Good morning, Chicago.
More than half of Chicago’s bus routes could be eliminated, at least parts of four “L” lines could shut down and Metra weekday service would be slashed to once an hour under a transit doomsday scenario.
Those are some of the cuts under consideration if lawmakers fail to plug a $771 million budget gap expected to hit the region’s four transit agencies as soon as next year, when COVID-19 relief funding runs out, the Regional Transportation Authority said. Also on the table are fare hikes and job losses.
The potential cuts represent a worst-case scenario if none of the budget hole is filled. The reductions would dramatically slash service across the CTA, Metra and Pace, limit access to buses and trains across the city and suburbs and bring dire economic consequences to the region, the RTA warned.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sarah Freishtat.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: the Chicago Board of Education postponing a vote on a controversial budget amendment, tornado damage evident in parts of Gary and how the Cubs spent their time in Tokyo.
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President Trump has ordered the dismantling of the Education Department. Here’s what it does.
Moving to fulfill a campaign promise, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the Education Department, an agency Republicans have talked about closing for decades.
Here is a look at some of the department’s key functions, and how Trump has said he might approach them.
Chicago Board of Education postpones vote on controversial budget amendment
The Chicago Board of Education postponed yesterday a controversial budget amendment pushed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, prolonging doubt about who will pay for a new teachers contract and a $175 million pension payment to the city.
School board President Sean Harden cited contract negotiations as the reason for the delay. “We’re extremely, extremely close to settling the teachers union contract,” Harden said at the start of the board meeting.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s Illinois Democratic Party targets Richard Irvin as he seeks third term as Aurora mayor
After making history in 2017 as Aurora’s first Black mayor and cruising to reelection four years ago, Richard Irvin now faces a political challenge partly of his own making as he seeks a third term leading Illinois’ second-largest city.
The ostensibly nonpartisan April 1 election is a rematch against John Laesch, an Aurora alderman at-large who was one of two candidates Irvin bested by more than 30 points in 2021. But this time Laesch is getting a boost from the Illinois Democratic Party, which entered the fray after Irvin repeatedly slammed Gov. JB Pritzker during the mayor’s well-funded but ill-fated bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2022.
US Rep. Sean Casten’s town hall cut short amid protests over Israel and Gaza
Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Casten said he “absolutely” will continue to hold town hall meetings even though an event in Downers Grove was cut short by police after heated confrontations between the congressman and a small group of Palestinian and Israeli supporters.
Tornado damage evident in parts of Gary as high winds and rain rip through region
Jeron Prentice didn’t hear sirens, he didn’t get a phone notification, but he knew when the storm hit, he had to hide. “I didn’t have time to make it to the basement,” Prentice said. “I just made it to the bathroom, and sat in the bathtub, and waited.”
Prentice’s home, which is owned by his aunt Carolyn Lewis, was one home on 21st Avenue in Gary that was hit by a Wednesday night tornado. The home was missing windows and some of its gutters, and early yesterday afternoon, it was still without electricity and gas.
Chicago health department advises residents to check measles vaccination status
The Chicago Department of Public Health is advising city residents to check their measles vaccination records, as the illness continues to spread in other parts of the country.
No cases of measles have been reported in Illinois this year. But across the country, there have been more than 300 cases so far this year in 15 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For Illinois’ Kasparas Jakučionis, his first — and perhaps only — NCAA Tournament is about ‘the beauty of basketball’
Kasparas Jakučionis never watched NCAA basketball growing up in Lithuania. But a few years ago, he latched onto March Madness and he understood its appeal. “You can see how every win, every detail in the game matters,” Jakučionis said. “Every possession matters, and you win or you go home. And that’s the beauty of basketball.”
The Illinois freshman guard will get his first in-person taste of the NCAA Tournament today when the No. 6 seed Illini face 11th-seeded Xavier at 8:45 p.m. at Fiserv Forum.
- Genesis Bryant nearly gave up basketball 3 years ago. Now she leads Illinois into 2nd NCAA Tournament in 3 years.
- Paige Bueckers, Olivia Miles and Aneesah Morrow headline list of 2025 WNBA draft prospects in NCAA Tournament
How the Chicago Cubs spent their time in Tokyo, from opening day to a welcome dinner full of surprises
Major League Baseball returned to the Tokyo Dome for the first time since 2019 with the Chicago Cubs’ two-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From opening day at the Tokyo Dome to a welcome dinner full of surprises, here’s how the Cubs spent their time in Japan.
‘The Annihilation of Fish’ review: A rare James Earl Jones film, restored, returns for a victory lap
Thanks to a recent restoration funded by Mellody Hobson and George Lucas via their Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation, the bracingly cockeyed comic romance “The Annihilation of Fish” has dropped in from the past, with Lynn Redgrave and Margot Kidder in memorable supporting roles. It opens in Chicago today at the Gene Siskel Film Center and the Wayfarer Theatre in Highland Park. Tribune film critic Michael Phillips has this review.
Mumford & Sons performs at Montrose Beach in Chicago on June 19, 2015. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
What to do in Chicago: Mumford & Sons, fashion at the Field and animals at Kohl Children’s Museum
Billed as part of the “Tour Before the Tour,” the British folk rock band Mumford & Sons takes the stage at the Chicago Theatre days before its new album release for “Rushmere.”
