Daywatch: Severe weather hits Chicago area overnight, woman stabbed to death in random Loop attack and Illinois positions itself as cryptocurrency hub

Good morning, Chicago.

The Chicago area is waking up to damage from severe weather late Sunday night, including a tornado that touched down in southwest suburban Woodridge and Naperville.

A tornado first hit in Naperville, damaging homes, knocking down power lines and leaving five people injured, one critically, authorities there said Monday morning.

A tornado then touched down in Woodridge, leaving behind a trail of damage but no significant injuries, authorities said. Tribune reporters and photographers will bring you the latest on the damage here today.

Visit the Tribune’s weather page for the latest forecast and check back for updates.

— Nicole Stock, audience editor

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Maryland graduate student killed in Loop stabbing described as a brilliant criminology researcher

The young woman fatally stabbed over the weekend during broad daylight in the city’s Loop was remembered as a brilliant graduate student who was working to complete a doctorate in criminology at the University of Maryland.

Chicago police found the woman, Anat Kimchi, 31, lying on the sidewalk with two stab wounds to her upper back around 4 p.m. Saturday in the 400 block of South Wacker Drive. She was rushed to an area hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Illinois elementary, high school students to learn about Asian American history under measure awaiting governor’s signature

Mary Manching felt a disconnect between her Asian American heritage and what she was learning at Northside College Prep.

“I never saw myself represented in the history curriculum,” said Manching, a graduating senior at the selective enrollment high school in the North Park neighborhood.

That classroom gap could soon be a thing of the past after Illinois lawmakers recently approved a measure requiring elementary and high schools to teach a unit on Asian American and Pacific Islander history starting with the 2022-23 school year.

From Bitcoin mining to ATMs, Illinois is positioning itself as a center for the booming cryptocurrency industry

City of the big shoulders, hog butcher for the world, Chicago is looking to add another title for the digital age: cryptocurrency finance center.

From one of the Midwest’s largest cryptocurrency mining facilities to a Chicago-based Bitcoin ATM operator, Illinois is becoming fertile ground for the fast-growing digital asset industry, which has developed from an arcane concept into a booming investment in a little over a decade.

Chicago is special for Bears receiver Marquise Goodwin. It’s where a doctor helped his wife after years of loss — and where he’ll try to jump-start his NFL career.

New Bears wide receiver Marquise Goodwin opted out of the 2020 NFL season to protect his wife, Morgan, and infant daughter, Marae, from COVID-19 after the family lost three sons. Now, they’re cheering him on in a city that has special meaning as he tries to lengthen his football career — and qualify for the Olympics in the long jump.

Chicago billionaire identified as mystery buyer who paid $24 million for 3.3 acres in Winnetka

Billionaire private equity investor Justin Ishbia is the buyer paying $23.9 million to create a 3.3-acre Winnetka homesite on Lake Michigan; that would be the highest sum ever paid for a single-family residential property in the Chicago area.