Good morning, Chicago.
Small Stride Academy has been caring for children in the Beverly neighborhood for about 40 years, but the day care center and preschool isn’t sure how it will keep its doors open if subsidies that help families afford child care in Illinois are cut.
More than half of the day care’s children benefit from subsidies from the Child Care Assistance Program, said center administrator Lisa Griffin. That program is partly funded by federal dollars that President Donald Trump’s administration said Tuesday night it plans to withhold from Illinois and four other states with Democratic governors over concerns about fraud and misuse of the money.
“It is going to be a problem,” Griffin said of the potential loss of dollars. “Families depend on us. Then you’re expecting this to trickle down to the parents’ employment. How could they not be affected if we weren’t open?”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Lisa Schencker, Jeremy Gorner and Jake Sheridan.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including Cook County reporting a drop in deaths tied to opioid overdoses, Rome Odunze says he is “planning on playing” in the Bears playoff game and our recommendations for what to do this weekend.
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Mourners place flowers at a makeshift memorial near the site where Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot and killed in her vehicle in Minneapolis, on Jan. 7, 2026. (Jamie Kelter Davis/The New York Times)
Feds’ statements after Minneapolis driver killed by ICE officer echo pattern from Midway Blitz in Chicago
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the federal immigration agent who killed a woman in Minneapolis yesterday had been “fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement officers and the safety of the public” when he shot the woman.
Local and state officials immediately cast doubt on the DHS narrative, based on bystander videos of the shooting and prompted protests across Chicago and suburbs last night.
Minneapolis on edge after fatal shooting of woman by ICE officer
Woman killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis was a mother of 3, poet and new to the city
People yell at U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino and other agents while they stop at a gas station while conducting an immigration enforcement action, Dec. 17, 2025, in Evanston. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Feds pull back on gang accusations against man charged in alleged Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino murder-for-hire plot
Federal prosecutors acknowledged for the first time yesterday they have no direct evidence that a Chicago man accused of putting a bounty on the head of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino is actually in a street gang, let alone a “ranking” member as originally alleged when the high-profile case was filed at the peak of Operation Midway Blitz.
Ald. Brian Hopkins waits for the results of a vote during a City Council meeting about the city’s 2026 budget on Dec. 20, 2025. Hopkins introduced a measure to give the Chicago police superintendent the power to declare a teen curfew anytime, anywhere across the city with at least 12 hours notice. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago teen curfew proposal again advances, Mayor Brandon Johnson mum on veto
Chicago’s police superintendent is once again on the cusp of gaining new teen curfew powers after aldermen advanced an ordinance yesterday aimed at controlling large youth gatherings.
Chicago Public Schools headquarters on West Madison Street, July 10, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
CPS watchdog details sexual abuse, pandemic relief fraud in annual report
Chicago Public Schools’ watchdog released its annual report yesterday, detailing dozens of the more than 1,200 complaints it received between July 2024 and June 2025. The report addressed accusations of pandemic program fraud, excessive overtime, stolen equipment, residency violations and sexual misconduct by district employees.
E. Stevens and Asia Betancourt, in background, both members of Trail of Truth, a substance abuse prevention coalition, speak at Park No. 578 on Aug. 21, 2024, behind signs that represent tombstones of people around the country who have died due to substance abuse. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago and Cook County again see fewer opioid deaths in 2025
Chicago and Cook County saw another steep decline in fatal opioid overdoses last year, records show, four years after a recent peak in such cases during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
2025 brought a 40% drop in deaths attributed to narcotics overdoses from the prior year, according to statistics from the Cook County medical examiner’s office. As of this week, the medical examiner’s office found 683 people died of opioid overdoses last year in Cook County, with 500 of those recorded in Chicago.
Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss joins members of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 704 at a rally at Chicago’s Federal Plaza on Aug. 12, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
In backing Daniel Biss for Illinois’ 9th district, US Rep. Jan Schakowsky also warns of ‘out-of-state donors’
In endorsing Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss as her successor in Congress, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky said she did so, in part, because of his strong local support while also warning voters to beware of candidates who have received too much backing from “out-of-state donors.”
Cars are parked near the building where the offices of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Feb. 14, 2019, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)
Pulitzer-winning Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to shut down in May
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newspaper will shut down later this year, with a final edition slated for May 3.
Post-Gazette owners Block Communications, a family-owned multi-media company based in Toledo, Ohio, cited financial losses as the reason behind the decision to cease operations.
Horses come and go on the track on April 6, 2024, at Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
Why Hawthorne racetrack was temporarily shut down over the weekend: ‘This is another embarrassing failure’
Hawthorne Race Course was forced to temporarily halt operations this past weekend for failing to meet licensing requirements, regulators said, and operators in the horse racing industry said its checks have been bouncing.
Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze, right, celebrates after running back D’Andre Swift ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the 49ers on Dec. 28, 2025, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Rome Odunze is ‘planning on playing’ in Chicago Bears playoff game after missing the last 5 games
Rome Odunze is optimistic he’ll be back on the field with quarterback Caleb Williams and the offense Saturday. The team will hold one more practice today.
5 things to watch for in the Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers playoff game — including our predictions
Column: Tyrique Stevenson may get a shot to help leaky Bears secondary: ‘There’ll be a plan in place’
So Young An and Martha Graham Dance Company in Martha Graham’s “Diversion of Angels.” (Melissa Sherwood)
Dance for winter 2026: Our top 10 includes Joffrey, Red Clay and a visit from Martha Graham
The first part of the year used to be slow for dance in Chicago. Not so, recently. And in 2026, the chilly months are teeming with rare appearances and fresh collaborations capable of inspiring a trip to the theater even in the darkest depths of winter.
Mavis Staples performs with her band during her 85th Hometown Birthday Celebration at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago on Dec. 6, 2024. (Troy Stolt/for the Chicago Tribune)
What to do in Chicago: Mavis Staples, Bill Murray and the Women’s Jazz Festival in Arlington Heights.
Here are our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend.
