....was hoping for your concurrence that the NTSB brief did not make sense as it pertained to the landing clearance.
Concur.
The times involved weren't in that summary but the last MDW to BBG shows a scheduled arrival of 1720 local. 5 hours late (if truly correct) would put them in at 2220 local. Normal closing for the tower is 2100 local, but maybe special arrangements were made.
I'll quit beating a dead horse now and wait for a more detailed coherent report.