Good morning, Chicago.
Brooklyn, Illinois, is considered to be one of the country’s first Black settlements, the first majority-Black town in America to incorporate and the oldest such-town still in existence today.
But nearly 200 years after its founding, the tiny town nestled on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River across from St. Louis is facing extinction. Now, a disparate group has coalesced around what many consider to be the best — and possibly last — chance at breathing new life into the historic community.
Here’s a look inside the push to save Brooklyn from the Tribune’s Jonathan Bullington.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Mexico opens possibility of receiving non-Mexican deportees from Donald Trump
Mexico opened the possibility of receiving non-Mexican migrants deported by the United States after initially saying they would push President-elect Donald Trump to return other nationalities directly to their countries of origin.
Chicago, once again, ranks among the worst in the nation for traffic congestion in annual report
Drivers lost an average of 102 hours to traffic last year, putting the Chicago metro area on par with New York City — and for Chicago, 2024 traffic was even worse than the 96 hours the average driver lost to traffic the year before, according to a new report from mobility analytics firm Inrix.
Downers Grove library board tables controversial proposal on leadership structure
A nonbinding referendum asking whether to replace the west suburban library’s appointed board with an elected one was the latest debate to rock the institution, which has become a battleground in recent culture wars around race, gender and sexuality that raged nationwide post-pandemic. Perhaps most memorably, the library was forced to cancel a drag queen-themed bingo activity in September 2022 after it received violent threats. It’s also seen the removal of two trustees since 2017.
The Rev. Stephen Cliffgard Lee speaks at a fundraiser for his legal defense at a Channahon church on Nov. 9, 2023. (Mike Nolan / Daily Southtown)
Orland Park pastor indicted with Trump sees ‘eventual case collapse’ with Georgia court ruling
A recent Georgia court ruling appears to be helpful news for an Orland Park pastor indicted in 2023 with now President-elect Donald Trump for allegedly tampering in the 2020 presidential election results in that state.
The Rev. Stephen Cliffgard Lee, pastor at Living Word Lutheran Church in Orland Park, was indicted in August 2023 on felony charges that include racketeering, influencing a witness and conspiracy to solicit false statements and writings.
State police honor Orland Park Trooper Clay Carns in funeral procession
Illinois State Police honored and helped lay to rest one of their own in Orland Park Friday.
Hundreds attended the private funeral service of State Trooper Clay Carns at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park as well as the previous night’s visitation. A procession followed from the church to Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip for Carns’ internment.
Hearthside child labor settlement approved by Texas judge
Downers-Grove based Hearthside Food Solutions will pay $4.5 million to settle an Illinois child labor probe after a Texas bankruptcy judge approved a settlement between the company and the Illinois Department of Labor and attorney general.
Pritzker EPA vows to step in as Trump calls for massive cuts to environmental protection
As the new top environment cop in Illinois, James Jennings knew coming in his job would be challenging no matter who won the presidential election.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is rebuilding under Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker after more than a decade spent shedding inspectors, slowing the policing of air and water pollution and feuding with the state attorney general’s office.
River Forest family helps plan funeral for longtime friend Jimmy Carter
Rick Jasculca has done work, off and on, for Jimmy Carter for nearly 50 years. And in the wake of the former president’s Dec. 29 death at age 100, Jasculca, a 77-year-old River Forest resident, had one more assignment.
Jasculca and three of his four children helped to plan the state funeral for Carter.
- Chicago-area supporters remember Jimmy Carter’s visit to the North Shore
- A guide to funeral services for former President Jimmy Carter
South Loop’s FAME Center seeks to expand its footprint and its arts programming for kids across the city
South Loop’s FAME Center started in 2018 in what founder Sheila Fortson called “a broom closet” with just a few students and a piano. The nonprofit is now looking to become a major music and arts education landmark in Chicago with the purchase of a 56,000-square-foot historic building.
Chicago Bears snap 10-game skid to finish 5-12. Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on a deeply disappointing season.
It was meaningful to close out the year Sunday at frigid Lambeau Field with a 24-22 victory over Green Bay as Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal split the uprights with no time remaining.
The victory at least sends the Bears into the offseason — into a coaching search that will shape the future of the franchise — feeling a little bit better about the state of things. Here are 10 thoughts as a deeply disappointing season ends.
- Bears ‘just let it out’ to top the Green Bay Packers for the first time in 6 seasons on Cairo Santos’ winning field goal
- Column: After a long overdue and exhilarating win, the Bears face much bigger questions about what’s next
Bill Murray & His Blood Brothers played Thalia Hall in a blues concert both serious and not
Several years ago, Bill Murray began performing with cellist Jan Vogler, playing serious spaces like Symphony Center and the Chicago Theatre, pairing Vogler’s takes on American composers with Murray’s melancholy as he recited Hemingway and Whitman. These Blood Brothers concerts seem to put a stamp on how serious Murray can get about music.
‘The Brutalist’ and ‘Emilia Perez’ triumph at Golden Globes
Two wildly audacious films — Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language, genre-shifting trans musical “Emilia Perez” — won top honors at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday.
The Globes, which are still finding their footing after years of scandal and makeover, scattered awards around to a number of films. But the awards group put its strongest support behind a pair of movies that sought to defy easy categorization.
