Good morning, Chicago.
With dark-rimmed glasses balanced in the middle of his nose as he looked down on the man President Donald Trump wants to run the FBI, Illinois’ senior senator spoke uninterrupted for 13 minutes late last week as stone-faced nominee Kash Patel shifted in his seat.
“Mr. Patel has neither the experience, the temperament, nor the judgment to lead an agency of 38,000 (agents) and 400 field offices around the globe,” U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said in his opening statement for Patel’s Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing Thursday. “During the time I’ve served on this committee, I’ve had the opportunity to consider four FBI director nominations. Each one was a Republican. And I voted for all of them. My concerns about the director of the FBI are not partisan.”
While Durbin argued that he wasn’t picking on Patel because he’s a Republican, his comments blasting Trump’s pick also weren’t a wholly unusual position for the Senate’s No. 2 Democrat.
Indeed, Durbin now finds himself on the front lines of the opposition party’s response to Trump’s ambitious efforts to turn the federal government upside down. That’s especially true when it comes to matters of the judiciary and the rule of law, and it could mean Durbin one day will be the top Democrat questioning — and probably opposing — any Trump picks for the U.S. Supreme Court.
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Trump says Americans could feel ‘some pain’ from his new tariffs that are triggering a trade war
President Donald Trump said Sunday that Americans could feel “some pain” from the emerging trade war triggered by his tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China, and claimed that Canada would “cease to exist” without its trade surplus with the United States.
Trump on Sunday night threatened to impose steeper tariffs elsewhere, telling reporters that it will “definitely happen” with the European Union and possibly with the United Kingdom as well.
- Is Donald Trump ready for the fallout on tariffs? Are Americans? Here’s what to know
- Here are some goods in the crosshairs of Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China
The Gaza war is paused, but Israel and Hamas keep up a fierce battle of optics over hostage releases
The visuals out of Israel and Gaza during recent hostage-for-prisoner swaps were part of a choreographed battle of optics waged in parallel to the 16-month ground war between Israel and Hamas. Each side uses the light and shadow of images to make themselves look virtuous and strong — and each other monstrous and weak. It’s propaganda. But some images also tell the truth: The chaos during Yehoud’s release in Gaza on Thursday, for example, reflected the fragility of the ceasefire deal that took effect Jan. 19.
Chicago becomes an epicenter of resistance amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
The TikTok video went viral early one morning: A recording appeared to show a half-dozen federal agents, one with the acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement emblazoned on his back, walking past a street of brick bungalows in a western suburb of Chicago.
Another social media post alerted viewers that immigration officials were believed to have been spotted near a high school in Cicero. The message also mentioned that a young woman in a white winter coat was seen among the uniformed agents.
As President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown grips the Chicago area in fear, a burgeoning resistance movement has also emerged here to challenge — as well as evade — immigration enforcement.
What will Mayor Brandon Johnson’s playbook be against ‘raggedy’ Trump White House?
Over the past decade, the job description for the mayor of Chicago has included a new duty: responding to Donald Trump.
The question before Brandon Johnson is, how does the freshman mayor come out on top against a reality TV-bred GOP president made famous for breaking the rules?
Heading into budget season, Gov. JB Pritzker faces major challenge to show ‘Illinois can govern itself’
With Gov. JB Pritzker still weighing whether to seek a third term, the firmer foundation he’s laid for Illinois’ historically shaky finances faces a major stress test from ballooning deficit projections, increased spending pressures and uncertainty over federal assistance with President Donald Trump back in the White House.
A disappearing witness, an odd choice of hold music and the Fighting Irish: 5 strange things you might not know about the Madigan trial
With allegations of corruption at the highest levels of state government, the racketeering trial of former Democratic House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and his longtime confidant, ex-lobbyist Michael McClain, is certainly serious business.
But as with any lengthy trial, particularly one chock-full of big personalities and scores of undercover wiretaps, there were plenty of funny and off-the-wall moments during the 16 weeks of proceedings. Here are some of the highlights.
Elgin woman’s mysterious disappearance 41 years ago explored in new podcast
The last time anyone can remember seeing Karen Schepers, the 23-year-old Elgin woman was leaving a Carpentersville bar where she attended a celebration with co-workers in 1983. Her car was never seen again. Her bank account remained untouched, credit cards unused and possessions abandoned.
More than four decades later, Elgin police still don’t know what happened to her. They’re hoping a new look at an old case via their 13-part podcast “Somebody Knows Something” might trigger a forgotten detail or lost memory that could help close the books on the mystery.
Zach LaVine era ends for the Chicago Bulls, who trade the 2-time All-Star to the Sacramento Kings
The Zach LaVine era has officially ended in Chicago.
The Chicago Bulls are sending the two-time All-Star to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team trade also headlined by De’Aaron Fox, a source confirmed to the Tribune.
- Column: Luka Dončić trade helps spur the Bulls to finally make a deadline deal — trading Zach LaVine
- Nikola Vučević’s triple-double isn’t enough for the Bulls, who lose 127-119 to the Detroit Pistons
Eric Bieniemy hired as Chicago Bears’ running backs coach and Jim Dray returns to oversee the tight ends
Ben Johnson continues to progress toward completing his staff as the Chicago Bears will retain tight ends coach Jim Dray and are hiring Eric Bieniemy to oversee the running backs, sources have told the Tribune.
Beyoncé wins album of the year for ‘Cowboy Carter’
Beyoncé won album of the year for “Cowboy Carter” at the Grammys, delivering her — at last — the show’s elusive top award.
The superstar, who is both the most awarded and nominated artist in Grammys history, has been up for the category four times before and many feel she has been snubbed by its top honors.
A South Side gathering of Black intellectuals set the stage for Black History Month
The seeds of Black History Month were sown more than 100 years ago in the South Side YMCA at 3763 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago.
Carter G. Woodson, a University of Chicago alum, was staying in a room at the Colored YMCA, as it was designated, while manning a booth at the Exposition of Fifty Years of Negro Progress in the nearby Chicago Coliseum. It marked the 50th anniversary of the 13th Amendment ending slavery, and Woodson was selling posters celebrating Black heroes and books about Black history.
Geraldine Brooks’ new book “Memorial Days” joins Joan Didion’s “The Year of Magical Thinking” (2005) and Michelle Zauner’s “Crying in H Mart” (2021) as memoirs of grief worth seeking out. (Knopf / Viking)
Biblioracle: Geraldine Brooks’ memoir ‘Memorial Days’ is about the meaning of love and loss
One could argue that we both have enough memoirs about grief, given that there are so many, and also that there could never be enough, given that grief is a universal human experience that also somehow comes in an infinite number of varieties.
“Memorial Days,” Geraldine Brooks’ memoir of the sudden death of her husband, writer Tony Horwitz, is not just another book about grief. Structured in alternating chapters, one thread recounts her experience of receiving the news of her husband’s death following a sudden cardiac event on the streets of Washington, D.C., while in the midst of a book tour. Brooks recounts her shock and sudden disorientation at being in a world without her partner.
On a cold day, stay indoors and research plants
If you’re considering adding trees or shrubs to your landscape in the coming growing season, winter is the perfect time to do the research you’ll need to find the right kind.
