Good morning, Chicago.
Have a loved one flying into O’Hare today? Prepare to pick them up.
Drivers for Uber and Lyft are planning a one-day airport strike in 10 cities on Valentine’s Day, including Chicago, to call attention to demands for better wages, better safety practices and job protection.
The Justice for App Workers coalition, which represents over 30,000 ride-share and delivery drivers across Illinois, is leading the local effort by calling for Chicago Uber and Lyft drivers to rally at O’Hare International Airport at 11 a.m. today. The one-day strike means drivers would refuse rides to and from O’Hare. The strike is not planned to affect Midway Airport.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Shanzeh Ahmad.
A day before the planned strike, an 18-year-old man was ordered detailed while awaiting trial in the slaying of an Uber driver. The Tribune’s Madeline Buckley has the full story.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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As Chicago police grapple with mental-health issues, deficiencies in the response are laid out in federal court
The Chicago Police Department’s officer wellness program remains understaffed and unable to respond urgently to the needs of CPD officers in need of mental health support, state officials on Tuesday told the chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Meanwhile, CPD’s data collection and analysis policies continue to hold back the department’s efforts to improve the Employee Assistance Program and reach compliance with a sweeping federal consent decree that is now in its sixth year. More than a dozen CPD officers have died by suicide since 2018.
Mayor Brandon Johnson will not renew ShotSpotter after summer
The ShotSpotter gunshot detection system has worn a bullseye among progressives in Chicago for years.
Now, Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will make good on a campaign promise to get rid of the technology. But he won’t do so immediately.
CPS looks to dump Aramark for cleaning services following years of complaints about dirty facilities
Chicago Public Schools is planning to terminate its custodial contract with Aramark, a Philadelphia-based service firm giant, in favor of signing a labor agreement with seven vendors after years of complaints of dirty schools and inadequate cleaning.
Local supporters of Ukraine urge passage of aid for war-torn nation
Supporters of Ukraine across the Chicago area are urging American leaders to continue sending aid to the battle-ravaged nation, as the war approaches its two-year mark later this month.
House votes to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a historic rebuke of sitting Cabinet member
The U.S. House voted Tuesday to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with the Republican majority determined to punish the Biden administration over its handling of the U.S-Mexico border.
Westfield Old Orchard owner taps developer to begin construction of homes, street-level retail
Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie will soon have hundreds of new luxury apartments, the next step in its $100 million transformation into a mixed-use neighborhood. Owner Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has enlisted residential developer Focus to build by 2027 about 400 homes with new street-level retail and expects to break ground in 2025.
Column: The Cubs and White Sox are back to work. Now where were we again?
The members of our two legacy franchises presumably are mentally refreshed and ready to go Wednesday, when a new season begins with the start of training camps in Mesa and Glendale, Ariz.
A new year means putting the last one in the rearview mirror and never mentioning it again in polite company — or to the media, writes Paul Sullivan.
- As Cubs camp gets underway, a slow free-agent market keeps options open
- 4 intriguing additions to the White Sox as spring training arrives
Chicago restaurants with seafood specials, fish fry, and pepper and egg sandwiches perfect for Lent
The most common Lenten sacrifice is giving up meat on Fridays. That means the Midwestern tradition of Friday fish fry dinners and the Chicago-specific pepper and egg sandwich are especially popular during Lent, which runs from Feb. 14 to March 28.
Some restaurants are going further afield for their meat substitutes, serving lobster rolls or fish tacos, while others are harking back to older practices by pouring Lenten beer. However you observe the season, these 26 spots will keep you satisfied until Easter.
Review: Civic Orchestra, Eighth Blackbird salute late conductor in dynamic evening
Monday’s Civic Orchestra concert wasn’t supposed to be a memorial, writes critic Hannah Edgar.
Earlier that morning, however, the Chicago Symphony’s longtime training ensemble lost one of its own: former principal conductor Cliff Colnot. He assisted former CSO conductors Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez at the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Lucerne Festival Academy, respectively. He was also a versatile composer whose wingspan covered lucrative commercial jingles — many with late writing partner Terry Fryer — and heady chamber arrangements of Stravinsky, Messiaen and Shulamit Ran.
‘Madame Web’ review: An itsy-bitsy spider of a Marvel hopeful
“Madame Web” is the first Marvel-affiliated movie for which Tribune film critic Michael Phillips feels truly sorry.
