Good morning, Chicago.
Chicago posted the seventh biggest population gain of any city in the country last year, leading a wave of growth that also lifted many suburbs, particularly those on the fringes of the metro area.
The city of Chicago added 22,164 residents between mid-2023 and mid-2024, according to new estimates from the U.S. census. That population growth works out to a percentage gain of only 0.8%, but it marks the second year in a row that Chicago’s population grew, reversing a downward trend in previous years.
Read the full story and see population estimates for your city, town or village across the Chicago area.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including the Trump EPA gutting limits on certain forever chemicals, the Chicago Bears 2025 schedule and a film highlight of this year.
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Race for retiring US Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat opens up contests for Chicago-area congressional seats
The still emerging race to succeed Dick Durbin in the U.S. Senate featuring candidates from within the state’s congressional delegation has created a domino effect — a growing list of contenders now racing for suddenly open seats in the U.S. House.
Trump EPA gutting limits on certain forever chemicals, delaying deadline to reduce others
In a rare acceptance of regulations adopted during the Biden administration, the Trump-led Environmental Protection Agency is backing the first national limits on a pair of toxic forever chemicals contaminating the drinking water of most Americans.
But the Trump EPA wants to eliminate standards for a handful of replacement chemicals that appear to be just as dangerous, if not more so.
Wisconsin judge argues prosecutors can’t charge her with helping a man evade immigration agents
A Wisconsin judge charged with helping a man who is in the country illegally evade U.S. immigration agents who were trying to detain him at her courthouse filed a motion to dismiss the case yesterday, arguing that there’s no legal basis for it.
Bally’s Chicago gets green light from Gaming Board to resume construction
The Illinois Gaming Board has given Bally’s Chicago the green light to resume building its permanent casino after a two-week stop work order over an unauthorized waste hauler at the River West site.
Construction is expected to start up again today on the planned $1.7 billion casino complex at the former Tribune printing plant site, with a refined vendor vetting process in place, the Rhode Island-based casino company said.
Illinois Head Start officials react with caution to RFK Jr.’s assurances of continued funding
Illinois Head Start officials reacted warily yesterday to assurances from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the administration of President Donald Trump supports continued funding for the federal early childhood development program, which supports about 28,000 low-income children and families in Illinois alone.
Second federal agency launches investigation into Northwestern University for alleged antisemitism
The investigation comes three months after the U.S. Department of Education launched one into Northwestern and four other universities for “widespread antisemitic harassment.”
Pioneering Chicago music streaming service AccuRadio files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Chicago-based internet radio pioneer AccuRadio, which launched its free music streaming service in 2000, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid an ongoing legal dispute over artist royalty payments.
AccuRadio, a leading independent streaming service offering nearly 1,400 music channels, owes SoundExchange, the organization empowered by Congress to collect digital royalties for recording artists, more than $10 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.
Chicago Bears 2025 schedule: Monday night opener is 1 of at least 3 prime-time games
The Chicago Bears will play at least three prime-time games in the first season under new coach Ben Johnson, including an opening NFC North clash with the Minnesota Vikings on “Monday Night Football” on Sept. 8 at Soldier Field.
What we heard on Day 2 of the NBA draft combine: Players who might be on the Chicago Bulls’ radar
The Bulls met with several players for one-on-one interviews, including Tre Johnson, Thomas Sorber, Asa Newell, Liam McNeeley and Collin Murray-Boyles. Jase Richardson has a meeting scheduled with the Bulls later this week. The collection reflects the team’s outlook on the draft — while the frontcourt is an obvious weak point for the roster, the Bulls are still in a position in which drafting the best available talent is a necessity regardless of position.
Here’s what we heard from several players who may be on the Bulls’ radar heading into the draft.
Column: ‘Shoeless’ Joe Jackson’s saga is an essential part of baseball history — and could finally come to an end
“Shoeless” Joe Jackson’s saga got second billing Tuesday after Pete Rose’s reinstatement from his long and storied battle to get into the Hall. Recency bias was no doubt at play, but Jackson’s story is one that all true fans should learn, writes Paul Sullivan.
Here’s an abbreviated version of how it played out in the Tribune, and in this particular column, “In the Wake of the News.”
More than 1,000 Starbucks baristas go on strike to protest new dress code
Starbucks put new limits starting Monday on what its baristas can wear under their green aprons. The dress code requires employees at company-operated and licensed stores in the U.S. and Canada to wear a solid black shirt and khaki, black or blue denim bottoms.
‘Overcompensating’ review: A campus comedy about being in the closet
College is a time of reinvention, writes Tribune TV and film critic Nina Metz. But the pressure to immediately fit in and find your place as a freshman can be intense. Who are you when you’re away from home for the first time? Are you seen as “cool” enough to make equally cool new friends and attract the “right” sort of romantic attention?
These issues come to the fore, amid boozy parties, sloppy hookups and bad judgment, in the lightly raunchy Amazon comedy “Overcompensating.”
Column: Eva Victor turned a wrenching personal story into a 2025 film highlight, coming soon
Four months ago at the Sundance Film Festival, a terrific debut film called “Sorry, Baby” made its world premiere and won the screenwriting award and led, quickly — surprisingly so, in this post-pandemic realm of diminished moviegoing and movie-buying expectations — to very good things.
Tribune film critic Michael Phillips says Eva Victor’s film is many things, plus one overriding and quite rare thing: a calm, confident and dead-serious dark comedy, risking a lot right there, about a young woman’s coping mechanisms in the emotionally muddy aftermath of sexual assault.
