Good morning, Chicago.
The Tribune’s “Culture of Corruption” series has documented how weak laws on campaign finance, ballot access, lobbying, ethics and oversight, and the byzantine structure of local government, among other issues, have helped dishonest politicians thrive in Illinois. Four of the last 11 governors, nearly 40 Chicago aldermen in the last half century and countless other public officials have served prison time.
The state’s sordid history may leave many residents feeling hopeless. But as the Tribune’s reporting shows, Gov. JB Pritzker and other elected officials across Illinois — from state legislators to township trustees — have the power to make a difference by shoring up weaknesses and closing escape hatches in the state’s ethics laws.
The Tribune’s Ray Long and Joe Mahr explain how.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Diligent, hardworking, powerful: Defense portrait of Michael Madigan emerges
After some 50 prosecution witnesses in the blockbuster federal corruption case against ex-House Speaker Michael Madigan, the trial’s spotlight has finally turned to the defense, and several distinct themes of their case have emerged.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s difficult 2025 budget fight portends even harder financial situation for 2026
Chicago has been under threat of downgrade for several weeks because of potential retreat from a key long-term pension reform and a continued lack of structural budget solutions. A downgrade isn’t only a reputational hit. It increases the city’s cost to borrow money for long-term projects like Johnson’s housing and development bond.
In mid-November, S&P put Chicago on credit watch and warned there was a 2-to-1 chance of a downgrade — not long after the city exited junk status in late 2022 — if it relied too much on short-term fixes to plug its gap.
Mayor Brandon Johnson launches unified shelter system as migrant shelter population wanes
Johnson moved ahead Friday on his plan to close Chicago’s migrant shelters and fold them into the city’s existing system for homeless residents.
The so-called “One Shelter” system will combine shelters that have long served the city’s homeless with several facilities launched to care for the over 50,000 migrants who came to Chicago since August 2022. The shift, announced in September and finally carried out just days before the Christmas holiday, marks the end of the city’s migrant crisis response.
Chicago Board of Education votes to fire schools chief Pedro Martinez
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s Chicago Board of Education voted Friday to fire Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Pedro Martinez, clearing the way for the mayor to install a new leader for the nation’s fourth-largest school district after a monthslong power struggle.
After a closed session, the school board voted 6-0 to terminate Martinez’s contract and provide him 20 weeks of severance pay. His duties and responsibilities will be modified, according to the resolution — a prospect Martinez challenged after the vote.
Newberry Library discovers it holds the largest example in existence of an extremely rare paper type
The ancient manuscript rested on the shelves of the Newberry Library for more than a century. Little was known about the bound book from colonial Mexico that had been donated to the library in 1911 by Edward Ayer, a collector and a tycoon who made his fortune supplying ties to railroad companies.
But then, two years ago, pages of the manuscript were projected onto the big screen at a Nahuatl conference at Harvard University where experts of the Aztec language had gathered, their first conference since the pandemic. It was like a family reunion, one attendee remembered.
Invasive aquatic plant hydrilla discovered in DuPage County
One of the world’s most invasive aquatic plants is now in DuPage County, much to the concern of researchers and state officials. But they said the discovery underscores how public education can keep this invasive species and others out of Illinois waterways.
University of Chicago researchers are building a ‘bionic breast’ to restore sense of touch for mastectomy patients
In a groundbreaking project, University of Chicago-led researchers are working to restore that sense of touch for patients who have undergone mastectomy. The team of doctors, neuroscientists and bioengineers is building an implantable device dubbed the “bionic breast,” which will be designed to revive feeling post-mastectomy and reconstruction.
Detroit Lions show the Chicago Bears what they’re lacking as they lose 9th straight in lopsided fashion
The Lions, even amid a plague of injuries, have so much of what the Bears are lacking. On Sunday, that showed up in their ability to capitalize on Bears mistakes and surge ahead early to a 20-0 lead, forcing the Bears to play catch-up the whole game.
Matas Buzelis set a high bar for his 1st Chicago Bulls season: Win as many games as possible. Then win Rookie of the Year.
Matas Buzelis isn’t necessarily the loudest guy in the locker room, but he can’t be backed down from a challenge — an argument, a bet, a one-on-one competition.
And that irreverence extends to the court, where Buzelis refuses to show any hesitation.
Restaurateurs turn La Grange expansion into YouTube reality series
Part restaurant expansion. Part reality show. Almost all drama.
For the past six months, some of that drama of opening a new restaurant was caught on video, as Jonathan and Brianna Cowan have made a series of videos on YouTube chronicling the ups and downs that go into opening their new restaurant in west suburban La Grange, Wooden Paddle.
Henry Holt / G.P. Putnam’s Sons / Farrar Straus and Giroux
“The Wedding People” by Alison Espach (Henry Holt); “Assassins Anonymous” by Rob Hart (G.P. Putnam’s Sons); Garth Greenwell’s book “Small Rain” (Farrar Straus and Giroux).
Biblioracle: My 2024 Biblioracle Book Awards for fiction, the first half
When it came time to compile the possible contenders for the 2024 Biblioracle Book Awards for fiction, John Warner came up with 20 titles, more than one-third of all the new fiction he read this year.
Ron Grossman: Childhood memories of Hanukkah in Albany Park
In Ron Grossman‘s youth, 4341 N. Sacramento Ave. was the last Jewish building on the block. There wasn’t anything insidious in that. Chicago’s neighborhoods were ethnically homogenous in the 1950s. So the Jewish and the non-Jewish sections of Albany Park had to meet somewhere.
It just happened to be immediately south of the courtyard building where he lived in a second-floor apartment. Looking out its street-side windows in late December made him painfully aware that his family’s religion differed from some of his classmates’ at the Bateman Elementary School.
Get jolly for holly in your yard
Holly, with its distinctive pointed leaves and bright red berries, is a common sight at this time of year, at least on holiday cards and wrappings. Can you grow it in your garden?
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