Daywatch: There were plenty of surprises in the prosecution’s case against R. Kelly. But will any spell acquittal?

Good morning, Chicago.

High-profile federal conspiracy trials like the one unfolding in Chicago against disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly don’t typically have many made-for-TV bombshells.

By the time the curtain raises, evidentiary issues have largely been worked out. Prosecutors have put forth in detail what they expect their witnesses to say. Defense attorneys have raised their pretrial objections and counterpunch according to the judge’s rulings.

But Kelly’s case hasn’t quite gone by that familiar script.

Instead, there have been several surprises during the two weeks that prosecutors put on their case, which featured 25 witnesses and physical evidence including travel records, private investigator contracts and graphic excerpts of three videotapes purportedly showing Kelly sexually abusing his 14-year-old goddaughter.

But perhaps the biggest surprise came when a key witness tying Kelly and two co-defendants to an alleged conspiracy to buy back sex tapes told the jury last week that the videotape he was given by former Kelly girlfriend Lisa Van Allen appeared to be a threesome between consenting adults, not child pornography.

Read more about the R. Kelly case from Jason Meisner and Megan Crepeau.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot encouraged residents to help support a second wave of migrants who arrived Sunday afternoon by bus in Chicago and urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to collaborate on a more humane transition.

The new group was shipped to the city by Abbott as part of an effort to criticize the nation’s immigration policies and relieve what he says are overburdened border towns in his state.

You can count Pastor Donovan Price among those eagerly anticipating the arrival of a calm, cooler autumn after a hot, violent summer in the city, though he’s skeptical the seasonal change alone will do much to extinguish some of the conflicts that have driven Chicago crime.

Price, a victim advocate who responds to crime scenes across the city to assist families, said he feels the mental strain that comes with shuttling between scenes of tragedy and consoling grieving relatives while managing the pitfalls of city living. Going to as many as 10 scenes on the most violent nights, he admits to feeling mentally exhausted though not burned out thanks to his faith.

Darren Bailey says his entry into politics, including his successful bid to be the Republican nominee for governor, came after he couldn’t find or wasn’t satisfied with those seeking public office.

“So Cindy and I fasted and we prayed, as did our family, and the encouragement came from you people all across — first of all my home area, and our district — our state to run and push back,” the downstate state lawmaker said on a Facebook video of his decision with his wife to take on Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

More than any other statewide candidate in recent times, Bailey has placed his faith front and center in his campaign for governor, displaying the evangelical, charismatic Christianity that is commonly found throughout rural Illinois.

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Weeks after Illinois students began what is predicted to be a more “normal” school year, a steep shortage of teachers and other essential employees is forcing many administrators to take an all-hands-on-deck approach.

Efforts to ensure the state’s classrooms are staffed, buses are running and school buildings are cleaned is unfolding as a nationwide school employee shortage prompted the White House to announce a new initiative to jump-start hiring.

With their shots once again not falling, the Chicago Sky turned to their defense to take control of their WNBA semifinal series.

The reigning league champions forced 17 Connecticut Sun turnovers and held the Sun scoreless for 4½ minutes late in the fourth quarter of a 76-72 victory Sunday in Uncasville, Connecticut.

The Sky lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and can clinch a return to the WNBA Finals with a victory in Game 4 on Tuesday at Mohegan Sun Arena (7 p.m., ESPN2).

In Nick Kindelsperger’s review of Mel’s Craft BBQ in Park Ridge, he casually mentioned that some of the best barbecue in the area can be found in the suburbs.

What Kindelsperger thought would take a few days has led to a weekslong exploration of the suburban barbecue scene, where Kindelsperger traveled as far as Crystal Lake and Plainfield.