Good morning, Chicago.
Bright red ribbons decorate the trees and signposts of northwest suburban Niles in anticipation of a funeral procession and service today to honor Chicago Fire Department Capt. David Meyer, who was killed last week while battling a suspicious garage fire in the Austin neighborhood.
Funeral services are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at St. John Brebeuf Church, following a roughly 15-minute procession.
Meyer, 54, served as a captain of Truck 29 and spent most of his roughly three-decade career on the West Side.
He is survived by his wife, four children and his parents, according to his obituary, which noted that “his devotion to his family was known to all who met him.”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Angie Leventis Lourgos.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including who Sen. Tammy Duckworth endorsed for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois reports a data breach and a look at Pilsen’s growing coffee culture.
Today’s eNewspaper edition | Subscribe to more newsletters | Asking Eric | Horoscopes | Puzzles & Games | Today in History
Sen. Tammy Duckworth endorses Juliana Stratton for Dick Durbin’s seat
Sen. Tammy Duckworth yesterday endorsed Juliana Stratton to be her next seatmate from Illinois, which gives the two-term lieutenant governor backing from two of the state’s highest-ranking Democrats before any other competitors have announced a bid for retiring Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat.
Stratton announced her Senate candidacy Thursday, a day after the 80-year-old Durbin said he would not seek a sixth term. On Friday, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker gave Stratton his endorsement, creating expectations that his power and wealth could pre-empt a lengthy field from developing.
Gov. JB Pritzker dismisses as ‘ridiculous’ GOP accusations he urged violence in New Hampshire speech
Gov. JB Pritzker rejected accusations from Republicans — including the state party and the White House — that he was inciting violence with a fiery speech in New Hampshire in which he said Republicans shouldn’t “know a moment of peace.”
Facing closure from Trump cuts, U. of I. soybean lab gets temporary lifeline
A University of Illinois soybean research lab slated to close as a result of President Donald Trump’s sweeping cuts to foreign assistance has received an anonymous donation of $1 million that will allow it to remain open for another year.
Information of more than 9,000 people potentially exposed in Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois data breach
Compromised personal information might include names, addresses, dates of birth, service dates, telephone numbers, email addresses, medical record numbers, account numbers, medical/dental service and billing information, according to the notice.
Gary Police work with FBI to investigate teenage girl’s disappearance, offer $20K for information
For Dalia Guerrero, a new update in the investigation to find her granddaughter gives her hope.
“We’re happy that they’re doing something and just not doing anything,” Guerrero said. “We don’t want this to be a cold case, by any means.”
Column: How Shedeur Sanders’ NFL draft slide saga reflects the state of the nation
Cleveland Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said it best when addressing the story of the defensive coordinator’s 21-year-old son who pranked quarterback Shedeur Sanders on draft day by pretending to be an NFL general manager.
“People are morons,” Stefanski said. “It’s sad.”
Confirmed. Seldom has that been as evident as it was during the weekend’s most talked-about story — Sanders sliding from a possible first-round pick to a fifth-rounder by the Browns at No. 144 overall.
It was the perfect storm of sports, media and politics in the post-truth era, where any and all speculation is welcome on social media and facts are regarded as a minor nuisance.
Trump celebrates the Super Bowl champ Philadelphia Eagles, but star QB Jalen Hurts skips the ceremony
President Donald Trump feted the 2025 Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at the White House yesterday, but several players, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, decided to skip the celebration.
Hurts and other players cited scheduling conflicts as the reasons for their absences, according to a White House official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Illinois signs Cal transfer Andrej Stojaković, son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojaković
The Illinois men’s basketball team added high-profile transfer Andrej Stojaković to its new-look roster yesterday.
Stojaković, the son of three-time Sacramento Kings All-Star Peja Stojaković, signed with Illinois after a sophomore season at California in which he averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocks. The 6-foot-7 guard from Carmichael, Calif., played his freshman season at Stanford and averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds.
ESPN ranked him the 31st-best player in the transfer portal this spring after he received All-ACC honorable mention in the regular season and was selected to the All-ACC Tournament first team. Illinois coach Brad Underwood called Stojaković “a very important addition” because of his experience, high basketball IQ and productivity.
Autopsy confirms Gene Hackman died from heart disease, notes his Alzheimer’s and prolonged fasting
The main cause of Gene Hackman’s death was heart disease, but he was also in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and likely had not eaten for a long time, according to a new autopsy report.
Review: Epic ‘Berlin’ at Court Theatre pictures the end of a cultural paradise
Anyone who has seen the musical “Cabaret” knows of the free liberality of pre-war Berlin, a nirvana equal parts sexual, artistic and intellectual. The kind of place that would attract a Sally Bowles, looking to sing and to live, or a Christopher Isherwood, seeking characters about whom to write.
But Isherwood’s novel “Goodbye to Berlin” was written as the Nazis were already taking up space at the Kit Kat Club and alarms bells were ringing. The new show at Court Theatre, a world premiere simply titled “Berlin,” ranges further back into the heart of the Weimar Republic, and centers not just the denizens of a nightclub but a whole variety of characters, all inhabiting what at the time was perhaps the most exciting city in the world.
One mile, more than a dozen Latino-owned cafes: How Pilsen’s coffee culture is growing across 18th Street
18th Street from Halsted to Ashland. Roughly a mile’s distance in walkable Pilsen. All styles of art line the buildings, doors and businesses here — cartoony murals, motifs of Indigenous art, portraits of community faces, stylized writing in English, Spanish and Arabic. There are taquerias, tattoo shops, kitschy vintage stores, nonprofit community services, James Beard-nominated restaurants and a library named for late activist Rudy Lozano. But a change has been happening over the past five years. Pulsing through and around 18th Street like heartbeats in a central artery, there are now over a dozen independent, Latino-owned coffee stores. Once, there was only one, Cafe Jumping Bean.
