Former Indiana Secretary of Public Safety Jennifer-Ruth Green agreed to a $10,000 fine in her ethics violations complaint, according to an agreed settlement with the Indiana State Ethics Commission.

The agreement, which will be voted on by the commission at its Thursday meeting, states the payment has to be made within 60 days from the date the commission accepts it.

Under the agreement, the commission will not impose further penalties and both sides “shall result in the final disposition of this proceeding.” Green waived her statutory right to a public hearing to contest the complaint, according to the agreement, which Green signed.

Tim Edson, a spokesman for Green, declined to comment Tuesday afternoon.

Edson previously said the complaint is “a baseless, politically motivated hit job.” Green wasn’t given the opportunity to obtain counsel or respond to the “false allegations” before the complaint was filed with the Ethics commission, Edson said.

“The truth is on Jennifer-Ruth Green’s side and this politically motivated smear campaign will fail,” Edson said.

In October, Green announced her candidacy in the Republican primary to face U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, in Indiana’s first Congressional District in 2026. Green ran against Mrvan in 2022 and lost.

Green, who resigned Sept. 5, faces code of ethics violations for political activity, ghost employment, misuse of state property, and the prohibition against retaliation during her eight-month tenure.

Green, who was appointed to the role in January, allegedly violated the political activity and ghost employment rules by asking employees to generate content and proofread posts on her “Elect Jennifer-Ruth Green” Facebook page, according to the complaint.

When Green had a meeting with a National Republican Congressional Committee political director during work hours in a conference room in a state-owned building, the complaint alleged those were violations of the ghost employment and misuse of state property rules.

Green also violated the ghost employment rule when she asked employees to perform personal tasks for her on state time on multiple occasions, including retrieving her assigned state vehicle from Crown Point, the complaint stated.

Further, Green violated the misuse of state property rule when she included her state title on her Battle-Proven Leadership website, where she promotes training seminars and her book, and when she used and required an employee to use her state vehicle for her personal use, according to the complaint.

After learning that an employee reported her to the OIC, Green violated the prohibition against retaliation when she threatened the employee with demotion or termination and “made derogatory comments” toward the employee, according to the complaint.

The Indiana State Ethics Commission will meet Thursday in the Indiana State Library.

akukulka@post-trib.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/jennifer-ruth-green-agrees-to-pay-10000-fine-in-ethics-probe/ 

Los Steelers de Pittsburgh no juegan un tipo de fútbol particularmente estéticamente agradable. Ha sido así durante un tiempo.

La ofensiva puede carecer de explosión durante largos períodos. La defensa puede ser superada con alarmante facilidad contra oponentes de calidad. Las decisiones de los entrenadores a veces cambian aleatoriamente entre ser agresivas y excesivamente cautelosas.

Los Steelers casi necesitan un conjunto específico de circunstancias para tener éxito. Necesitan correr con el balón. Necesitan recuperarlo. Necesitan evitar errores. Es una fórmula tan antigua como el juego mismo, y a veces en los últimos años, ha parecido más obsoleta que estable.

Sin embargo, ocasionalmente, hay momentos en los que Pittsburgh encuentra la manera de engranar lo suficientemente bien como para que lo viejo se sienta nuevo otra vez.

Uno de esos momentos se produjo al final de la primera mitad de lo que fue un desmantelamiento de Miami por 28-15 el lunes por la noche, resultado que mantuvo a los Steelers (8-6) un juego por delante de Baltimore por el primer lugar en la división Norte de la Conferencia Americana.

Cuatro series ofensivas, todas de al menos 60 yardas de longitud, produjeron touchdowns que convirtieron un déficit de 3-0 en una ventaja de 25 puntos, su mayor ventaja en cualquier momento de un juego desde 2020.

Aaron Rodgers, el quarterback de 42 años, exhibió su mejor momento en el invernal Acrisure Stadium al completar 23 de 27 pases para 224 yardas y dos anotaciones, una defensa que jugaba sin el estelar linebacker T.J. Watt abrumó a Tua Tagovailoa, el mariscal de campo de los Dolphins, durante un tercer cuarto en el que Miami realizó seis jugadas y perdió 20 yardas en el proceso.

