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Eric Anderson managed wildfire risks and restored habitat through controlled burns in the Indiana Dunes National Park, which relies on fire to thrive and sprawls close to urban residential areas.
Two weeks ago his role in that mission ended when he was fired alongside three others. They were among the 1,000 probationary park service staff members terminated as President Donald Trump’s administration freezes funding and slashes personnel across federal agencies.
The future of protected natural spaces and the ability of these places to provide recreation and education became more precarious Wednesday after Trump ordered federal agencies to come up with plans to reduce permanent staff members by March 13.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Adriana Pérez.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson’s upcoming testimony before Congress will unfold in an arena of political risk — and theater
When Mayor Brandon Johnson lands in the nation’s capital this week to testify at a Republican-led hearing on sanctuary cities, he will be walking into one of the riskiest arenas of his political career.
On Wednesday, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will put Johnson and three other Democratic mayors in the hot seat, where GOP members will try to score political points off them over their respective laws blocking local police from assisting in immigration enforcement.
Gov. JB Pritzker and top Illinois Democrats appeal to public in fight against potential Medicaid cuts
Top Illinois Democrats led by Gov. JB Pritzker and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin made an impassioned plea for the public to help fight potential cuts to Medicaid and other programs by President Donald Trump and Republicans who control Congress, acknowledging their party has little power to counter the GOP’s economic agenda.
“We’re facing a real challenge. Red alert, everybody,” Pritzker said during a news conference in the Illinois Medical District in Chicago’s Near West Side, where he was joined by Durbin and several members of Illinois’ congressional delegation. “I mean, it is time to wake up. Get out. Do something.”
Illinois hit by President Donald Trump’s cancellation of foreign aid contracts
Peter Goldsmith received official notice last week that the moment he hoped to avoid had arrived. President Donald Trump’s administration had terminated the federal government’s agreement to fund the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Similar notices went out to 18 other crop innovation labs at land-grant universities across the country and to thousands of other projects funded by foreign assistance programs as the State Department charged ahead with plans to slash spending on other countries and shut down USAID, which has been in the crosshairs of Trump and adviser Elon Musk.
Federal funding freeze lifted for some Illinois clean energy projects
With the fight over a federal clean energy funding freeze entering its second month, two of the biggest prizes in Illinois are emissions-reduction grants totaling more than $570 million.
Now, the state appears closer to claiming both of them.
‘Not every case is defendable’: Criminal defense attorneys evaluate Highland Park shooting trial as opening statements are set to begin
With opening statements in the Highland Park parade shooting trial set to begin today at the Lake County courthouse, Chicago-area criminal defense lawyers with experience in high-profile cases offered insight into how attorneys for Robert Crimo III, who is accused of carrying out the 2022 Independence Day mass shooting, may go about the “next-to-impossible” task of defending a man some believe indefensible.
Bally’s Chicago $250 million IPO stalled at SEC; casino refunding deposits of potential minority investors
In a setback to its fundraising efforts and inclusive equity obligations to the city, the $250 million Bally’s Chicago initial public offering for minority investors failed to close as planned in February after it stalled at the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tribune files lawsuit against CTA for failing to turn over documents related to 2023 Yellow Line crash, among other FOIA requests
The Chicago Tribune is suing the Chicago Transit Authority for allegedly violating the Freedom of Information Act after the transit agency failed to turn over records related to the 2023 Yellow Line crash, among other requests.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court, cites six FOIA requests made by Tribune reporter Sarah Freishtat over 14 months in which the CTA did not respond promptly, fully or at all.
Rooted in faith, an unseen but growing community of Guatemalans in Chicago defies deportation fears in face of Trump
There are now about 30,000 Guatemalans who are living in the Chicago area without permanent legal status, according to data from the Guatemalan General Consulate in Chicago, as unauthorized migration from the Central American country to the United States has risen dramatically over the past decade.
Many of them are coming from a region that is among the poorest and most rural: the Western Highlands, according to the Migration Policy Institute. An estimated 1.3 million Guatemalans were U.S. residents in 2020, up 44% from 2013, with more than half of them living in the United States without legal status, according to its 2022 report.
Chicago Sky will host Caitlin Clark and Indiana Fever at the United Center for 2 historic games this summer
Women’s basketball is — finally — coming to the United Center.
The Chicago Sky will host the Indiana Fever at the Bulls and Blackhawks arena for two games this summer. The first will take place June 7 at 7 p.m., and the second is on July 26 at 2 p.m.
Column: The Ben Johnson-Ryan Poles union sparks optimism — but Chicago Bears’ heavy lifting has just begun
Time will tell, writes Dan Wiederer.
The early feedback on the mushrooming bond between Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson is positive. Poles is convinced he barreled up this latest big swing on reviving the team, and Johnson has injected Halas Hall with a booster shot of energy over the past month.
Chicago famed as skyscraper’s birthplace. But respect also is due the humble bungalow.
Chicago is rightly celebrated as the skyscraper’s birthplace. But another architectural achievement wasn’t recognized, even locally, until recently.
The humble bungalow made it possible for Chicagoans to realize the American Dream of home ownership. In the first part 20th century, between 80,000 and 100,000 bungalows were built in Cook County. The majority went up between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression, making many about 100 years old. Many were home to first-generation immigrants. They formed an arc around the city’s center known as the Bungalow Belt.
Semicolon bookstore will go on after community steps up to save the beloved institution
After Semicolon, the beloved bookstore in West Town, announced in January that it plans to close in April, an outpouring of community support persuaded the owner to give her dream another go.
Danielle Moore, 38, is the founder of Semicolon Books, a nonprofit, mission-based bookseller with the goal of bridging the literacy gap in Chicago and surrounding communities. Every dollar spent on books in the store goes back into the community through book giveaways, she said.
But Moore said it became “difficult for us to exist.”
‘Anora’ wins best picture at 97th Academy Awards
“Anora,” a strip club Cinderalla story without the fairy tale ending, was crowned best picture at the 97th Academy Awards, handing Sean Baker’s gritty, Brooklyn-set screwball farce Hollywood’s top prize.
