Chicago Sun-Times
RINGING UP ONE ‘SMASH’ AFTER ANOTHER
Most people hope for a moment that changes their life. Even better if it impacts the culture around them. By the summer of 2016, Cole Bennett had at least three such moments. Barely out of his teens, the burgeoning director had garnered 1 million...
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CPS CEO PLAYS DEFENSE IN D.C.
WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers grilled Chicago Public Schools Supt./CEO Macquline King about transgender students, religion and sex education as she testified under subpoena Wednesday at a contentious U.S. House education committee hearing. The...
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Therapeutic theater
Northwestern University theater major Laura FajardoRiascos warms up her voice as her classmate, Kennedy Naseem, strums on a ukulele. The duo is sitting in a colorful playroom on the 17th floor of Lurie Children’s Hospital in Streeterville. They’re...
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IDLE MATTER
Amy Eickhoff says the charter buses that idle outside her 62-floor building spew fumes so noxious that people living there avoid going out on their balconies. “All those fumes do is go right up the side of the building like a chimney,” said Eickhoff,...
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INTERCEPTED
The Chicago Bears’ plan to relocate to Northwest Indiana just doesn’t sit right with Delores Davis and Gwen Williams, both lifelong North Siders. “How’s that going to sound? ‘Indiana Bears’ … it doesn’t sound right,” said Williams, 72. “No, no, hell...
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INSIDE FBI’S HIGH-TECH HUNT FOR BANK ROBBERS
The alleged leader of a bank robbery crew killed in a shootout on the West Side last week was tracked down in a weekslong manhunt powered by surveillance cameras, tracking devices and cellphone monitoring. Abdulhafedh Abdulhafedh, 25, was behind the...
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ALLIGATOR’S MUSICAL MILESTONE
The hometown label marks its milestone anniversary with a headlining set Friday at the Chicago Blues Festival. Here, founder Bruce Iglauer and artists Lil’ Ed Williams, Ronnie Baker Brooks and Nick Moss reminisce about the label’s legacy and look to...
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SHADES OF FEDS’ FALL BLITZ
Federal agents chased and detained a man Tuesday morning in Albany Park, crashing into a woman’s car during the pursuit and threatening residents who gathered at a chaotic scene. A Sun-Times reporter witnessed the scene and its aftermath. The arrest...
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WHERE DO BEARS GO FROM HERE?
Bears executives woke up Monday morning with a decision to make — that is, if they slept at all after a long, disappointing night in Springfield. At 3:39 a.m., the Illinois Senate passed a bill that would have allowed municipalities with at least...
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‘WE DIDN’T COMMIT A CRIME’
There’s the “boring suburban dad,” whose children told him to stand up for what’s right. The son of an immigrant, whose family already knew the sting of a federal prosecution. A rising political disrupter, who says her progressive campaign was...
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CALLING ALL ‘FREAKS, MISFITS & WEIRDOS’:
Mark Thomas estimates that he’s traveled 4 million miles around the world on a never-ending quest of “looking for weird s---. If you’ve ever been to his store, The Alley, you know he’s been successful in the mission. From the racks of chains and...
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‘HOW’S CHICAGO?’
VATICAN CITY — “How’s Chicago?” That was the first thing Pope Leo XIV asked Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson when the two met in a private audience Thursday afternoon at the Vatican. For Johnson, it was clearly a pastoral question. It also felt...
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JOHNSON’S SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
About a week before her death on June 9, 1995, while she was getting dressed for a church service, Pastor Wilma Jean Johnson stopped her son Brandon, the sixth of her 10 children, as he was about to leave the family home. She had something he needed to...
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THE MAYOR’S POPE HOPES
On Vatican trip, Johnson plans to thank world’s most famous Chicagoan for pushing back against Trump’s ‘godforsaken’ policies, get a blessing for ‘our Cubbies’ and jump-start a political revival
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STYLISH SHELTER
It used to be if you showed up at the old Diplomat Motel over on Lincoln Avenue, you were probably in for quite a time. What kind of time likely couldn’t have been discussed in polite company. But no longer. The former motel at 5230 N. Lincoln Ave. —...
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A reporter’s family connection to site celebrated by Xi Jinping
For most of my life, China existed in my family as a distant but persistent presence — a place spoken of in fragments, attached to old photos and diaries about a great-grandfather who spent decades there as an American missionary. I have never visited...
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THE LAST SCHLITZ
The bar had been open for two hours, and all the beer orders were identical. In the basement of Schubas Tavern in Lake View on Wednesday, only a quarter barrel remained. Tonight might be the night, the bartenders said, looking down the bar at the...