Aunque los Dolphins lograron un par de touchdowns sin importancia al final para maquillar el resultado, el resultado nunca estuvo en duda en la segunda mitad y ofreció una prueba tangible de que la esperanza de Pittsburgh de jugar su mejor fútbol en diciembre no era solo una promesa vacía.

Encadenar actuaciones como la que disfrutaron los Steelers el lunes por la noche ha sido un desafío, y lo que ha hecho que los Steelers sean tan desconcertantes durante gran parte de la última década.

Sin embargo, por primera vez en un tiempo, Pittsburgh parecía un equipo de primer lugar capaz de hacer más que apenas colarse en los playoffs antes de salir tímidamente. Tan accidentado como fue durante un tramo de 2-5 en el que su cómoda ventaja en la divisióndesapareció, lo aceptarán.

“Nos mantenemos a un estándar más alto aquí”, afirmó el veterano capitán defensivo Cam Heyward. “Sabes, cuando juegas para un equipo como este que ha tenido mucho éxito, y, ya sabes, no somos responsables de eso, esos tipos antes (lo hicieron). Estamos tratando de captar lo que hicieron. Las expectativas son altas, y nos gusta de esa manera”.

Lo que está funcionando

Encontrar jugadores experimentados que buscan una oportunidad a mitad de temporada y hacer que tengan un impacto.

La lista de lo que Rodgers describió como “descartes” incluye a los receptores Marquez Valdes-Scantling y Adam Thielen y al esquinero Asante Samuel Jr., todos los cuales hicieron jugadas que contribuyeron a quizás la actuación más completa de Pittsburgh desde que vencieron a Minnesota en Irlanda a finales de septiembre.

Valdes-Scantling atrapó su primer pase de touchdown de Rodgers desde 2021 cuando ambos estaban en Green Bay. Samuel consiguió su primera intercepción desde 2023 y Thielen tuvo su primera recepción y añadió un bloqueo perfecto que abrió un carril para una carrera de touchdown de Jonnu Smith.

Lo que necesita ayuda

El clima no fue propicio para un comienzo rápido y la ofensiva tardó un tiempo en arrancar. Aunque Pittsburgh finalmente anotó touchdowns en cuatro posesiones consecutivas por primera vez desde 2018, los Steelers han sido lentos para calentarse durante la mayor parte de la temporada, algo que probablemente necesitarán evitar el domingo en Detroit si quieren estar a la par de los Lionds.

Lesiones

El estado de Watt sigue siendo incierto mientras se recupera de una cirugía para reparar un pulmón parcialmente colapsado sufrido tras un tratamiento de punción seca la semana pasada.

___

Deportes AP: https://apnews.com/hub/deportes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/los-steelers-convencen-con-una-victoria-dominante-sobre-miami/ 

FDA Not Adding ‘Black Box’ Warning To COVID-19 Vaccines: Commissioner

Tyler Durden
Tue, 12/16/2025 – 17:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/fda-not-adding-black-box-warning-covid-19-vaccines-commissioner 

Annie Fish has always believed in making others, especially the most vulnerable, feel welcome and valued.

She and her siblings were raised in Oswego on this concept of “radical hospitality” by their parents, Daniel and Kathy Fish. So it’s not all that surprising their 29-year-old daughter carried it into adulthood, earning a master’s degree in social work, and concentrating her efforts on the homeless, including a few years on staff at Hesed House in Aurora.

But now, as executive director of the Aurora Winter Warming Center, Fish is even more up close and very personal with those she has long felt called to serve.

It’s a fulfilling job, for sure. But not an easy one.

When I caught up with Fish on Tuesday morning, she had just finished a 14-hour shift, overseeing about 45 men and a half dozen women in this shelter that, although desperately needed this time of year, was challenging to open.

You might recall the headlines from a couple years ago when Wesley United Methodist Church stepped up to host the warming center after a security problem arose when someone with a gun came to the city’s previous warming center location at the Aurora Transportation Center.

