Good morning, Chicago.
You have to give the Chicago Bears and Mayor Brandon Johnson credit for their boldness, writes the Tribune’s Paul Sullivan in his latest column.
Name-dropping the likes of Daniel Burnham, former President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift and Beyonce on Wednesday during their presentation of a proposed $4.6 billion stadium project was pure genius.
Informing us that “no new taxes” would be necessary to pay for the project was what everyone wanted to hear, even though public funding of at least $1 billion probably would be necessary to get a deal done.
After seeing the renderings and listening to Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren talk about the Super Bowls, Final Fours, Illinois high school football championships and concerts that would take place in the new stadium, how could anyone dare say no to this idea?
“If that doesn’t make your teeth chatter, I don’t know what will,” Warren said, of the renderings.
Obviously Warren never has sat in the stands at a Bears game in subzero weather.
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A skeptical Springfield awaits after Chicago Bears pitch stadium plan backed by mayor
The Chicago Bears stood with Mayor Brandon Johnson at Soldier Field on Wednesday to launch their public push for a domed stadium on a reimagined lakefront that could cost nearly $5 billion, but the pitch was met with wariness from the triumvirate in Springfield that ultimately will control its fate.
Despite Johnson’s ringing endorsement for the plan that would see the Bears chip in about $2.3 billion in private funding, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Democratic leaders in the state House and Senate made clear the team doesn’t currently have the support it needs to make the architectural renderings a reality.
A park on a block wide and three-block long proposed bridge from Sheridan to Pershing roads is part of a plan to connect downtown with the Waukegan lakefront. (Steve Sadin/Lake County News-Sun)
Waukegan’s mayor says invitation to Bears was worth a shot
Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor said she knew inviting the Bears to explore putting a stadium on undeveloped lakefront property in June it was a longshot, but the team responded and she also heard from other developers who wanted to be part of any such project.
Donald Trump will be in New York for hush money trial while Supreme Court hears his immunity case in DC
A reluctant Trump will be back in a New York City courtroom today as his hush money trial resumes at the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in Washington over whether he should be immune from prosecution for actions he took during his time as president.
Northwestern University hazing lawsuits on new track after claims school attorneys mishandled confidential information
The hot-button lawsuits related to Northwestern University’s hazing scandal — some alleging widespread abuse on the football team, another claiming ex-coach Pat Fitzgerald was wrongly fired — will be consolidated for the time being, a Cook County judge ruled this week.
The decision came after attorneys representing ex-players accused Northwestern’s lawyers of using confidential information obtained in the former players’ lawsuit to help craft their strategy in the separate Fitzgerald case. A lawyer for Northwestern denied that accusation in court.
‘Star Wars’ creator George Lucas and Mellody Hobson plan $33.5M condo that will be the highest priced in Chicago history
Not only will the couple’s new combined duplex in the Park Tower set a Chicago price record for a completed Chicago condo, it also consists of units that previously had set record-setting purchase prices themselves. When Ken Griffin bought the 66th floor in 2012, he paid $15 million for it, which was at that time a city record. And George Lucas and Mellody Hobson’s $18.75 million purchase of the 65th floor three years later also set a Chicago record.
Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard presides over a Village Board meeting March 4, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Dolton and Mayor Tiffany Henyard hit with another lawsuit from business owner
A federal lawsuit filed against Dolton and Mayor Tiffany Henyard alleges a business license for a barber shop was denied due to “arbitrary and capricious” actions by the mayor.
Cody Bellinger headed to the IL with fractured ribs; Chicago Cubs recall Pete Crow-Armstrong from Triple A
Bellinger, 28, left the Cubs’ 7-2 victory against the Astros before the seventh inning. He suffered the injury in the top of the fourth, crashing into the wall while trying to catch a Yainer Diaz RBI double.
Kamilla Cardoso eager for Sky training camp
Kamilla Cardoso plans to land in Chicago this week ready to work.
After being selected at No. 3 by the Sky in the WNBA draft just a week after winning the national championship with South Carolina, Cardoso didn’t feel there was time to take any sort of break. She maintained her workout routine throughout the whirlwind process of the draft and her final days of college with one goal in mind — making an immediate impact on the Sky this season.
Angel Reese isn’t taking anything for granted as a WNBA rookie, but her goals for the Sky are set
Rookie introductions look a little different this year, both in Chicago and across the WNBA. The Sky sold out of Angel Reese jerseys before she landed in the city. New teammate and No. 13 draft pick Brynna Maxwell was one of many to offer up praise for Reese amid her introduction: “I think Angel Reese may be the best rebounder I’ve ever seen.”
‘Dead Boy Detectives’ review: Hardy Boys for the supernatural realm
A pair of teenage ghosts solve mysteries for their supernatural clientele in “Dead Boy Detectives” on Netflix, an eight-episode season that sits squarely in the YA genre. Picture something like “The Hardy Boys,” but British. And dead, writes Tribune critic Nina Metz.
A portrait by Gustav Klimt has been sold for $32 million at an auction in Vienna
Klimt left the painting, with small parts unfinished, in his studio when he died of a stroke in early 1918 and it was given to the family who had commissioned it, according to the auction house.
The Jewish family fled Austria after 1930 and lost most of their possessions.
