Good afternoon, Chicago.

Aldermen are lawyering up and clamoring for more information as they prepare to approve or reject a new sale of Chicago’s parking meters.

And the question growing at City Hall this week amid legal uncertainty: Does the City Council have leverage to improve the infamous privatization deal?

“I don’t know,” Ald. Andre Vasquez said. “And when the answer is I don’t know, the response should be: Let’s pause.”

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.

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‘It’s just gone’: Communities reeling after tornadoes rip through Illinois and Indiana, leveling homes

The National Weather Service’s Chicago office said it is conducting storm surveys over the next few days to gauge exactly how many tornadoes touched down Thursday as well as their intensity.

More top news stories:

• Feds move to drop charges in COVID fraud case to avoid hearing into alleged wrongdoing
• Oak Park home vandalized with antisemitic message: Officials

Average gas prices pass $5 a gallon in Chicago as inflation surges to 3-year high

Inflation surged in May to levels not seen in three years, thanks in large part to soaring energy costs as a result of the Iran war, now entering its fourth month.

More top business stories:

• Elon Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire with SpaceX’s IPO
• Waukegan National Airport moves a step closer to getting a new 6,000-square-foot runway

Chicago Bears QB Caleb Williams embraces a brighter spotlight entering Year 3: ‘Everybody is looking at you’

As more fans buy Caleb Williams merchandise and watch his highlights, the Bears quarterback said his teammates help keep him grounded.

More top sports stories:

• Jaxson Davis, 2-time Mr. Basketball of Illinois, announces he’s leaving Warren to attend a prep school
• Today in Chicago History: Bulls win 1st championship — and Michael Jordan named NBA Finals MVP

Review: ‘Two Out of Three Falls’ is a wrestling play with a welterweight plot

If Hamlet were a professional wrestler, the setup to his story might look something like that of “Two Out of Three Falls,” now running at the Factory Theater.

More top Eat. Watch. Do. stories:

• Review: The truth is out there in Spielberg’s ‘Disclosure Day’
• Taylor Swift becomes the youngest woman inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame at age 36