Good morning, Chicago.
The day after a tentative Chicago Teachers Union contract was reached, Mayor Brandon Johnson took a victory lap on the pivotal education win — one long-promised and hard-won.
“I said, ‘get it done,’ and they did,” an ebullient Johnson told reporters at City Hall on Tuesday, almost a year after the previous agreement expired. “I’m confident that the people of Chicago are relieved, first of all, that we’re not going to have the teachers strike or even a strike vote. It’s the first time in 15 years.”
Johnson indeed reached this point without Chicago Public Schools classrooms closing, unlike his predecessors Lori Lightfoot and Rahm Emanuel. But it remains to be seen whether the journey to get here was worth it for the mayor and his staunchest labor ally.
Johnson’s critics are already pledging to pounce on his close alliance with the teachers union in the 2027 mayoral campaign. They will find ample fodder in the rancorous process that led to this point, along with certain-to-continue tensions among a divided school board, mayor’s office and lame-duck CEO Pedro Martinez.
One City Council opponent, downtown Ald. Brian Hopkins, had a succinct answer when asked what the negotiations cost Johnson and the CTU: “Their reputations.”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Nell Salzman, Alice Yin and Jake Sheridan.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a look at how the University of Illinois is handling athletes’ NIL deals, a history of Chicago’s iconic flag on the anniversary of its adoption and our guide to Record Store Day.
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Illinois joins 18 other states suing to block President Trump’s election order, saying it violates the Constitution
Democratic officials in 19 states, including Illinois, filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s attempt to reshape elections across the U.S., calling it an unconstitutional invasion of states’ clear authority to run their own elections.
The lawsuit is the fourth against the executive order issued just a week ago. It seeks to block key aspects of it, including new requirements that people provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote and a demand that all mail ballots be received by Election Day.
Northwestern engineers develop tiny pacemaker, smaller than a grain of rice
A new, tiny pacemaker — smaller than a grain of rice — developed at Northwestern University could play a sizable role in the future of medicine, according to the engineers who developed it.
Though the device is still years away from being used in humans, it could eventually be useful for infants with congenital heart defects and also for adults, the researchers say.
Suburban men charged in beating at Mount Greenwood pizza place stand trial
Nicholas Barraco, then owner and manager of a Mount Greenwood pizza place, was working a Saturday-evening shift last summer, he testified yesterday, when he tried to kick out a rowdy and intoxicated group of men.
That night, June 22, was his last night of work. He was hit on the head, he said, and woke up days later in a hospital with a cracked skull, the beginning of a long and incomplete recovery.
Choose Chicago names new CEO to lead city’s tourism agency
After a yearlong search, Chicago has chosen a New York destination marketing executive to lead the city’s tourism efforts.
Today in Chicago History: The city’s iconic flag is adopted
On this day in 1917: Chicago’s now iconic flag, designed by Wallace Rice, was adopted by the City Council.
In a big-money era, University of Illinois shrugs off rules on athletes’ NIL deals
Records show that a fraction of the school’s athletes are complying with a state law requiring them to disclose endorsements. In the wild west of college sports, Illinois’ flagship university says the rules aren’t relevant.
Column: A new chapter begins at Wrigley Field as the Chicago Cubs finally return home
Wrigley Field was a beehive of activity yesterday as workers prepared the ballpark for Friday’s home opener between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, writes Paul Sullivan.
Last-minute fixes were still being made, and some Cubs players trickled into the clubhouse to put stuff in their lockers or work out on their off day. In 24 hours the gates would open, and another chapter in the long-running saga of the 111-year old ballpark would begin.
- Vintage Chicago Tribune: Chicago Cubs who have hit for the cycle
- Photos: What to eat at Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field this season
4 Chicago Bears observations from the NFL owners meetings, including Ben Johnson’s competitive edge starting to show
The NFL owners meetings wrapped up Wednesday at The Breakers resort, a three-day affair in which the league got to the bottom — or in the case of the spirited “tush push” debate, right to the middle — of several pressing issues. For the Chicago Bears, the week also offered an opportunity to further articulate their vision for everything that’s ahead. Team leaders spoke openly on everything from the stadium project to this month’s NFL draft planning to the relationships that new coach Ben Johnson is building as he gets settled.
With the Bears beginning Phase 1 of their offseason program Monday in Lake Forest and sprinting into the home stretch of their draft preparation, here are four observations from the week in Florida.
- Bears expected to sign veteran QB Case Keenum as an experienced voice for Caleb Williams
- What to know about the Bears’ possible move to Arlington Heights — or a domed stadium on the lakefront
For this year’s Record Store Day, our definitive guide to Chicago record stores
You can tell a lot about a city by its record stores. Like independent bookshops and craft breweries, they function as safe spaces to connect with the community, get a pulse on cultural happenings and gather with friends.
Though Chicago has long been home to some of the country’s finer record emporiums, the past several years witnessed a mini-boom of destinations for music lovers who want to enjoy more than a soulless stream or algorithm-triggered TikTok clip.
Review: In ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ on Broadway, here’s George Clooney with an urgent bulletin
When George Clooney walks out on stage as Edward R. Murrow, the distinguished American journalist, the chiseled Hollywood star gets the customary entrance applause. Another ovation follows at the end of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the re-creation of a mid-century newsman’s battles with McCarthyism. But that doesn’t feel as much for Clooney as for Murrow and the values for which the newsman stood, writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones. And that’s a credit to Clooney, actually, and an indication surely of just how unmoored Americans feel right now.
What to do around Chicago: Parade in Greektown, ‘La La Land in Concert’ and Tina Fey and Amy Poehler in Rosemont
Also around the area this weekend, Franz Ferdinand plays the Vic and a former director of the Human Rights Watch speaks as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival.
