Good morning, Chicago.
Make any resolutions going into 2025? Studies have shown that up to 70% of people who make New Year’s resolutions abandon those good intentions within months.
Here are some tips for how to keep those resolutions when your willpower starts to falter.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Nearly all of Puerto Rico is without power on New Year’s Eve
A blackout hit nearly all of Puerto Rico yesterday as the U.S. territory prepared to celebrate New Year’s, leaving more than 1.3 million clients in the dark. Officials said it could take up to two days to restore power.
Johnson and Snelling highlight drops in murders, shootings
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Superintendent Larry Snelling yesterday again highlighted citywide drops in several violent crime categories, asserting that the city’s public safety efforts will remain steadfast in the coming year.
With 572 murders recorded as of Dec. 27, according to city data, 2024 was the third consecutive year that Chicago recorded fewer murders than the previous year. Snelling told reporters that, in addition to the decline in murders, the city also recorded a 7% drop in total shooting incidents and a 4% decline in the number of overall shooting victims. CPD’s Bureau of Detectives cleared 322 murder cases in 2024, leading to a clearance rate of 56%, Snelling said.
Robberies and motor vehicle thefts also fell by 17% and 25%, respectively, CPD data show.
House Speaker Emanuel ‘Chris’ Welch taps former Cook County state’s attorney candidate as chief of staff
Former Cook County state’s attorney candidate Clayton Harris III on Thursday will take over as chief of staff to House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, the speaker’s office confirmed.
Harris, who narrowly lost to Eileen O’Neill Burke in the Democratic primary for state’s attorney this spring, replaces Tiffany Moy, who has been Welch’s chief of staff since 2021.
Flu, RSV are on the rise in Chicago. Also, watch out for a nasty stomach bug.
Leslee Cohen-Lavin and her family were feeling pretty good just before the holidays.
“Then all of a sudden, we each went down right when break started,” said Cohen-Lavin, of Highland Park. Her 5-year-old daughter got a fever and aches and lost her appetite. Soon, Cohen-Lavin developed a days-long fever. Finally, her husband got what felt like a head cold. They canceled most of their plans for winter break.
“It’s been a tough break, but it could be a lot worse,” said Cohen-Lavin, whose family is now on the upswing.
It’s a common sentiment right now throughout Chicagoland, because it’s not just the holiday season, it’s also a far less celebrated time of year — respiratory virus and stomach bug season.
Chicago Blackhawks lose 6-2 to the St. Louis Blues at Wrigley Field — their 6th defeat in 7 Winter Classics
There’s still no joy in Wrigleyville, at least where the Chicago Blackhawks are concerned.
The Hawks lost their sixth of seven Winter Classics yesterday — and their second at Wrigley Field — suffering a 6-2 defeat at the hands of the St. Louis Blues.
Another longtime rival, the Detroit Red Wings, had dealt the Hawks a 6-4 loss in the first Classic at Wrigley on Jan 1, 2009.
The four-goal margin made for the Hawks’ worst-ever Winter Classic loss, topping a 4-1 loss at Busch Stadium on Jan. 2, 2017 — again to the Blues.
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Illinois beats South Carolina 21-17 in a heated Citrus Bowl for the 5th 10-win season in program history
Illinois is no stranger to late heroics. The Illini entered yesterday’s Citrus Bowl leading the nation with four fourth-quarter comebacks.
Once again things would come down to the final 15 minutes as running back Josh McCray scored two touchdowns, including the winner, and the Illini outlasted South Carolina 21-17.
Illinois (10-3) won 10 games for the first time since 2001 and the fifth time in program history (1902, 1983 and 1989 were the others).
Lenny Randle, ‘The Most Interesting Man in Baseball’ who spent a season with the Chicago Cubs, dies at 75
Lenny Randle, a big league player for 12 seasons who spoke five languages, performed stand-up comedy, was dubbed “The Most Interesting Man in Baseball” and was suspended for punching his Texas Rangers manager, has died. He was 75.
Randle died Sunday at his home in Murrieta, California, one of his sons, Bradley, said. Bradley said Randle’s wife, Linda, asked that the cause of death not be publicly disclosed.
Favorite foods from 2024: The most memorable dishes and drinks we enjoyed across Chicago
As we ring in 2025 and reminisce on all of the previous year’s memories, the writers and editors of the Tribune food section have looked back at all the delicious dishes and drinks we had in 2024. From tasty tacos to decadent desserts to complex coffee, here are the bites that we’ll remember.
Booking ahead: Astro tourism, cooler destinations and a passion for pickleball are trending for travel in 2025
Escaping the heat. Chasing the northern lights. Setting sail in record numbers.
These are a few of the travel trends predicted for 2025, when FOMO (fear of missing out) may finally give way to JOMO (joy of missing out).
“We’re seeing a desire to slow down,” said travel adviser Cathy Holler, CEO of Momenti Travel.
Holler shared her insights as a panelist at Virtuoso Travel Week. The annual event in Las Vegas draws nearly 5,000 members from Virtuoso’s global network of advisers and affiliated resorts, cruise lines and other travel providers. Much of the conference focuses on where and how people will travel in the coming year.
Column: I’m casting myself as a main character in 2025. Will it help?
“Main Character Energy.”
That’s what we call confidence today, that’s how we describe the self-centering of our lives in our personal narratives. As slang, “main character energy” was not one of the breakout phrases of 2024 — its popularity got traction during the in-your-own-head days of quarantine — yet it seems more useful now, heading into 2025, writes Christopher Borrelli. Sometimes the best way of picturing a future is by casting yourself as the lead in an epic. The production can get interminable. The role may be thankless.
But there’s sweep, twists that lead down unexpected paths, unexpected villains and allies, maybe even resolution. Many of us have come to recognize this feeling in the early days of a new year: We look back, and inch forward to the unsteady first episodes of an unsettling new season in a very familiar ongoing series that promises new characters and unforeseen conflicts.
Goodbye 2024.
Hello … who knows?
