Good afternoon, Chicago ✶
For the first time in 13 years, Dr. Mufaddal Hamadeh was walking through the streets of Damascus without fearing arrest.
Long barred from the country because of his humanitarian work, he recently returned to his homeland on a mission to help rebuild the country’s shattered health care system.
In today’s newsletter, the Chicago-raised doctor shares his experience.
Plus: A spotlight on peacekeepers, a look at Chicago’s Black-owned bookstore legacy and more news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Chicago-area doctor returns to native Syria to revive war-torn nation’s ailing health system
Reporting by Rafaela Jinich
A doctor’s return: Dr. Mufaddal Hamadeh, an oncologist, is back in Chicago, having been in Syria on a mission with the Syrian American Medical Society to deliver urgent care and rebuild hospitals in war-torn regions.
Key context: Over the last decade, Syria’s medical infrastructure has been in shambles due to years of conflict, government mismanagement and international sanctions. Hospitals lack essential supplies like oxygen, fuel and basic medications, leaving millions without adequate care. After the collapse in December of the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Hamadeh was able to return.
It’s personal: For Hamadeh, this mission was deeply personal. Born in Syria, he moved to Chicago as a child and then returned to Syria for 20 years. He completed his medical training in Damascus before moving back to the U.S.
The mission: SAMS, founded by Syrian American doctors in response to the country’s civil war, has expanded into an international nonprofit providing critical medical aid. On this latest mission, which ran from Jan. 24 to Feb. 9, Hamadeh and a team of 22 doctors — many from Chicago — worked to deliver urgent care, repair hospital infrastructure and train health care workers.
Key quote: “The people of Syria, especially young doctors and medical students, need to know they are not alone,” Hamadeh said. “Through SAMS, we are not only delivering aid, but helping rebuild a health care system that can sustain future generations.”
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
A new documentary showcases Adrian Rodriguez’s Humboldt Park violence prevention work.
Abel Arciniega/WTTW
- Violence prevention spotlight: A new WTTW documentary series highlights five local peacekeepers. Among them is Adrian Rodriguez, who aims to calm disputes on the city’s streets as co-director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center’s Violence Prevention and Interruption Program.
- NIH cuts: The National Institutes of Health under President Donald Trump announced that it was cutting payments covering overhead costs for research institutions that receive its grants. Schools like the University of Illinois Chicago and the University of Chicago rely on the grants, and caps could create huge budget gaps.
- Education aid policy: Legislation reintroduced in the Illinois General Assembly this session could expand access by restoring state financial aid for incarcerated students. That funding could prompt more universities to bring their classes into prisons.
- New school board appointee: After being down an appointee for a month, Mayor Brandon Johnson has named Cydney Wallace to be the 21st school board member. Wallace, a Chicago Public Schools parent, works for the City Clerk’s Office and is a board member for the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.
- Remembering Kay Smith: The celebrated watercolorist and Illinois’ artist laureate died at the age of 101 Feb. 11. “[She] lived what I believe was her calling and dream life,” her daughter, Julia Smith, told the Sun-Times.
- ‘SNL 50′ recap: From Meryl Streep’s long-awaited “SNL” debut, to Eddie Murphy’s Tracy Morgan impression, Amy Poehler’s “sweata weatha” and more — these are some of the standout moments from the “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary show.
CHICAGO STORIES 🗞️
Courtney Woods sits with her mother, Verlean Singletary. They are co-owners of Da Book Joint in South Shore.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Black-owned bookstores preserving Chicago legacy
Reporting by Mariah Rush
Chicago history: Chicago has a long history of Black-owned bookstores, dating back to at least the 1940s, experts say.
Fluctuating popularity: The 1960s and 1970s brought an early wave of popularity for Black-owned bookstores, when stores acted as community centers and spaces for political activity. Another spike came in the 1990s with a rise in Black nationalism, before Amazon, e-books and audiobooks quelled in-store success in the 2000s and 2010s. Amid 2020’s social justice protests, buyers rushed to support these stores — a surge that has since tapered off.
Preserving legacy: In stores like Semicolon, Hyde Park’s Call and Response, the mother-daughter-owned Da Book Joint, Underground Bookstore and Burst Into Books, many of the titles are written by Black authors and authors of color and are curated according to reader demand and staff interest. The stores also double as community spaces via author events, book clubs and more.
Stores to visit:
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Visitors play with cats and kittens Monday at the Field Museum’s Cat Cafe.
Zubaer Khan/Sun-Times
Shelter cats bring smiles to kids at Field Museum’s feline exhibit
Reporting by Mohammad Samra
Parents struggled to keep up with their children as they rushed from station to station to learn about and interact with Tiger, Wakanda and Solidarity, three shelter cats brought to a cafe event at the Field Museum to celebrate “Cats: Predators to Pets.”
Close to a dozen young children rushed toward a gated area set up at the back of the cafe to see three kittens, while others sat at lunch tables across the room and colored in pictures related to the exhibit.
Rachel Nevergall and her three children visited the exhibit before coming to see the cats. They can’t have cats as pets since two of their family members are allergic to cats, so the event allowed them to see the felines up close.
“If you can’t have a cat at home, this is a good second chance, right?” said Nevergall, whose 10-year-old son, Elliott, was most excited to pet the cats.
The exhibit, which opened in late November and will run until April 27, highlights the entire feline family tree, from domestic cats commonly found in homes to feared predators like tigers and lions.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
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Written and edited by: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
