Good morning, Chicago.
Half a century of rule by the Assad family in Syria crumbled with astonishing speed after insurgents burst out of a rebel-held enclave and converged on the capital, Damascus, taking city after city in a matter of days.
Opposition forces swept across the country and entered Damascus with little or no resistance as the Syrian army melted away. President Bashar Assad, Syria’s ruler for 24 years — succeeding his father, Hafez Assad — fled the country. Russian state media reported that he was in Moscow.
It’s a stunning development in Syria’s devastating 13-year conflict. Anti-government protests in 2011 met with a brutal crackdown, escalating into a civil war that has killed more than half a million people and displaced half of Syria’s prewar population of 23 million. Assad, backed by Iran and Russia, gradually regained control of more than two-thirds of Syria, leaving the rebels with one stronghold in the northwest of the country.
There the conflict remained, largely frozen, for years until late November. Here’s a look at a seismic two weeks for the Middle East.
And here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Imperiled wetlands save the Midwest billions in flood damage costs, study shows
Thirty million acres of unprotected wetlands across the Upper Midwest, including 1 million acres in Illinois, are at risk of being destroyed largely by industrial agriculture — wetlands that provide nearly $23 billion in annual flood mitigation benefits, according to new research. In the long term, these wetlands could prevent hundreds of billions of dollars of flood damage in the region.
Muslim voters in Illinois were more dissatisfied with major presidential candidates in this election, with Gaza the defining issue
Longtime Bridgeview resident Itedal Shalabi typically votes Democratic but when the time came to pick a candidate for U.S. president this year, she took a pass.
State anti-book-ban law leads some school districts to forsake grants to maintain local control
Starting this year, public libraries in Illinois had a choice: adopt principles against book banning or give up state grants.
A number of school districts, many of them in deeply conservative areas of south and central Illinois, appear to have taken the latter option.
Editorial: Downtown Chicago needs reimagining. It’s OK (this time) to think small.
The famed civic architect Daniel Burnham uttered words that became both a mantra and a shackle: “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.”
Well, today’s Chicago is broke, writes the Editorial Board. And, in the short term, it’s hard to imagine the city implementing anything like Millennium Park, the massively successful civic endeavor of two decades ago. We’re entering the second week of December and we don’t even have a 2025 budget or any clear consensus toward achieving one. Just plenty of red ink.
A timeline of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the search for his killer
The search for UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s killer since Thompson was ambushed Wednesday outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel has stretched beyond New York City. While still looking to identify the suspect, the FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction. That’s on top of a $10,000 reward offered by the NYPD.
Here’s what we know so far about what the NYPD describes as a planned attack.
‘Long overdue’: Dick Allen, the 1972 American League MVP for the Chicago White Sox, is elected to the Hall of Fame
Dick Allen’s journey to Cooperstown included three All-Star seasons with the Chicago White Sox, where he earned the American League Most Valuable Player award in 1972.
Allen received 13 out of a possible 16 committee votes (81 percent) on Sunday to earn enshrinement in the Class of 2025 — clearing the 75 percent threshold. He will be joined by Dave Parker, who received 14 votes.
Chicago Bears were outcoached, outplayed and outclassed. Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on Week 14’s dud of a ballgame.
Whatever mental boost or fresh start the Chicago Bears thought they would get after a 10-day layoff from their latest fourth-quarter meltdown and nine days after coach Matt Eberflus was fired didn’t make it to Levi’s Stadium on Sunday.
The Bears (4-9) were outcoached, outplayed and outclassed. Here are 10 thoughts after an eventful week and a dud of a ballgame.
- The post-Matt Eberflus Bears defense got their ‘butts kicked’ in one of the season’s worst performances
- Column: The Bears are on a losing skid with no end in sight. Somehow, it just keeps getting worse.
With Anders Sorensen behind the bench, the Chicago Blackhawks want ‘to see progress.’ Where do they go from here?
For the Chicago Blackhawks, the only way is up.
Well, technically, they could dig a deeper hole at the bottom of the NHL standings, but the Hawks believe interim coach Anders Sorensen has the tools and new ideas to help them climb out of their morass.
A factory, a church and a bar: Three more Chicago anniversaries as 2024 comes to a close
As hard as we try, we invariably make it to December and realize we’ve run out of time to acknowledge some of the year’s bigger anniversaries.
Restaurant news: Chef Erick Williams opens Cantina Rosa, the only craft cocktail bar in Hyde Park
Erick Williams, the James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of Virtue restaurant, just opened the only craft cocktail bar in the Hyde Park neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago.
Cantina Rosa opened Nov. 29, around the corner from his critically acclaimed Southern restaurant, and across the street from Daisy’s Po-Boy and Tavern, his New Orleans cafeteria.