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CASE DEEP-SIXED
Chicago’s top federal prosecutor announced the permanent dismissal Thursday of charges against the remaining members of the “Broadview Six” in a stunning hearing that revealed apparent misconduct by his staff before a grand jury during Operation Midway...
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2 CHILDREN KILLED IN SUSPECTED ARSON
An 8-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, as well as two adults have died after an extraalarm fire early Wednesday in West Englewood, leaving two others in critical condition, officials said. Police are investigating the blaze in the 6200 block of...
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SAFE & SOUNDS
Memorial Day weekend kicks off Chicago’s busy calendar of music festivals and neighborhood street fairs. And this holiday weekend, the city will play host to three major music festivals within a four-mile radius. In Grant Park, the reggaeton and Latin...
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CHICAGO? NOPE!
Mayor Brandon Johnson has “no plan” to keep the Bears in Chicago, Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday, declaring Johnson’s long-shot hope for city control over the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority “typical” for a mayor he says has accomplished little in...
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Life after losing a limb
Usually, they cry. Because losing a limb is not subtle, not a hidden loss, like losing a kidney. You see what is missing. Everybody does. A part of you is gone and never coming back. The absence affects your daily life — how you stand, walk, sit, if a...
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GETTING THEIR MUNE’S WORTH
White Sox rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami is ushering in “Mune mania” throughout Chicago — teeing up new business opportunities for the city’s small businesses and the team, from new offerings like Japanese-inspired hot dogs and rice lagers to...
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DIARY OF DARKNESS
Ryan Manon has been collecting John Wayne Gacy “murderabilia” for decades. He has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars, and much of his 44 years, amassing more than 300 original paintings, letters, logbooks and other ephemera connected to Gacy, who...
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DINING ON DONORS’ DIME
Aswanky spot long anchoring Rush Street and the Gold Coast, Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse describes itself online as “a Chicago icon” that, besides its tasty Angus beef, offers “fresh fish, classic cocktails, an extensive wine list and exceptional...
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CAN ILLINOIS REIN IN AI?
With Congress yet to act on reining in artificial intelligence, that obligation has fallen into the laps of individual states. And as the 2026 spring session of the General Assembly in Springfield nears an end date of May 31, Illinois lawmakers are...
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MURDER TRIAL BEGINS IN 2021 LOOP STABBING
Aman who ran to help visiting graduate student Anat Kimchi after she was fatally stabbed in a random attack Downtown in June 2021 testified Monday that he saw defendant Tony Robinson attack her and that Robinson later threatened him with a knife. The...
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THEFTS INFLATING
In March, Kieran Degenaars woke up on a Saturday morning, glanced out the window and noticed a car parked on his street had been broken into the night before. “I saw a car with a smashed window and glass all over the ground,” he recalled. “I was like,...
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‘HIS HEART WAS PURE’
Slain Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew was remembered Friday as a man who was “truly loved by all” and whose “heart was pure.” Hundreds of mourners, among them police, officials and loved ones, gathered at St. Andrew’s Greek Orthodox Church in...
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CHICAGO’S HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
In the year since Cardinal Robert Prevost was named Pope Leo XIV, what used to be a typical block in Dolton has become a landmark drawing tourists from all over the world to his childhood home. “It’s definitely been a blessing,” said Donna Sagna...
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GROWING TREND
Renee Costanzo cranked on the rusty pulley with both hands, watching the greenhouse roof creak open in sections. A breeze of spring air swept over 12,000 seedlings lined up in plastic trays in the Kilbourn Park greenhouse. Costanzo, the Chicago Park...
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WHY, ROBOT?
Delivery robots have some growing up to do. That’s the consensus among scientists and engineers who were analyzing the safety and efficiency of this developing technology before two of the robots crashed into CTA bus shelters in March. A 2025 study...
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THE FRUIT OF HIS LABOR
Shaka Rawls, the principal at Leo Catholic High School in Auburn Gresham, knew something was up on Monday when he saw all the cars in the school’s parking lot. What he didn’t know was that all those visitors, including friends, family and elected...
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HELPING THOSE IN FEAR
When videos emerged of immigrant men running from federal immigration agents last fall, Patricia Gamboa was flooded with memories of fleeing agents herself as a little girl. Gamboa was 6 when she and her family crossed the border from Tijuana into...
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CPS STUDENTS TAKE CIVICS TO THE STREETS
Eleven-year-old Ricardo Juarez stepped up to the people manning each table in the park across the street from his school and asked in a confident voice: “What do you do for the community?” “I just want to listen and see how they can help us,” said...
