to 1.25%.

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But back-to-school costs are still a burden for many families, said employees at nonprofits that serve kids.

Two teenagers have been charged with setting a massive fire in May that destroyed large sections of the former Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles. Two other teens have been charged with trespassing in connection with the incident.

The two boys, one from Carol Stream and one from Wheaton, accused of starting the three-alarm fire have been charged with arson, burglary, criminal damage to property and three counts of criminal trespass, DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office officials said.

Following a day of protests, the Chicago Board of Education decided to warn but not fire two Chicago teachers who protested construction of a scrap shredder in Chicago’s heavily polluted Southeast Side. A Chicago Public Schools official had recommended the dismissals because the teachers allegedly disregarded district safety rules and repeatedly showed poor judgment and bias on the job.

The Chicago Board of Education weighed the fate of George Washington High School instructors Lauren Bianchi and Chuck Stark behind closed doors at Wednesday’s monthly board meeting. The teachers say they learned Tuesday of the dismissal recommendation by the executive director of CPS’ Office of Administrative Hearings.

Lucido’s location is enormous, with a vast seating area. But the restaurant’s focal point is the gleaming red al pastor trompo — the distinctive vertical rotisserie used to cook the stacked and marinated sliced pork — positioned up front.

Place your order and the cooks will carefully slice the marinated pork off in miraculously thin slices, before heaping it onto steamy corn tortillas. Each dark-red piece of pork has a crispy caramelized edge from the fire, while remaining shockingly juicy in the middle.