Good afternoon! I really want to know what the story is with this dude. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. A national Latino group is building a case for García to take on Lightfoot

Pressure appears to be building on Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García to make a decision on whether to run for mayor of Chicago in the February election.

Nuestro PAC, a national political action committee focused on Latino voters, is urging the congressman to throw his hat into the ring, reports my colleague Lynn Sweet. The group commissioned a poll showing García and Mayor Lori Lightfoot as the standouts in a crowded field of candidates.

García told the Chicago Sun-Times he plans to make a decision by mid-October. [Sun-Times]

As García thinks through his next steps, it’s worth noting Chicago’s Latino community has been trying to build more political capital after the 2020 census showed Latinos are now the city’s second-largest racial or ethnic group. [WBEZ]

And this summer’s primary showed progressives making major inroads in the Chicago area. [Sun-Times]

2. Police shut down traffic in downtown Chicago over the weekend in an effort to curtail Mexican Independence Day celebrations

Chicago police closed traffic to the Loop to everyone but residents late Saturday night, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Or put another way, authorities blocked vehicles of Mexican Independence Day revelers from entering parts of the downtown area.

Police said they implemented the blockades to “ease the flow of traffic within our downtown area and to allow emergency vehicles, residents and workers to travel safely,” the Sun-Times reports. [Sun-Times]

The street closures came after the Lightfoot administration touted Chicago as a welcoming city for migrants who were bused from Texas in recent weeks. [WBEZ]

3. Puerto Rico could be without power for days

More than a million people in Puerto Rico are without electricity after Hurricane Fiona battered the island on Sunday, with heavy rainfall creating life-threatening flooding and landslides.

Some parts of Puerto Rico saw as much as 30 inches of rainfall, NPR reports.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said power crews have begun efforts to restore electricity, but it will be a “gradual process” to get the lights back on to critical areas including hospitals, which are currently on generators. [NPR]

Hurricane Fiona today made landfall in the Dominican Republic, where people were urged to stay home from work. As much as 15 inches of rain could fall in some parts of the Dominican Republic. [AP]

4. A Chicago-area engineer was freed in a prisoner swap with the Taliban

The White House this morning confirmed American contractor Mark Frerichs was freed after being held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years by the Taliban, the Sun-Times reports.

President Joe Biden called Frerichs’s sister, Charlene Cakora, who lives in the western suburbs, at 3:46 a.m. Monday Chicago time, the family said.

Frerichs, a Navy veteran who was raised in Lombard, is “in Doha right now getting a medical check-up … he was able to walk to the plane in Kabul,” according to a spokesman for the family.

In return, the U.S. released Haji Bashir Noorzai, a Taliban drug lord who had been imprisoned for 17 years. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. Queen Elizabeth II is laid to rest

Britain’s longest-reigning monarch was buried today after 10 days of ceremonies and mourning.

Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was lowered into the royal vault within the grounds of Windsor Castle, where she was buried alongside her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.

President Joe Biden, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and France’s President Emmanuel Macron were among those who paid their respects to the queen during a ceremony at Westminster Abbey. [NPR]

Meanwhile, WBEZ’s Cianna Greaves explains the complicated relationship her Jamaican family has with the British monarchy.

“As a child of West African and Afro-Caribbean immigrants, the generational trauma of imperialism was part of my everyday life,” Greaves writes. “The rampant colorism, classism and blind fealty to an abusive and exploitative church all featured heavily in my upbringing.

“And yet when I heard the news of the queen’s passing, it took my breath away.” [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• A Russian missile struck near a nuclear power plant in Ukraine but did not damage any reactors, Ukrainian officials said. [AP]
• More than 1,600 book titles were banned in the U.S. throughout the 2021-22 school year, according to a new report. [NPR]
• Student loan borrowers are being targeted by scammers. [NPR]
• Items from the Museum of Science and Industry’s circus exhibit will go on auction Saturday. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Oh, and one more thing …

Smell you later, summer. Fall officially begins on Thursday, and with the change in seasons comes … a new Quantum Leap?

NPR has a really cool guide for all the TV shows and movies to watch as the weather cools down.

Among the shows I’m looking forward to are Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities and HBO’s Los Espookys, which just began its second season.

And when it comes to movies, there’s The Woman King starring Viola Davis and the Billy Eichner comedy Bros. [NPR]

Tell me something good …

As I mentioned earlier, we’re in the final days of summer. So what are you looking forward to doing this fall?

Me? Halloween is a special time for me because that’s when I got married. Our apartment already has decorations up. And I run a Dungeons & Dragons game for some kids, and I’ve built all of this stuff for a campaign we’re going to start that involves vampires.

Feel free to email or tweet me, and your response might be shared in the newsletter this week.