Good morning, Chicago.
The Chicago Transit Authority will increase the number of police officers patrolling city’s public transit system Friday following a threat from President Donald Trump’s administration that the mass transit agency could lose federal funding if it did not take certain steps to address violent crime.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Talia Soglin.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including why Illinois has been sued over refusing to turn over sensitive state voter data, what Illinois lawmakers said about the Bears possibly moving to Indiana and why a British baker’s criticism of Mexican bread triggered outrage.
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Law enforcement officers are seen outside a storage facility where a suspect in the shooting at Brown University was found dead, Dec. 18, 2025, in Salem, N.H. (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)
Man suspected in Brown University shooting and MIT professor’s killing is found dead, officials say
A frantic search for the suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University ended at a New Hampshire storage facility where authorities discovered the man dead inside and then revealed he also was suspected of killing a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor.
A voter receives a ballot on April 1, 2025, in the suburban Cook County Consolidated Election at Yates Elementary School in Matteson. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
President Donald Trump’s Justice Department sues Illinois over sensitive state voter data
President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice sued the executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections, alleging the board’s refusal to release sensitive information on the state’s roughly 8.3 million registered voters violated federal civil rights law.
Ald. Brendan Reilly, 42nd, stands with alternative budget coalition members and speaks following a City Council meeting at City Hall on Dec. 18, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson calls aldermen’s debt sale plan a ‘red line,’ yet mum on budget veto
Mayor Brandon Johnson singled out a debt collection measure as his latest nonstarter in the budget proposal crafted by his aldermanic antagonists, who showed no signs of slowing their march toward an imminent final vote.
During the first meeting of the Illinois Accountability Commission at Arturo Velasquez Institute at Richard J. Daley College on Dec. 18, 2025, Dalia Radecki, of the Resurrection Project, reacts after watching a video of the aftermath of an incident where a family was sprayed by chemical agents in November. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
State commission highlights ‘unjustified’ uses of tear gas, pepper spray by federal immigration agents
After Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and scores of his federal agents left Chicago last month, and immigration enforcement wound down, Matt DeMateo said daily life slowly but surely returned to normal.
Broadview to consider zoning requirements for detention facilities following uproar around ICE processing center
Chicago remains alert, even as Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and his agents sweep in and out of town
Lawrence Reed, 50, faces a federal charge after he allegedly poured gasoline on a 26-year-old woman riding a CTA Blue Line train and set her on fire, authorities said. (U.S. District Court)
Man accused of lighting woman on fire on CTA train faces new charge in arson outside City Hall
A man accused of lighting a woman on fire on the CTA Blue Line last month has been indicted on additional federal charges alleging he lit a fire outside City Hall three days earlier.
The-Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau addresses a crowd during a dedication event at the Orland Park police station Oct. 23, 2023. (John Smierciak/for the Daily Southtown)
2 claims dismissed in Orland Park lawsuit against former Mayor Keith Pekau
A Cook County judge granted former Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau a partial win in an ongoing lawsuit brought by the village against him.
Traffic moves along I-80/I-94 on Dec. 17, 2025, near the Indiana border in Lansing. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Illinois lawmakers skeptical about Chicago Bears possibly moving to Indiana, while Hoosier leaders tee up the football
Illinois lawmakers appeared unmoved by the Bears’ decision to consider building a new stadium in Indiana, expressing skepticism about the move and downplaying it as the organization’s latest attempt to gain leverage in tense negotiations.
Indiana officials excited by Chicago Bears’ interest
Column: Can the Bears owners find true happiness in an enclosed stadium off the Skyway?
Greg Biffle speaks during the season-ending NASCAR awards ceremony while accepting the award for his fifth-place finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup title race Nov. 30, 2012, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
NASCAR’s Greg Biffle remembered for humanitarian efforts: ‘His tireless work saved lives’
NASCAR picked Greg Biffle as one of the top 75 drivers in its history. He was a Hall of Fame nominee for the stock car series and drove for 18 years at the top of the sport.
Yet for all the races and the handful of memorable wins, he is perhaps best remembered for his selfless and tireless work helping others as a helicopter pilot supplying aid a year ago in the devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene.
Bolillos, a traditional Mexican bread, sit for sale at a street stand in Mexico City, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
British baker’s criticism of Mexican ‘ugly’ bread triggers outrage
A blunt critique of Mexican bread by a British baker sparked a cascade of social media outrage, ultimately leading to a public apology.
Millie Hefner Gunn, left, with daughter Christie Hefner, the former CEO of Playboy Enterprises. (Provided by Christie Hefner)
Millie Hefner Gunn, first wife of Hugh Hefner and mother to Christie, dies at 99
Married for more than a decade to a man who defined and shaped the sexual landscape of this nation, Millie Hefner Gunn led a rewarding and active life, raising two children and remaining curious and active until her death on Dec. 13. She died at The Clare, the Near North Side senior living facility, where she had moved in 2021. She was 99 years old.
“My mom was my biggest cheerleader and inspiration, and a joy to be with,” said her daughter Christie Hefner, a strategic advisor and board member of several companies and non-profit organizations. “She was smart and funny and full of life until the very end.”