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GAS PAINS
Gas prices in Chicago have jumped to over $5 a gallon for the first time in four years — squeezing drivers who likely will see even higher prices in the coming months. Austin resident Malik Allen was gassing up at a BP station Thursday at North Wells...
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HERBIE BRINGS JAZZ HOME TO CHICAGO
Legendary piano man plays International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert — streaming to millions across the world — today at Lyric Opera House
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IDOT’S WILD ABANDON?
In the creeks and rivers of southern Illinois, a school of bigeye shiners darting along the edge of a stream is a sign of healthy water. The freshwater fish, which is on the state’s endangered species list, has managed to survive despite habitat loss...
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SHOOTER PULLED GUN FROM BLANKET: PROSECUTORS
Prosecutors on Monday said a convicted felon somehow took a gun into Swedish Hospital after he was arrested this weekend, then pulled it from under a blanket after he undressed and shot two Chicago cops, killing Officer John Bartholomew. Alphanso...
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SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED ABOUT CHICAGO’S BRIDGES?
As Downtown Chicago enters its annual bridge-lifting season, raising its historic bascule bridges to allow recreational boats to pass underneath, questions remain about the city’s ability to repair several of them without worsening traffic. When the...
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HURRY-UP OFFENSE?
Property tax incentive legislation approved by the Illinois House this week needs serious changes to keep the Bears from jumping the border to Indiana, and state senators need to move quickly to keep that from happening, Gov. JB Pritzker urged on...
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CPS’ LUNCHROOM WORKERS FED UP
Sixty-one-year-old Kimberly Penson gets on the bus by 4:45 a.m. so she can make eggs, bagels or biscuits before the first bell rings for the elementary students she calls “her babies.” And then, as the sole cook at her school, she turns to preparing...
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DRIVE TO KEEP BEARS IN ILLINOIS NEARS THE RED ZONE
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers inched closer to the red zone in keeping the Chicago Bears from crossing state lines into Indiana, with the Illinois House on Wednesday green-lighting a measure that would give the NFL team property tax certainty while...
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TOO FRIENDLY WITH FEDS?
Emails show State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke wouldn’t denounce Trump as he threatened to send in the National Guard because she wanted to keep ‘excellent working relationships’ with the feds. That’s fueling a push for a special prosecutor to probe...
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GOV’S PLAN TO SHUFFLE GAMBLING OVERSIGHT
ROBERT HERGUTH & MITCHELL ARMENTROUT REPORT,
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WHY DID EX-MORMON FIGURE’S PLANE PLUNGE NEAR ROCKFORD?
Richard McClung died in a plane crash Feb. 14 when the small aircraft he was piloting plummeted into a residential neighborhood between McHenry County and Rockford, narrowly missing homes, severing a gas line and horrifying locals. McClung’s online...
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HE SAID HE WOULD ‘DIE FOR HER’
After Officer Carlos Baker fatally shot his partner, Krystal Rivera, the Chicago cop told investigators he would “die for her.” But newly released body-camera footage shows Baker ran for cover after he fired the deadly gunshot and took more than 90...
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OWE, NO!
A cash-strapped City Hall has missed out on more than $8 billion in sorely needed revenue because it “lacks foundational management tools” to chip away at the mountain of delinquent debt it’s owed dating back three decades, Chicago’s top government...
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POURING PAIN
Hundreds of residents reported flooding in their homes after record-breaking rainfall levels hit Chicagoland on Tuesday. Sadie Douglas, 27, who lives on the garden level of a Rogers Park building, said the rainfall brought the worst flooding she’s...
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SEEKING SAFETY FOR CHICAGO’S SERVERS
Already this year, a pair of tectonic restaurant industry news reports have exposed years of alleged staff abuses by Trevor Fleming, the chef and former co-owner of Warlord, and Rene Redzepi, founding chef of Michelinstarred Copenhagen restaurant...
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PREZ VS. POPE
Backlash builds against Trump for bashing Leo XIV and posting AI image of himself as Jesus. Says one Chicago Catholic leader, ‘[He’s] waking up a sleeping giant.’
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ICE’S ECHOES OF LATIN AMERICAN REGIMES
In December 1979, Neris González was leaving the market in her farm town in central El Salvador when Salvadoran national guardsmen suddenly grabbed her and took her captive. González, who was eight months pregnant and in her late teens, was taken to a...
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COLLECTOR CREW’S BLACK ART BOND
For one group of collectors, Expo Chicago is not just an art fair but a family reunion. On Thursday afternoon, they trickled into Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, offering enthusiastic hugs and handshakes. The cohort included everyone from health care...