The church became a respite from the proverbial storm on an emergency basis and took on the role again last winter after an agreement with the city, but was not able to do so this year.

Aldermen were more than willing to provide $135,000 in funding for Becoming Oswego Church to operate this current shelter. But “it was a huge fight” to find a location, said Fish, who recalls touring a couple dozen possibilities that never came to fruition because of neighborhood NIMBY concerns.

The current warming center, near Hesed House at 712 S. River St. in the city, was OK’d by the Aurora City Council in November. Five days later, as temperatures plunged, the doors were opened at this former city office and since then, said Fish, “we’ve been rushing all season to catch up.”

While this location was “a last resort,” she describes this winter haven as “more dignified” and a “place where people feel safe and welcomed,” adding that “the guys love it because they can wake up to the sunrise over the river.”

Mi Vida Loca Cafe Chef Chris Schwarz prepares dinner recently at the Aurora Winter Warming Center. (Annie Fish)

In addition to dinner – transported from Mi Vida Loca Cafe’s state of the art kitchen in Aurora and prepared by culinary chef Chris Schwarz  – guests receive breakfast in the morning and are sent out for the day – usually to the library or train station – with sandwich lunches.

A host of valuable partners also provide services where needed, including Hesed House, Association for Individual Development, ECHO Development Center, Aurora Mutual Aid, Airtight Security and Aurora’s food pantries and community fridges.

While praising a city “that really has stepped up,” Fish noted “we are always struggling for volunteers,” and could also use food donations such as milk, bread, granola bars and oatmeal packets.

The warming shelter, currently decked out with Christmas and Hanukkah decorations, is open from 7 p.m.-7 a.m. when temperatures are at or below 32 degrees for at least three hours. It will also be operating during the day on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, with special games and activities planned.

“This is my purpose,” said Fish, noting that while all the coordination it takes to run the shelter can get “tiring,” she could easily “sit with the guests all day long.”

It’s that radical hospitality she credits to her late father, who passed away six years ago, and “mama bear” mother, both of whom taught their children – including Patrick Fish, pastor of Becoming Oswego Church – “what it means to be hospitable, to care for your neighbors and open your door to someone in need.”

The new Aurora Winter Warming Center provides cots for overnight stays, as well as three meals, when the temperature is at or below 32 degrees. (Annie Fish)

When I tried to describe Annie Fish as an angel on Earth, she told me she’d only accept that description if I included the word “team.”

“She doesn’t just run a warming center,” said Hesed House Executive Director Joe Jackson. “Annie creates a space where people are treated with dignity, safety and humanity at a time when they need it most. That space and her work are a reflection of her enormous heart and caring soul.”

For Fish, it all comes down to “where my heart is.”

How can you not feel it swell “when you see guests crying as they bite into that first warm meal or put on that warm jacket,” she asked, her own voice wavering with emotion.

Or when you hear a phone call from a young man to his mother, telling her that he’s “‘at the shelter again and I am safe.”

“We get to witness a lot of cool human moments,” Fish added, “that remind us of why we do what we do.”

dcrosby@tribpub.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/column-legacy-of-caring-guides-leader-of-auroras-new-warming-center/ 

The La Grange Park Board of Trustees unanimously approved an intergovernmental agreement with the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to provide $4 million for the Village’s Central Area Sewer Separation Project.

“We’re this much closer to getting relief for the east side of town,” Public Works Chair Mike Sheehan told his colleagues Dec. 9 after introducing the ordinance. “It’s exciting and it’s going to be great to see the project come through. We have a great relationship with MWRD.”

Total cost of the project is $12,930,000, to be included in the 2025/2026 capital budget, which will be finalized this spring.

Besides the $4 million from MWRD, funding will be supplied by an $850,000 Housing and Urban Development grant and a $500,000 Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity grant. The rest of the funds will come from $5 million in general obligation bonds to be issued this spring and $2.58 million from the village’s reserve fund.

