Daywatch: Medicaid redeterminations resume

Good morning, Chicago.

More than 1 million people have been dropped from Medicaid in the past couple months as some states moved swiftly to halt health care coverage following the end of the coronavirus pandemic.

Most got dropped for not filling out paperwork. This is the first time in about three years that people on Medicaid have had to take action to renew their coverage.

States across the country, including Illinois, are now beginning the immense task of restarting so-called Medicaid redeterminations.

About 3.9 million people in Illinois have coverage through Medicaid and federal officials estimate about 700,000 people in Illinois may lose coverage as redeterminations resume, in some cases because they’re no longer eligible, and in other cases, because they don’t fill out the paperwork on time.

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Why Robert Kennedy Jr.’s 2024 presidential bid is a headache for Joe Biden

President Joe Biden might seem to be on cruise control until the heat of the 2024 general election. Nearly all of the nation’s top Democrats have lined up behind him, and the Republican nomination fight seems set to revolve around former President Donald Trump’s legal problems.

Naperville high school student confronted loss by working for state legislation on fentanyl education

Lelia Peradotti learned about fentanyl while she was baking cookies.

She still remembers that phone call from her mother, Susan Peradotti, who was in shock after she walked into her partner’s apartment to find him slumped over the kitchen sink next to a hot stove, a cold spoon and a white powder. A coroner’s report reviewed by Susan Peradotti found the synthetic opioid known as fentanyl in his system.

Initiatives aim to build the ranks of minority developers in Chicago

The program brings representatives from top developers, commercial real estate firms and city and state agencies together with up-and-coming developers such as 548 Enterprise CEO A.J. Patton and Hugh Williams, director of strategic growth and entrepreneurship at Sterling Bay, as well as rookies seeking to break into the field. It’s helped small-business owners learn about zoning applications, how to put together development proposals, tax credits and other tools they need to get deals over the line.

Review: ‘Magical Life’ by Larry Hass a blend of magic, philosophy and Chicago

Larry Hass, who bills himself as the philosopher magician, has made his show very much about Chicago: one of his illusions involves a map of the city’s neighborhoods and he peppers his work with references to his experiences in the city, writes critic Chris Jones.

How many Chicago Sky players could be All-Stars? What to know about the potential vote-getters.

Chicago Sky fans can help propel players to the WNBA All-Star Game for two more days as the league hosts the final round of fan voting.

Here’s what to know about the Sky’s potential All-Stars.

Tukkiman’s latest album ‘On the Afro’ is an infectious summertime treat

The 10-track record, largely crafted in the Afrobeat style, is a perfectly timed body of work, writes Britt Julious. In recent years, the long-popular and international genre of Afrobeat music has made its way to U.S. shores, gaining traction with partygoers interested in groove-heavy beats that work for both the dance floor and the lounge.

Review: Love, loss, storytelling and aliens collide in Wes Anderson’s 1955 desert dreamland

Wes Anderson’s latest mirage, “Asteroid City,” carries a lighter and literally sunnier spirit than usual for this filmmaker, whose sense of whimsy can sometimes curdle into, well, a bit of a load, writes critic Michael Phillips. Shooting in Spain, creating a drolly imagined Eisenhower-era desert town out of both practical and digital design elements, the big-sky, open-air setting of “Asteroid City” does something to Anderson’s fiercely hermetic and controlled aesthetic.