Good morning, Chicago.
President Donald Trump took a defiant victory lap in the House chamber on Tuesday night, using his address to a joint session of Congress to promote the flurry of drastic changes to domestic and foreign policy that his administration has made in just the first six weeks.
Delivering the longest address to Congress in modern presidential history, Trump reprised many of the themes that animated his campaign for president and spent little time unveiling new policies, as presidents traditionally have done on these occasions. He spoke for roughly one hour and 40 minutes.
“We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years — and we are just getting started,” he said.
Democrats lodged protests throughout the evening, with one member getting kicked out and others holding signs in silent opposition. But Trump argued that it was the Democrats who left him a country besieged by crises and that his administration was working to clean them up.
Here are six takeaways from Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress in his second term.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson set to defend sanctuary laws during testimony today before GOP-led congressional committee
Mayor Brandon Johnson and Democratic leaders from three other major U.S. cities are set to testify this morning before a Republican-led congressional committee holding a hearing on sanctuary policies for immigrants, setting the stage for a day that will be heavy on political theater and rhetoric about one of the nation’s most divisive issues.
The appearance by the first-term Chicago mayor before the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of its much-hyped hearing beginning at 9 a.m. Chicago time will give Johnson a national audience to defend the city’s sanctuary city policies that block local police from assisting in immigration enforcement.
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau slams Trump’s tariffs, says US is appeasing Putin while launching a trade war against Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called American tariffs “very dumb” and said that U.S. President Donald Trump is appeasing Russia while launching a trade war against Canada.
In a blunt news conference during his final days in office, Trudeau said that Canada would plaster retaliatory tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods in response to Trump’s 25% tariffs.
Once anchored by a McDonald’s, 150-year-old Delaware Building tops Preservation Chicago’s most endangered list
For the first time in the 22-year history of Preservation Chicago’s annual ranking of the city’s seven most endangered buildings, a former McDonald’s restaurant has cracked the list — sort of.
No, it’s not a classic golden arches burger joint, but rather a shuttered first-floor McDonald’s restaurant that may be threatening plans to renovate and repurpose a 150-year-old Loop office building, which tops the endangered list for 2025.
Chicago fur ban advances in City Council, furriers warn it would end their businesses
Chicago was founded by fur traders. Now, it might soon kick them out.
An ordinance banning the sale of new fur products advanced in the City Council yesterday, setting up a final vote as soon as next week.
Exonerated after 24 years in prison, man sues Evanston police, saying they coerced confession
An Evanston man who was exonerated last year after spending 24 years in prison for a 1996 murder is suing Evanston police, saying they coerced him into falsely confessing, as well as others, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday.
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A group of parents, students and CTU organizers put forward a message about what is at stake for children and educators with their five identified “sticking points” they say Chicago Public Schools must satisfy to settle on a new, four-year contract.
Attorneys in college sports lawsuit point to ‘intergalactic paradigm shift’ for NCAA
Attorneys seeking approval of the $2.8 billion legal settlement for college sports pointed to nearly 102,000 athletes who signed up to receive damages from the action, while batting down objections to what they described as the “intergalactic paradigm shift” the settlement will create across the NCAA.
Column: Other than a Flo Rida concert, how can the Chicago White Sox convince fans to come to the ballpark?
Coming off a modern-day record 121-loss season, any and all ideas to generate fan interest in the Chicago White Sox are welcome, writes Paul Sullivan. Well, almost any.
Short fiction, essays by ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ author Harper Lee to be published in October
Essays and early short stories by “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee will be published this fall. “The Land of Sweet Forever” compiles short fiction Lee wrote in the years before the 1960 release of her classic novel and includes essays completed between 1961 and 2006.
Court Theatre’s 2025-26 season: ‘Miss Julie,’ an inside-out ‘Shrew’ and a world-premiere musical
Court Theatre in Hyde Park has announced its next season, including a Shakespeare play, August Strindberg’s “Miss Julie,” more direction by Ron OJ Parson and a world premiere musical.
The theater’s 2025-26 subscription season, its 71st, features four titles in all and will be led by executive director Angel Ysaguirre and artistic producer Gabrielle Randle-Bent, who has been serving as interim artistic director since the departure of Charles Newell last summer and is the director of the theater’s current hit production of “A Raisin in the Sun.”
Readers’ Choice Food Awards winners: 10 restaurants, bars, bakeries and more that impressed Chicago in 2024
Hundreds of readers nominated their favorite coffee shops, bakeries, restaurants and more. We loved poring over the submissions and reading the excited comments supporting your favorite places. We selected five finalists in each of the 10 categories to move onto the final round, which saw more than 2,500 readers cast more than 7,600 votes. Here are the 10 winning restaurants, bars and more.
