Good morning, Chicago.
A little before 9 on a warm Thursday morning in mid-May, Doug Morgan climbed into the seat of an excavator and positioned the teeth of the bucket just above the centerline of an empty grave. He is 55, with a white beard and a face worn by working in the sun, and he long ago came to view digging graves at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery as “taking care of my fellow veterans.”
Morgan joined the Marines as a teenager and served in Desert Storm. He has worked at Abraham Lincoln for 21 years, helping to fill the gentle green hills in rural Will County with the symmetrical gray-white headstones of American military veterans and their closest family. Some served in peacetime. Some died long after coming home from war. On a busy day, Morgan and his team might dig 15 graves, many of them now for those who served in Vietnam.
It was rare that Morgan and his men knew much about those whose graves they prepared. This was an exception. As Morgan made the first cut into the grass, he knew exactly who it was for. For days, it had been the talk of the cemetery: that a soldier who’d been missing since 1944 had been found. That a World War II veteran, confirmed to have been killed in action, was coming to rest.
Read the full story by the Tribune’s Andrew Carter.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: a gathering to mark the fifth anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, why Chicago police lawsuit payouts are hitting a record amount and what happened at this weekend’s Sueños Music Festival.
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Public transit funding and pension reform, budget and Bears stadium are big issues in final week of legislative session
Illinois lawmakers head into the final days of their spring session this week looking for ways to close a substantial gap in the budget while at the same time shoring up ailing public transit operations and taking steps to fix inequities in the state’s pension system.
5 years after killing of George Floyd, protest in Chicago decries Trump directive to empower police
On the fifth anniversary of the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, an event that prompted a national reckoning over race and police brutality, a gathering in Chicago joined coordinated protests across the country yesterday against President Donald Trump’s rollbacks of diversity, equity and inclusion — particularly his signing of an executive order aimed at strengthening state and local law enforcement.
Soaring Chicago police lawsuit payouts hit record amount, more on way
Chicago’s spending on police misconduct settlements and other police lawsuits is soaring this year, and the steep price for taxpayers could rise hundreds of millions more.
‘Our people hire our people’: Long before DOJ probe into Mayor Brandon Johnson, racial politics coursed through City Hall hiring
Mayor Brandon Johnson sat onstage at a cavernous Woodlawn church and shot back at the criticism that he only cares about hiring Black people with his most forceful defense yet of the representation among his top appointees.
Addressing a Black audience last week, he quoted the Rev. Jesse Jackson: “Our people hire our people.” Then one by one, he shouted out six of his Black deputies and a Black-owned business recently awarded an airport contract.
Can Pope Leo remain a U.S. citizen now that he’s a foreign head of state?
Pope Leo XIV’s election as the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church elevated him to the extremely rare, and legally thorny, position of being an American citizen who now is also a foreign head of state. Can the Chicago-born pope remain a U.S. citizen while leading a foreign government?
- Pope Leo XIV prays for Chinese Catholics to be in communion with Rome in first comments on thorny issues
- Pope Leo XIV declares ‘I am Roman!’ as he completes formalities to become bishop of Rome
Illinois coal plants get Trump exemptions from Biden-era rule limiting mercury, other toxic air pollution
Last month, in an attempt to revive the nation’s dwindling coal industry, President Donald Trump threw a lifeline to a few dozen energy companies, encouraging them to apply for exemptions from the latest federal limits on soot, mercury and other toxic air pollution.
After being holed up during the pandemic, renters are now seeking spaces that allow them to connect with other tenants
Many Chicago residents in the last decade have flocked to high-amenity apartment complexes, drawn by the convenience and built-in community they offer. The demand for spaces to live, work, exercise and play, often alongside other residents, has become a driving factor for new building developers.
Column: Report on Chicago Cubs’ All-Star Game announcement raises many questions — but team stays quiet
The Cubs have denied a report by their flagship radio station that the team has been awarded the 2027 All-Star Game, but never mind that small detail. No one believes them, so let’s start getting excited before it is made official.
But first, a brief history lesson from Paul Sullivan is in order.
- Cubs catcher Reese McGuire slugs 2 home runs to fuel comeback win: 3 series takeaways
- Catcher Miguel Amaya headed to the IL after suffering a left oblique strain in Cubs’ 6-4 loss
On a rainy May day 75 years ago, the ‘Green Hornet’ streetcar disaster left more than 30 dead
On May 25, 1950, Walter Skonicki sat down on his couch to perform his evening ritual of listening to the radio or perusing the newspapers.
“What the heck!” he exclaimed upon hearing an explosion and feeling a blast of air coming through his living room window at 6242 S. State St. Looking out, he got a preview of the Tribune’s front-page headline the next morning: “TRUCK-TROLLEY FIRE! 33 DIE.”
AC/DC at Soldier Field: They’re still at the top if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll
The scene at Soldier Field on Saturday was at once familiar and silly — and altogether brilliant, especially in its distillation of AC/DC’s inimitable blend of harmless mischief, megawatt power, combustible energy and laser-focused attack.
At the 2025 Sueños Music Festival, Chicago artists get their moments alongside Shakira and Peso Pluma
In the heart of Chicago’s Grant Park, the Sueños Music Festival celebrated Latinos over Memorial Day weekend. Thousands flocked to downtown Chicago for the fourth edition of the festival that has brought world-renowned names of the Latin music scene to the Windy City and uplifted the culture and identity of many.
This Chicago chef just won Season 2 of Food Network’s ’24 in 24: Last Chef Standing’
Food Network’s latest high-stakes cooking competition series brought together 24 chefs from across the country to battle it out over a grueling 24-hour period, aptly named “24 in 24: Last Chef Standing.” And the last chef standing for its second season is Chicago’s Jonathon Sawyer, chef partner of the Loop’s Kindling.
