| Good afternoon, Chicago. With little business to act on, the Chicago Police Board gathered last night for its monthly meeting at CPD headquarters, its first since the head of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability said she would step down. Andrea Kersten, COPA’s chief administrator since 2021,
announced her resignation last week amid other high-level city agency departures, including that of COPA’s second-in-command, Deputy Chief Administrator Ephraim Eaddy. Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices. Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History news Qing Li gets ready to swim at Burnham Park Promontory Point at sunrise in Chicago on Feb. 16, 2025.
The water was 32 degrees Fahrenheit, according to year-round swimmer Bill Stamets, who accompanies Li and measures the temperature every morning. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune) Qing Li, who lives in downtown Chicago, is one of nearly a hundred American athletes competing in the growing sport of ice swimming, where people traverse frigid waters of 41 degrees or lower with nothing but a swimsuit, goggles and a swimming cap. More top news stories: business Three empty lots on the west side of the 6500 block of South Ashland Avenue in Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood on Feb. 7, 2025. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune) Buyers could ride the wave of new investment pouring into other South and West Side neighborhoods, said Steve Madura, senior vice president of Hilco Real Estate Sales, the company handling the sale. More top business stories: sports Bulls guard Coby White reacts during a game against the Pistons on Feb. 12, 2025, at the United Center. (Luke Hales/Getty Images) Bulls guard Coby White is no longer in a position where his teammates can absorb an off night — or an off week. After years as the second or third option, he will be fully in the spotlight for the rest of this season. More top sports stories: eat. watch. do. Joffrey Ballet dancers perform “Princess and the Pea,” choreographer Dani Rowe’s adaptation of
Hans Christian Andersen, as part of the mixed-repertoire program “Golden Hour” at the Lyric Opera House. (Cheryl Mann) A fear-mongering autocrat rigs elections to maintain power as a rising resistance fights to bring back kindness. I’m talking, of course, about “Princess and the Pea,” the main event of the Joffrey Ballet’s mixed-repertory bill on now at the Lyric Opera. More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories: nation & world President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute summit in Miami Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Pool via AP) U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper decided he could not grant a motion from unions representing the workers to temporarily block the layoffs. He found that their complaint amounted to an employment dispute and must follow a different process outlined in federal employment law. More top stories from around the world: | 
