Good morning, Chicago.
Democratic leaders who had been bracing for a deficit of more than $3 billion expressed confidence yesterday that the outlook had improved, a day before Gov. JB Pritzker is set to unveil what he has promised will be a balanced budget.
No tax increases are expected in the governor’s proposed budget, which is set to include a small surplus, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch of Hillside said.
While projections inevitably change over time, the possibility of a surplus is surprising given that the governor’s budget office in November said it expected a deficit of about $3.2 billion. With billions of dollars in federal pandemic money no longer available to Illinois, the next spending plan has promised to be a test of fiscal discipline for a Democratic governor who was forced to raise taxes by hundreds of millions of dollars last year to balance the budget. Pritzker has said in recent weeks that tax hikes are a last resort as he prepared for this year’s proposal.
The governor’s budget speech today doubles as his annual “State of the State address” to offer new initiatives, and it comes as Pritzker gets closer to making a decision on whether to seek a third term next year, while also pondering a potential post-Trump presidential bid.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Questions emerge about what may have caused Delta plane to burst into flames and flip over
Investigators will consider the weather conditions, as well as the possibility of human error or an aircraft malfunction as they try to determine why a Delta Air Lines jet burst into flames and flipped upside down as it tried to land in Toronto, aviation experts said.
Texas measles cases are up, and New Mexico now has an outbreak. Here’s what you need to know
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 58 cases as of yesterday, and eight people in neighboring eastern New Mexico also have been diagnosed with measles.
Here’s what you should know about how to protect yourself against measles, as well as what’s happening in Texas and New Mexico.
Mayor Brandon Johnson says staff changes were ‘personal decisions’ despite housecleaning promise
Mayor Brandon Johnson downplayed the recent departures of some top city officials yesterday, arguing the exits that came days after he hinted he was rooting out disloyal staff were “personal decisions” the outgoing employees made themselves, not firings.
“These are very personal decisions that people make,” Johnson said, citing the retirements of CTA President Dorval Carter and Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee.
Mayor Brandon Johnson names final Chicago school board member after weeks of delay
Mayor Brandon Johnson made his 11th and final school board appointment yesterday, two months after naming 10 others to the 21-member board.
Fired Thornton Township worker, Tiffany Henyard’s boyfriend, files suit alleging wrongful termination
Lawsuits filed by those involved in a large brawl during a township meeting last month paint two different pictures of how the fight started and who was at fault.
Notre Dame hires Ja’Juan Seider away from Penn State to coach running backs
Notre Dame has hired running backs coach Ja’Juan Seider away from Penn State to do the same job for the Irish, coach Marcus Freeman announced.
Seider had been the Nittany Lions running backs coach since 2018 and was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2022 and assistant head coach in 2023.
5 things we learned from the Chicago Blackhawks, including players buzzing about ‘unreal’ 4 Nations tournament
The Chicago Blackhawks’ first practice since the NHL took a break for the 4 Nations Face-Off looked more like a series of training camp drills than a typical midseason session.
Rugby rematch coming to Soldier Field, with Ireland facing New Zealand in November
For those wondering what might become of Soldier Field if the Bears follow through on plans to move to Arlington Heights or an adjacent domed stadium, circle Nov. 1 on your calendar.
That’s when rugby powers Ireland and the New Zealand All Blacks are set to face off in Chicago in a much-anticipated rematch of a seminal 2016 contest between two heated rivals in front of a stadium likely to be packed with international fans.
How George E. Johnson made millions in the hair care industry while following the Golden Rule
George E. Johnson, at 97, is a rich man. He’s been a rich man since the 1960s. He lived in Glencoe much of his life. He had a tennis court and swimming pool, and when his first wife came home from Neiman Marcus carrying thousands of dollars’ worth of designer clothes, he blinked and showed concern, but Joan, his wife, said they had money, what was the worry? Johnson was a rich man.
And yet Johnson, as he insists in his new memoir, “Afro Sheen: How I Revolutionized an Industry with the Golden Rule, from ‘Soul Train’ to Wall Street,” never thought of himself as a capitalist. Being a capitalist meant greed, an accumulation of wealth, and Johnson accumulated plenty, but he lived by a question you don’t hear often in 2025: How much money does one man need?
Review: ‘Betrayal’ at the Goodman offers the melancholy of age instead of seduction
“Betrayal” is not a look at the consequences of early-life actions, writes Tribune theater critic Chris Jones. It’s about the doing of them and the slow but relentless unfolding of consequences to which the young typically are oblivious.
