Good morning, Chicago.
Sunday was one of the most violent winter days in Chicago’s recent history.
Seven people were shot and killed across the city in less than 18 hours. City violence data shows it was just the fourth January day to see at least seven homicides since 1991.
At least three of the victims were teenagers. Another was a woman, reportedly a mother of five, killed outside her home as she was on her way to church. A pair of home invasions on the West Side left two other men dead.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sam Charles.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including Mayor Brandon Johnson addressing speculation of the city trying to buy back Chicago parking meters, who the Bears signed to future contracts and our guide to the Chicago Sake Crawl.
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Gov. JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul look back on first year of Trump 2.0
Gov. JB Pritzker and other Illinois leaders yesterday marked the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term by vowing to keep pushing back on the administration’s actions, while acknowledging that months of uncertainty, funding cuts and legal fights had taken a toll.
- Despite frigid temps, crowd turns out in Federal Plaza to protest the Trump administration
- President Donald Trump arrives in Switzerland, where his quest to own Greenland could overshadow his other goals

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office inks new deal with outside lawyer to advise in Chicago Bears stadium talks
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office signed a new $25,000 contract late last month with an outside attorney to continue advising the administration in negotiations with the Chicago Bears through the end of June as the NFL franchise seeks to pressure Springfield to act this spring on a proposal that would aid plans for a new stadium in Arlington Heights.
The Pritzker administration’s top lawyer signed the agreement with Steve Argeris, a partner with New York-based law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, on Dec. 22, five days after the Tribune first reported Bears executives were widening the scope of their stadium-site search to include northwest Indiana.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will not try to buy back Chicago parking meters
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city will not try to buy back Chicago’s parking meters after all, following days of speculation over whether he would attempt to find a way out of an infamous sale almost two decades ago.

Daily Herald, longtime suburban Chicago newspaper, notifies state of potential sale
The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.

Jury selected in trial of Chicago man accused of promoting gang bounty on Greg Bovino
After a daylong process that took place partially out of public earshot, a jury was selected yesterday in the trial of a Chicago man accused of passing along a gang bounty allegedly placed on the head of controversial Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

Trial opens for alleged con man accused of extorting local restaurateur
Chicago’s restaurant industry harbors a few colorful characters, and their dealings aren’t always pretty.
Prosecutors yesterday argued that Jawad Fakroune’s alleged attack on Adolfo Garcia in the back room of Garcia’s now-shuttered martini and oyster joint Yours Truly went way beyond the occasionally cutthroat interactions that can characterize the seedier side of the city’s restaurant scene and the people who make their living by it.

Chicago White Sox trade CF Luis Robert Jr. to New York Mets for INF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley
Luis Robert Jr.’s name had been mentioned in trade speculation several times over the past couple of years. He remained with the team after last July’s trade deadline passed. In November, the White Sox exercised his $20 million club option, but the buzz about a possible trade remained.
And yesterday, it became a reality.

Column: Indiana’s epic run from losers to 16-0 national champs rivals the 2016 Chicago Cubs’ journey
There’s really no debating that Indiana’s journey from losingest team ever to national champion is the greatest story in college football history, writes Paul Sullivan.

Chicago will host International Jazz Day. Here’s what’s coming this spring.
Alongside city and state officials, representatives for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz announced details for the 15th annual International Jazz Day, a month of jazz programming culminating in a globally broadcast concert at the Lyric Opera House on April 30.

The Chicago Sake Crawl: A neighborhood guide to the city’s most compelling pours
For all its culinary breadth, Chicago is rarely framed as a sake destination. Yet over the past decade, it’s developed a close-knit but serious sake scene — shaped by Chicago’s walkable neighborhoods and an openness that has allowed sake to be explored across cuisines and cultures.
