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🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 63.

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Today’s newsletter is 1,118 words — a 4-minute read.

Northwestern football returns home tonight, unveiling its $870 million Ryan Field nearly three years after the old stadium was demolished.

Why it matters: The debut is the first real-world test of the deal Northwestern and Evanston hammered out after a bruising fight over concerts, noise, traffic and the stadium's impact on the surrounding neighborhood.

The big picture: The Wildcats kick off against Penn State at 7pm, exactly 100 years after the original Ryan Field opened.

Flashback: Northwestern's redevelopment plan faced opposition from some neighbors, particularly over a controversial proposal to allow concerts at the stadium.

• Evanston ultimately approved the project and zoning changes allowing up to six concerts a year, alongside a package of community benefits and financial commitments from Northwestern.

State of play: Tonight's sold-out opener against Penn State will bring 35,000 fans — plus traffic, tailgating and pregame festivities — to the neighborhood surrounding the stadium for the first time since 2023.

• The city warns residents of major congestion, including parking restrictions and road closures.

By the numbers: The privately financed stadium is the most expensive college football stadium ever built — despite having the Big Ten's smallest capacity.

• The 35,000-seat stadium features a canopy covering every seat, a steep 2,000-person student section dubbed the "Wildcat Wall," and 200,000 square feet of surrounding parks and plazas.

If you go: Even without a ticket, you may see — or at least hear — some of the opening-night spectacle.

• Northwestern is planning an F-16 flyover around 6:56pm.

The bottom line: After years of planning, protests and construction, Northwestern finally gets to show what its new stadium can do — and Evanston gets to see what having it as a neighbor is really like.

Go deeper

Former CBS 2 anchor Brad Edwards is jumping into Chicago politics, signing on to help mayoral candidate John Kelly make his case to voters.

Why it matters: Edwards is one of the most recognizable Chicago media figures to join the burgeoning 2027 campaign apparatus, as candidates begin staffing up for the crowded race.

The latest: Edwards tells Axios he's joining Kelly's campaign as chief communications strategist.

What he's saying: "It's a different ballgame, but the same ballgame all at once," Edwards tells Axios about moving from journalism to political communications.

Zoom out: The different teams taking shape illustrate how political communications are changing heading into the 2027 mayoral race.

• While Kelly is turning to a familiar face from traditional Chicago media, Brandon Johnson recently hired progressive influencer Rachel Cohen to lead communications at City Hall for his reelection bid.
• Alexi Giannoulias has assembled a slew of veteran political advisers, including campaign spokesperson Jordan Abudayyeh, who previously served as Gov. JB Pritzker's spokesperson.
• And Rep. Mike Quigley is leaning on longtime ally and former Chicago Ald. Tom Tunney, who chairs his mayoral campaign committee.

The intrigue: The emerging teams reflect very different strategies for reaching Chicago voters.

• Johnson announced his reelection campaign with a social media reel of himself dancing, while Giannoulias has flooded more traditional airwaves with ads.

The bottom line: The candidates may be the ones on the ballot, but the people behind them will help determine how Chicagoans see — and hear — them over the next five months.

Keep reading

🚨 New internal guidance from the federal government orders ICE agents not to engage in car chases and to make vehicle stops only if they have completed specific training. (Tribune)

🏈 NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Bears minority owner Pat Ryan, Gov. JB Pritzker and state legislative leaders met yesterday to discuss keeping the Bears in Illinois. (Sun-Times)

🪧 Faculty and staff at the City Colleges of Chicago announced they will strike on Oct. 19 if no contract agreement is reached by then. (CBS 2)

🔐 The state's new cryptocurrency tax may not take effect Jan. 1 after industry groups negotiated a six-month delay. The agreement still needs a judge's approval. (Capitol Fax)

🏛️ New site tours, including the Uptown Theatre, have been added to this year's Open House Chicago. (Block Club)

Chicago history is still getting the deep-dive treatment on local television.

The latest: WTTW's "Chicago Stories" returns tonight for a new season, bringing another round of documentaries exploring the people, places and events that shaped the city.

Why it matters: At a time when local media outlets are being asked to do more with less, "Chicago Stories" remains one of the few television programs devoting serious time and resources to digging into Chicago's past.

• And for history nerds like us, that's worth celebrating.

What's happening: The four-episode season kicks off tonight with a look at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

What's next: The rest of the season is a wonderfully Chicago collection of subjects:

• Oct. 9: "Toy Town" explores Chicago's once-mighty toy industry.
• Oct. 16: "Skyscrapers" examines the ambition behind our skyline.
• Oct. 23: "Home of the Irish" tells the story of Irish immigrants who built neighborhoods, parishes and one of the city's most powerful political machines.

The bottom line: "Chicago Stories" has carved out a valuable niche by doing something increasingly rare in local television: slowing down and giving the city's history an hour to breathe.

How to watch: "Chicago Stories" airs Fridays at 8pm.

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👋 Hey, it's Justin. Last week, I quizzed you on Chicago neighborhood landmarks. I gave you the landmark; you gave me the 'hood.

State of play: Chicago has so many neighborhood landmarks that I have enough material for about 15 more quizzes. I'll spare you — for now. Let's do volume two.

• Last week netted a few perfect scores. Congrats to Timothy A., Christine W. and Matt R.!

Here's today's quiz

🙏 The White Sox are still on a mission from God.

State of play: Expect to see a lot of Sox energy at Progressive Field in Cleveland tomorrow and Monday.

• The Sox will start the ALDS on the road, but Cleveland is only a five-and-a-half-hour drive away.
• Don't forget your Pope hats, Sox fans.

Edited by Larry Graham.

🤣 Justin is lying low this weekend to save his energy for the BlueBird improv show at iO on Monday night. Matt Walsh, Stephnie Weir and the Sklar Brothers? He's in.

🏖️ Carrie is off today.

🗓️ Monica is back from sabbatical on Monday.

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