Good morning, Chicago.
On March 7, 2016, the National Review published a letter signed by three dozen Catholic laypeople — some academics, some nonprofit leaders — that called Donald Trump “manifestly unfit to be president of the United States.”
Among the signers was Brian Burch, a west-suburban Chicago man who co-founded an advocacy group called CatholicVote about a decade earlier.
Seven months later, Burch dramatically shifted his position on Trump; his organization went on to spend close to $2 million trying to sway Catholic voters to support Trump’s campaigns in 2020 and 2024.
Those efforts appear to have been rewarded. In December, Trump selected Burch to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Holy See; the nomination was formally sent to the U.S. Senate March 11 for confirmation.
“He represented me well during the last Election, having garnered more Catholic votes than any Presidential Candidate in History!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Brian loves his Church and the United States – He will make us all proud.”
Burch’s nomination comes amid simmering tensions between the Trump administration and the Vatican over immigration issues and cuts to aid programs. Some observers say his likely appointment could be a harbinger of continued turbulence given Burch’s past criticism of Pope Francis, whose extended hospitalization has raised questions about how long the 88-year-old pontiff will remain the head of a Catholic Church that counts an estimated 53 million U.S. adults among its nearly 1.4 billion global flock.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Jonathan Bullington.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including how DOGE cuts are hitting home, how much competing billionaires are spending in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race and a look at efforts to restore the crumbling site where Abraham Lincoln began his political rise.
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US holds separate talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives to discuss proposed ceasefire
U.S. negotiators worked to hammer out details of a proposed partial ceasefire in Ukraine today, meeting with representatives from Russia a day after holding separate talks with the Ukrainian team. Each side has accused the other of undermining efforts to reach a pause in the 3-year-old war.
Politicians join postal workers to oppose Trump administration plans to strip USPS of independence
Over a hundred people gathered in Federal Plaza yesterday to protest the Trump administration’s plans to move the postal service under the U.S. Department of Commerce and calls for privatizing the agency.
Throughout the rally, postal workers — accompanied by some of their children — donned red shirts that said “Fight like hell” and sang along to songs like “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar. Many held signs that said “We are not for sale” and “Hell no to privatization.” They were joined by workers from other industries as well as local and state politicians.
Elon Musk and Gov. JB Pritzker among billionaires spending in pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race
As Dane County Circuit Judge Susan Crawford faces conservative Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, one person’s involvement is drawing as much attention as any issue: Elon Musk. Two groups funded by the world’s richest man and polarizing Trump adviser have spent more than $13 million in support of Schimel, the former state attorney general, according to a tally from the Brennan Center for Justice.
Musk, who has taken his metaphorical chain saw to the federal government and lashed out at judges who’ve blocked the president’s swift moves, is far from alone in funneling money from outside Wisconsin into an officially nonpartisan state Supreme Court election. Liberal financier George Soros has given $1 million to the Wisconsin Democratic Party ahead of the April voting, and billionaire Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker — who previously signed a state law banning out-of-state campaign contributions to Illinois judicial candidates — gave the Wisconsin Democrats $500,000 in January.
Amid Elon Musk backlash, Tesla used car market slumping in Chicago
With anecdotes of owners trading in their Teslas amid backlash over CEO Elon Musk’s unelected role as agency dismantler-in-chief for Trump 2.0, don’t be surprised to see a few more of the EVs parked under giant tube men at Chicago-area used car lots this spring.
Landing a data center is worth the environmental tradeoffs, Illinois towns say
At a recent Minooka Village Board meeting, the main topic was water and how to squeeze Equinix’s request for 3 million gallons a day out of Minooka’s total allocation of 9 million when the pipeline is set to open in 2030.
“One of the questions the state will ask is, is it really the highest and best use of a finite resource to use drinkable water to cool a computer?” said Hugh O’Hara, executive director of the Will County Governmental League and a longtime pipeline planner.
Turnovers end Illinois’ season in an 84-75 loss to Kentucky in the 2nd round of the men’s NCAA Tournament
An Illinois team that was inconsistent for stretches this season stumbled out of the gate against Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament second round and never quite found its groove in an 84-75 loss. Fourteen turnovers killed the Illini and left them feeling like they didn’t reach their full potential once again.
Once on the brink of closure, Dyett High School wins first ever basketball state championship: ‘We’re making it worth your fight’
For the school and its surrounding neighborhoods of Washington Park and Bronzeville, victory has never been just about the trophy. Dyett’s journey to becoming 2A state champions has the makings of a classic Cinderella story.
A decade ago, Chicago Public Schools had slated Dyett to close, when its last graduating class had only 13 seniors enrolled and gym classes were held online, years before the pandemic brought remote schooling into the zeitgeist. But after 12 people underwent a 34-day hunger strike in 2015, the pinnacle of a yearslong protest by community leaders determined to keep a neighborhood school, the district reversed its decision. The following year, Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts opened its doors to about 150 freshmen.
Chicago historian Shermann ‘Dilla’ Thomas planning future with DuSable Museum after being laid off by ComEd
When Shermann “Dilla” Thomas was suddenly let go from a job at ComEd in September after 13 years, he was not sure what to do about his future.
But a few months later, Thomas, who is widely known as Chicago’s urban historian with his catchphrase “everything dope about America comes from Chicago,” is starting to settle into a new role as the brand ambassador and chief of social media for the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center.
Efforts underway to restore crumbling site where Abraham Lincoln began his political rise
Time has taken a toll on the state’s effort to memorialize Lincoln in the town where he developed his political chops.
Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site has fallen into disrepair as the tab for deferred maintenance on properties managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has grown to an estimated $1 billion statewide, according to IDNR spokesperson Jayette Bolinski.
Column: In ‘Cinema Her Way,’ female directors talk about struggle, survival and the industry
Just published by Rizzoli New York, “Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words” is a beautiful 20-way conversation on the topic of filmmakers whose often brilliant careers did not and do not come easily. The reasons for that have everything to do with the words “her” and “female” in the book’s title.
The Chicago-based writer and critic Marya E. Gates wrote it, bringing a terrifically inquisitive and expansive authorial voice to this collection of interviews, writes Tribune film critic Michael Phillips.