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CHICAGO’S FED ON ROCKY FIRST YEAR
When Chicago’s top federal prosecutor is asked if his office takes marching orders from Washington, he doesn’t mince words. “You should write this down,” U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros recently told a Chicago Sun-Times reporter. “[There is] not a...
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Holy Name parishioners reflect on calls for peace, Leo’s Easter message
A line stretched out of Holy Name Cathedral, down the sidewalks from State Street and around the corner onto Chicago Avenue ahead of Easter morning Mass Sunday. Rev. Gregory Sakowicz reflected on “the violence in our city, nation and wars throughout...
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SALUTE TO A HERO
Friends and loved ones of fallen Chicago firefighter Michael Altman said their final goodbyes during a funeral Tuesday morning in southwest suburban Oak Lawn. The private funeral service was held at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home at 4727 W. 103rd St. after...
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CHICAGO NEEDS NEWS THAT’S FOR CHICAGO
The stories shaping our city deserve to be told right. The Chicago Sun-Times covers every corner of Chicago with fact-based, independent reporting. We help you understand our city, care for our neighborhoods and make the most of life here.
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MINIMUM WAGE BATTLE AT TIPPING POINT
Some restaurant owners and servers say Chicago’s hotly debated law to increase the tipped minimum wage harms workers and the industry, after Mayor Brandon Johnson’s veto of the City Council’s vote to freeze tipped workers’ hourly pay. Supporters of the...
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CHEER LEADERS
Not long ago, Naliyah Saintil was cheering her brothers on from the sidelines. Now, her dad shows up to cheer for her. The 13-year-old from Greater Grand Crossing dances and tumbles with the South Side cheer team Black Onyx Allstars, where her rapid...
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BETTOR UP
Logan Reilly’s group chat with his friends was lighting up Thursday, the same as every year, for Major League Baseball’s Opening Day. But this time, the chatter was about which bets to place. “Three years ago, we’re just talking about who we think’s...
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MEDICAL EMERGENCY
West Suburban Medical Center is temporarily shutting its doors and furloughing “many” employees as it struggles to pay staff, according to the Oak Park hospital’s owner, Manoj Prasad. Prasad, the CEO of Resilience Healthcare, said in an email...
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HIGHER GAS PRICES ARE JUST THE BEGINNING
Chicagoans are feeling squeezed by rising gas prices, following the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran last month. And experts say the financial pain on consumers from the Iran war won’t stop at the pump. “It’s going to be like a snake that swallowed a...
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PROSECUTORS: FIGHT WITH FRIENDS LED ‘SUICIDAL’ MAN TO START FATAL FIRE
A man with a history of burning tents in Chicago parks was feeling “suicidal” when he ignited a mattress at a Rogers Park apartment last week and sparked a blaze that led to the death of a Chicago firefighter, Cook County prosecutors said...
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With ICE headed to airports, TSA union demands pay
After President Donald Trump threatened to deploy federal immigration agents to airports amid a Department of Homeland Security funding fight in Congress, union members in the Midwest are expressing concern about agents’ lack of training and their own...
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Marking Eid on South Side
Muslims around Chicago celebrated Eid al-Fitr Friday as they brought the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to a close. Eid is a time of celebration typically marked with prayer, food, sweets and family gatherings. The holiday comes after Muslims spent...
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LOYOLA MOURNS STUDENT GUNNED DOWN AT BEACH
A Loyola University freshman was shot to death early Thursday while she was walking with friends at a Rogers Park beach. Sheridan Gorman, 18, was walking with the friends in the 1000 block of West Pratt Boulevard around 1:30 a.m. when a gunman —...
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Recording Artist and DePaul Alumna Expands Her Reach Using Business Acumen
Coming soon for Chinatown-Bridgeport (she claims both) native Gayun Cannon, an up-and-coming musician, producer and performing artist, are T-shirts and stickers featuring Cannon as her friend’s version of her as an animated character. The...
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JUBILANT JULIANA
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton has won the competitive Democratic primary race to replace U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin — on the heels of a late campaign surge and millions in support from longtime running mate Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. Stratton’s momentum was...
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STATE OF CHANGE
Illinois’ representation in Washington will look vastly different this time next year — and for many years to come — all based on what voters decide today. The state’s most pivotal primary election in a generation comes to a head Tuesday after a...
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CTA’S MONTHLY PLATFORM PERIL
A59-year-old River Forest man walked from his home to the Harlem Avenue L stop on the morning of Dec. 1 to take the train to Rush University Medical Center, where he volunteered when not working his regular job as a grocery clerk at...
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