We made it to the weekend, quotes readers! This week was chock-full of news, so let’s get into it.
Early Saturday, the United States conducted military strikes in Venezuela and deposed President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple now faces federal drug trafficking charges in the U.S. and had their first court hearing on Monday in New York City. The White House is also pressuring Venezuela’s acting president to open the nation up to American energy companies and says it intends to control the distribution of Venezuela’s oil products worldwide. Moreover, President Donald Trump reignited tensions with Denmark this week, again calling for a U.S. “takeover” of Greenland, the Arctic island and self-governing territory of Denmark.
Stateside, the nation is reeling from the death of Renee Good, the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman who was shot and killed in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Wednesday. Many Americans are debating whether the shooting was justified after videos taken by bystanders and cellphone footage from the officer were released, leading to protests around the country.
In the wake of the Minnesota shooting, former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot launched the ICE Accountability Project to track immigration agents’ alleged criminal or abusive conduct during Operation Midway Blitz. Federal agents have been involved in several shootings since the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown began, including two in Chicago and another just this week in Portland, Oregon.
In Washington, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced it was freezing $10 billion in funding for child care programs in five Democrat-led states, including Illinois. The states responded Thursday by filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration in federal court, and by Friday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order, prohibiting the government from freezing the funds for now. Meanwhile, several House Republicans joined with Democrats to pass legislation that would extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, which expired at the end of last year.
Also this week, Gov. JB Pritzker signed a sweeping energy bill that aims to reduce electricity prices amid rising utility costs. But while some Illinoisans could soon see lower monthly bills, others might not be so lucky. On Friday, Nicor Gas filed a $221 million rate increase request for its suburban Chicago customers. If approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, the average resident’s delivery charges would go up by about $6 per month as early as next year.
In news from City Hall, aldermen advanced an ordinance that would allow Chicago’s police superintendent to enact a teen curfew anytime, anywhere, Mayor Brandon Johnson raised the possibility of layoffs for city workers, and Chicago’s chief financial officer announced she’s leaving the mayor’s administration for another job.
With the regular season over, the Bears are preparing for their first playoff game in five years. The team will take on their division foes, the Green Bay Packers, Saturday night at Soldier Field. Will Caleb Williams and first-year coach Ben Johnson pull off another win over their longtime rivals? Here’s everything to know before kickoff, including who’s playing, how to watch and our Bears reporters’ game day predictions.
Now for the fun stuff! Take the Tribune’s Quotes of the Week quiz for the week of Jan. 4 to 10. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.