Good morning, Chicago.
When Daphne Labault left her home in San Juan, Puerto Rico, after Hurricane Maria blew her windows out, her dream was to go back someday.
But her dream was pushed back once already. Her five-year goal to raise enough money for a house in Puerto Rico turned into eight years. The island’s high cost of living, fueled by a wave of tourism, led her to invest the money intended for a house in Puerto Rico — years’ worth of savings — into a cafe, her “little piece of Puerto Rico” in Humboldt Park.
Rising costs on the island that were exacerbated by the hurricane and fueled by a new wave of tourism have led to gentrification and the displacement of many islanders.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Laura Turbay.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a look at crime on the CTA, an NBA history lesson from Phil Jackson and Sam Smith and the top 10 performances on Chicago stages this year.
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Illinois Democratic Senate primary race has started slow. But contrasts emerge in bid to replace Dick Durbin.
The top-of-the-ticket Illinois Democratic primary race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat has lurched along in slow motion through much of the fall, its major candidates eclipsed largely by a turbulent political backdrop even as they seek support for a contest less than 90 days away.
Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering
Pope Leo XIV during his first Christmas Day message urged the faithful to shed indifference in the face of those who have lost everything, like in Gaza, those who are in impoverished, like in Yemen, and the many migrants who cross the Mediterranean Sea and the American continent for a better future.
CTA crime down slightly despite series of high-profile incidents in 2025
Recent cases of violence aboard the system have rattled some riders while also drawing attention from Trump administration officials looking to make a point about crime in Democratic-run cities like Chicago.
But each time someone boards a CTA bus or train, their chances of becoming a victim of or even witnessing any kind of violent crime that results in serious physical harm to a person — a shooting, a murder — is very small, statistics reviewed by the Tribune show.
These Illinois dairy and beef farms make raising methane-belching cows part of the climate solution
Illinois is a top agricultural state, generating billions of dollars annually, but even where stalks of corn and acres of soybean vastly outnumber its 400,000 head of cattle, cows raised for beef and dairy account for an outsize portion of the industry’s methane emissions.
A Powerball player has won a $1.817 billion lottery jackpot
A Powerball player in Arkansas won a $1.817 billion jackpot in Wednesday’s drawing, ending the lottery game’s three-month stretch without a top-prize winner.
As Ozzy Trapilo follows his father’s legacy, is he the Chicago Bears’ left tackle of the future?
Every step of the way Ozzy Trapilo has followed in his father’s footsteps. First he went to Boston College High School, where his dad also played football. Then he followed Steve’s path down the road to Boston College.
Now he has followed his dad to the NFL too. Last spring the Bears made Trapilo a second-round selection (No. 56) in the NFL draft.
Northwestern safety Robert Fitzgerald, shaped by dad’s memory, worked his way from scout team to All-Big Ten
Northwestern assistant head coach Harlon Barnett has a long list of nicknames ready to use whenever he addresses or talks about safety Robert Fitzgerald. The Terminator. The World’s Greatest Tackler. The Face of the Big Ten. The Eraser. The General. The Example. Mr. Consistent.
Fitzgerald has given Barnett a lot of reason to talk about him in a breakout season that continues at noon today in Northwestern’s game against Central Michigan in the GameAbove Sports Bowl on ESPN.
Column: Phil Jackson and Sam Smith give an NBA history lesson — including Chicago Bulls dynasty — in new book
The Bulls dynasty ended 27 years ago, but like any good dynasty the stories live on for generations, writes Paul Sullivan.
And several tales from those glory days are retold in the recent book “Masters of the Game: A Conversational History of the NBA in 75 Legendary Players,” co-written by NBA.com writer Sam Smith and former Bulls coach Phil Jackson.
Best of 2025: Top 10 performances on Chicago stages this year
Chicago theater justly is famed for the quality of its actors. But which performances were the best of 2025?
Here is our annual celebration of the top 10 performances of the year. Unlike our Top 10 Theater list, which is confined to productions that originated in Chicago, this separate yearly list also draws from tours, remounts and restagings. Here, in order, are one critic’s views of the best theatrical performances of the Chicago year.
Music-making brothers want their art to be a business venture, calling it Rich Off Creative Minds
“Sometimes you just got to take that leap of faith,” said Myron Nicholas. “And a lot of people, they shy away from it. But what I’ve noticed is the beginning of greatness happens after you take that risk and that leap in any facet of life.”
Nicholas is one half of the musical and creative duo Rich Off Creative Minds, a project he started with his brother, Davaughn Nicholas. Rooted in their love of music (the two are multi-instrumentalists, producers and rappers) and an entrepreneurial mindset, Rich Off Creative Minds is as much a business as it is an artistic pursuit.