Good morning, Chicago.
Leodus Thomas Jr. sees a brighter future for Chicago’s West Side. It’s why, after buying his house in Austin nine years ago, he decided to become a developer.
But in recent years, a new threat has emerged.
More than 37,000 residential properties on the South and West sides saw their tax assessments more than double between 2023 and 2024. In parts of Englewood, Roseland and just east of Thomas in North Lawndale, the median homeowner saw their valuation increase between 119% and 160% — far more sharply than anywhere else in the city, according to the Illinois Answers and Tribune analysis.
The median Chicago homeowner saw their assessment increase by about 22% during the same cycle. Mayor Brandon Johnson, who lives about 2 miles north of Thomas in Austin, saw his home’s assessment climb about 35%. Such stark increases are expected to leave many homeowners in those neighborhoods struggling to pay their tax bills this fall.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s A.D. Quig and Illinois Answers’ Alex Nitkin.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: why an event with the Oath Keepers’ founder is creating conflict in Geneva, what students think about Northwestern’s leadership change and mounting federal pressures as they return to campus and Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Bears’ Week 3 win.
Ten thoughts after the Bears pulled to 1-2 with a chance to climb to .500 before a bye in Week 5.
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Trump officials praise Charlie Kirk’s faith and his mark on the conservative movement
President Donald Trump praised Charlie Kirk as a “great American hero” and “martyr” for freedom as he and other prominent conservatives gathered yesterday evening to honor the slain conservative political activist whose work they say they must now advance.
The memorial service for Kirk, whom Trump credits with playing a pivotal role in his 2024 election victory, drew tens of thousands of mourners, including Vice President JD Vance, other senior administration officials and young conservatives shaped by the 31-year-old firebrand.
Oath Keepers’ founder convicted as part of Jan. 6 riot to speak to GOP-tied group, creating conflict in Geneva
Amid outrage following the assassination of Chicago-area native and conservative activist Charlie Kirk and fears of escalating violence across the political spectrum, a far west suburban group led by an Illinois Republican Party official is pressing ahead with an event featuring the founder of a right-wing extremist group who played a key role in the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
Results of President Donald Trump’s ICE ‘blitz’ in Chicago area remain unclear more than 2 weeks in
A promised immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago area appeared to escalate throughout the past week, with arrests and sightings of federal agents reported near schools, courthouses, workplaces and other venues.
Tensions have run high. Tear gas was deployed on protesters Friday outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in west suburban Broadview, and activists, politicians and even the Mexican government escalated calls for a full, independent investigation into the shooting death of a motorist by an ICE agent after a traffic stop in Franklin Park.
A culture at risk: Chicago’s street vendors quietly disappear from familiar corners during ICE surge
In the three weeks since President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security announced the start of “Operation Midway Blitz,” its latest immigration enforcement surge in the Chicago region, street vendors and their customers have vanished from familiar corners across the city. The crowds no longer gathered around the elotero after church, paleteros outside of schools.
Their quiet disappearance marks not just a loss of income, it’s also the erosion of a culture cherished by many in the city. Street vendors have long been a vital thread in Chicago’s societal and economic fabric, their work revolving around traditional dishes and products that often can’t be found anywhere else in the city. They serve fellow immigrants craving a taste of home.
First woman to hold CPD’s first deputy role to retire next month
The Chicago Police Department’s second-in-command will retire in October, the Tribune learned Friday evening.
First Deputy Superintendent Yolanda Talley’s retirement comes after about six months as the right hand to Superintendent Larry Snelling and less than two months after a drastic reorganization appeared to strip her of virtually all her responsibilities related to the department’s daily operations.
Northwestern students return to campus amid leadership change, mounting federal pressures
The sun beat down on Northwestern University’s lakefront campus Friday, as students hurried to classes in the first week of the academic year.
Though the Evanston school has grappled with a flurry of challenges in recent months — including a $790 million federal funding freeze and the sudden resignation of President Michael Schill — the mood was light on campus ahead of the weekend.
Most students were unfazed by the mounting federal pressures, and knew little of Schill’s interim successor.
At memorial for Jim Edgar, former governor remembered for his compassion, integrity and honesty
The late former Gov. Jim Edgar was memorialized Saturday as a man whose compassion, integrity, and honesty showed he put people above politics and led Illinois as a model of what competent governance used to be — and should be — especially during today’s sharply partisan and divided times.
- Photos: Former Gov. Jim Edgar lies in state
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams celebrates a touchdown pass to wide receiver Luther Burden III on a trick play against the Cowboys in the first quarter on Sept. 21, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Ben Johnson’s 1st win with the Chicago Bears — and Caleb Williams throws 4 TDs: Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on Week 3
Brad Biggs‘ 10 thoughts after the Bears pulled to 1-2 with a chance to climb to .500 before a bye in Week 5.
Column: Should Gov. JB Pritzker’s boycott suggestion stop Chicago Cubs fans from watching Marquee?
Paul Sullivan asks: Should Chicago Cubs fans stop watching Marquee Sports Network in the final week of their first playoff season in five years? Should Bears fans tune out their “Monday Night Football” game against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 13 on ABC-7 and ESPN?
Gov. JB Pritzker seems to think so.
Plotting politics: Fifty years ago, Richard J. Daley sought an early remap of congressional districts – and lost
In 1975, the next scheduled reassessment of Illinois’ congressional districts was still five years away. But Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley didn’t want to wait. The way the mayor saw it, the existing map was harming his beloved Chicago and keeping his political organization from expanding its influence into the suburbs.
So he had a friendly state legislator propose a new map, years before the next federal census would normally trigger the process.
Riot Fest opens with Blink-182 and spectacular sets from Sparks and ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic
Twenty years into its punk-rock-carnival experiment, Riot Fest stands as Chicago’s largest, longest-running independent music festival. From its humble beginnings in the since-shuttered Congress Theater, to brief adventures in both Colorado and Philadelphia, the vision of founders “Riot Mike” Petryshyn and the late Sean McKeough remains steadfast in charting its own lane in the music festival landscape — celebrating musical genres and influential though often unsung artists who draw generations of outsiders, weirdos, goths, freaks and geeks.
