Good morning, Chicago.

Chicago’s community-led public safety commission sent its three top picks for police superintendent late Thursday to Mayor Brandon Johnson, who must now decide who will lead the long-troubled department as it works through high crime, endemic street violence, low morale and court-ordered reforms.

Johnson’s permanent superintendent will succeed former Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s hand-picked top cop, David Brown, who came to Chicago from Dallas and oversaw a period of high crime while being criticized as out of his league. Who leads the Police Department, and whether they’re successful, will have major implications for the city, which is still reeling from 2020′s civil unrest and subsequent crime spikes, even as shooting and homicide totals have fallen from highs not seen in two decades.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sam Charles and Gregory Royal Pratt.

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Foster’s dismissal as coach one year into the job was announced to players on a video call Thursday afternoon with Northwestern University President Michael Schill and athletic director Derrick Gragg, sources told the Tribune. Assistant coach Brian Anderson, a former player for the Chicago White Sox who was part of the 2005 World Series winning team, will lead the program “during this time of transition,” the university said in a statement.

Multiple tornadoes tracked across parts of northeast Illinois between 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, some in proximity to one another, spawned by rotating thunderstorms known as “supercells,” officials said.

Officials said Thursday it will take a few days to confirm how many tornadoes touched down as officials were working to access the damage to determine the strength and number of twisters. Survey teams were assessing damage from Wednesday’s storms across southern McHenry, Lake, northern DuPage and parts of Cook counties, officials said.

Chicago is seeing its lowest COVID-19 hospital admission rates for the entire pandemic. But it’s not all good news about the illness that once shut down the world.

Even as the city’s top doctor shared optimism about the state of the pandemic, Northwestern Medicine clinicians warned the public to be wary of the disease’s lingering effects.

Federal prosecutors are investigating possible minority-contracting fraud involving a series of Chicago government contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars, including many with ties to a clout-heavy trucking and recycling company owner, according to sources and documents obtained by the Tribune.

The U.S. attorney’s office last month issued federal grand jury subpoenas to several city agencies seeking copies of contracts, bid packages, payment and payroll records as well as compliance documents for the city’s set-aside program for women and minority businesses.

Three words come to mind when meeting Dr. Phyllis Loeff: stylish, gracious and smart. Loeff, like so many others, gets up early every day to prepare for work. She exercises, gets dressed and dons makeup before seeing patients in the study at her Highland Park home.

At 96, Loeff is a psychiatrist who has been practicing for over 50 years. While working at such an age may seem a feat unto itself for many, Loeff is humble.

The Chicago Cubs and White Sox find themselves in similar positions Friday as the second half begins following the All-Star break.

Paul Sullivan breaks down some things we learned in the first half and what to look for down the stretch.

The union representing Hollywood actors announced Thursday its plans to strike, joining TV and film writers, who have been on strike since May. The last time both unions were on strike at the same time was in 1960.

Critic Nina Metz has a quick look at what we know so far.