Good morning, Chicago.
As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents led Sai Pavuluri out of his Northwest Side home in handcuffs, he turned to look at the camera crew recording his arrest.
He wore shorts and a T-shirt. His face offered no discernible expression.
Several feet away, Dr. Phil McGraw — a TV talk show host who, along with his camera crew, was embedded with Homeland Security agents as they launched an immigration blitz in the Chicago area on Sunday — opined on the arrest in keeping with his role of de facto spokesman for the operation.
In another video shared on social media, Pavuluri is shown sitting inside a black sedan as a federal agent opens the door and allows a reporter from the pro-Donald Trump website Frontline America to stick a microphone in the 31-year-old man’s face and question him. Pavuluri, who was born in India, explained he had been in prison since 2018, serving an eight-year sentence for a drunken driving incident that killed 20-year-old Mariyah Howard of Beecher.
He had been released from prison only 16 days earlier, according to Illinois Department of Correction records. Looking into the camera, he asked for a “fair chance” and pleaded for grace from no one in particular.
“I did something wrong,” said Pavuluri, who was in the country on a student visa at the time of the crash. “I’m sorry about what I did.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not released detailed information about its arrests this week, leaving Pavuluri’s detention as one of the few cases tacitly confirmed by the agency. With ICE refusing to say how many people were arrested locally or the reason for their detainment, curated videos have filled the void on social media and prop up the Trump administration’s so-far unverifiable claims that it is only going after felons.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
Passenger jet with 64 aboard collides midair with Army helicopter while landing at Reagan Airport near Washington, D.C.
An American Airlines jet carrying 60 passengers and four crew members collided with an Army helicopter while landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington, prompting a large search-and-rescue operation in the nearby Potomac River. There were multiple fatalities, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the precise number of victims was unclear as rescue crews hunted for any survivors.
Landmark corruption case against ex-Speaker Michael Madigan is in jury’s hands
Nearly four months after they were first called to Chicago’s federal courthouse, jurors have begun deliberating in the most consequential Illinois public corruption case in years: the racketeering case of former House Speaker Michael Madigan and his longtime confidant, Michael McClain.
Trump administration revokes deportation protections for 600,000 Venezuelans
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said yesterday that the Trump administration has revoked a decision that would have protected roughly 600,000 people from Venezuela from deportation, putting some at risk of being removed from the country in about two months.
Fed stands pat on interest rates, ending a string of cuts that could have boosted downtown development
The Federal Reserve said yesterday it was holding interest rates steady, a sign of caution amid stubborn inflation and worries from some that possible tariffs or immigration restrictions by the Trump administration could keep prices elevated. The economic headwinds also dashed hopes among real estate developers who say continued rate reductions by the Fed, which cut rates three times last year beginning in September, could have eventually kicked off construction of new apartment complexes across downtown Chicago.
Assessor Fritz Kaegi says Chicago properties worth a combined $50.8 billion in 2024, calls for bill relief in Springfield
Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi announced the total value of properties in Chicago topped $50.8 billion in 2024, and said city homeowners will shoulder a slightly smaller share of the overall property tax burden this year if his values hold.
Kaegi’s estimate for the value of commercial buildings like warehouses, offices, and big apartment buildings is a combined $25.8 billion, while his estimate for all of the homes and smaller apartment buildings in the city is $25 billion. The total is a 23% increase compared to the year before.
Illinois’ eighth graders outperform their peers in all but one state in national math and reading test
While officials at the U.S. Department of Education expressed concern regarding the results of the “Nation’s Report Card,” noting that it depicts a “heartbreaking reality,” Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education expressed excitement.
That’s because Illinois’ eighth graders outperformed the national average in both math and reading, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress results.
Chicago shoppers seeing egg shortages, higher prices
More than 145 million chickens, turkeys and other birds have been slaughtered since the current outbreak began, with the vast majority of them being egg-laying chickens.
One of the nation’s top egg producers confirmed Tuesday that one of its farms has tested positive for cases of bird flu. Rose Acres Farms, which says it is the second-largest egg producer in the U.S., released a statement saying that it had detected cases of avian influenza at a farm in Seymour, Indiana.
“The Yard” at Wrigley Field, a new outdoor space located in the bleachers above the batter’s eye in center field. It will have five new semi-private rental spaces for Chicago Cubs home games. (Chicago Cubs)
Column: Wrigley Field bleachers addition offers a ‘backyard’ patio with an ‘intimate vibe.’
The Chicago Cubs have created another new patio section at Wrigley Field, albeit one with a twist, writes Paul Sullivan.
This time the premier section is located in the center-field bleachers and consists of a semisecluded area with its own artificial grass, serving a light meal with an “unlimited” supply of cold beverages. The Cubs are calling it “The Yard,” as in “backyard,” not the old-timey nickname for baseball parks.
- Sign up for our Cubs Insider newsletter
- Why Ryan Pressly waived his no-trade clause to join the Chicago Cubs
Courtney Vandersloot is returning to the Chicago Sky, bringing veteran leadership to a young, rebuilding team
It wasn’t goodbye for the Chicago Sky. Two years after departing her longtime team in free agency, two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot is returning to the franchise for the 2025 season.
New bird-watching record marks Cook County as prime hot spot for bird-watching
Tarik Shahzad, who works for the Nature Conservancy, said he spent almost every free moment last year looking for birds. The 27-year-old ended up logging 294 birds, a new record for Cook County, which is a hot spot for bird-watching in the Midwest.
Column: That show should have been a movie
How many times have you sat down to watch a TV show and thought: That should have been a movie?
It’s a phenomenon particular to streaming originals, where an idea suited for a two-hour movie is stretched to fill a 6-10 episode season, if not multiple seasons, writes Tribune TV critic Nina Metz.
‘You’re Cordially Invited’ review: Two weddings and a few laughs
Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon are ready to play, and “You’re Cordially Invited” has its moments, which is enough, probably, for home viewers in a five-or-six-laughs-will-do frame of mind, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips. The comedy, written and directed by Nicholas Stoller, premieres Jan. 30 directly to Prime Video.