The proposed storm sewer will provide protection from flooding to residents in an area bounded by 31st Street, La Grange Road, Homestead Road and the IHB railroad tracks.

Currently the area is served by a sewer system that handles both sanitary and stormwater runoff, which has proved to be inadequate during heavy rainstorms.

Particularly damaging were the intense storms that hit the area in May of 2020, when the village saw the greatest property damage and basement back-up ever recorded.

The area’s topography slopes from west to east from La Grange Road with the IHB railroad being a barrier in the east. There is also a low area along Monroe Avenue between Forest and Barnsdale roads and the intersection of Barnsdale Road and Jackson Avenue, officials said.

Forest Road School is located at Barnsdale Road and Jackson Avenue, which could affect students in the case of a heavy storm.

The project will consist of installing separate storm sewers beginning at the intersection of Homestead Road and Oak Avenue, north to Jackson Avenue, east to Barnsdale Road, north to Garfield Avenue, west to Homestead Road, north to 26th Street, and north to Salt Creek.

Completion of the project is scheduled for 2028.

Being awarded the MWRD grant was contingent on the village issuing the $5 million general obligation bonds, and later in the meeting, trustees also unanimously approved issuing the bonds.

Debt service on 2006 sewer projects bonds will be paid off at the end of 2025. The debt service for the new bonds is estimated to be approximately the same as the $390,000 the village currently paid on the old bonds. And they will be paid for the same way.

“The debt service for the proposed bonds will be paid for by the sewer system fees collected from the village’s sewer system customers,” Trustee Nicholas Diaferio said when introducing the ordinance.

Diaferio pointed out that because the debt service was approximately equal to the debt service on the old bonds, no increase to the sewer rate was needed.

Hank Beckman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press. 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/lagrange-park-sewer-funding/ 

Maryland will create a commission to study potential reparations for slavery after lawmakers voted Tuesday to override a veto by Gov. Wes Moore — currently the nation’s only Black governor — that disappointed many fellow Democrats.

Moore said in his veto letter in May that it was a difficult decision to veto the bill, which was a priority of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland. But he wrote there has been enough study of the legacy of slavery, and it was now time to “focus on the work itself” to address it.

“Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve,” Moore wrote.

But Democrats who control both chambers of the Maryland General Assembly decided the commission was needed to better examine how to do that.

“This topic isn’t easy, but, again, without formal study, reparations risk being dismissed as symbolic or unconstitutional, regardless of moral merit,” said Sen. Charles Sydnor, a Democrat.

Potential reparations outlined in the bill include official statements of apology, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, social service assistance, as well as licensing and permit fee waivers and reimbursement. Reparations also could include assistance with making a down payment on a home, business incentives, childcare, debt forgiveness and tuition payment waivers for higher education.

Maryland’s Black population is about 30%, the highest percentage of any state outside of the Deep South.

Support for reparations gained momentum in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. However, the issue has been a difficult one, particularly for high-profile Democrats, and comes amid a broader conservative backlash over how race, history and inequality are handled in public institutions.

“At a time of growing attacks on diversity and equity, today’s action reaffirms our shared commitment to truth-telling, accountability, and meaningful progress for Black Marylanders,” the state’s Legislative Black Caucus said in a statement.

In October, California Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a mixed bag for proponents of bills aimed at addressing racist and discriminatory policies against Black Americans. He signed a law authorizing $6 million for California State University to study how to confirm an individual’s status as a descendant of an enslaved person. But he vetoed other bills the California Legislative Black Caucus championed as tools to atone for the state’s history.

Newsom, who is considering running for president in 2028, signed a law last year to formally apologize for slavery and its lingering effects on Black Californians.

Moore has said he is not planning to run for president in 2028, but he has continued to cultivate a national profile that has drawn pundits’ attention as a potential White House candidate.

New York City lawmakers approved legislation last year to study the city’s significant role in slavery and consider reparations to descendants of enslaved people.

In 2021, Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, became the first U.S. city to create a reparations plan for its Black residents, using tax revenue from the sale of recreational marijuana.

Evanston has paid out just over $5 million in reparations so far

As recently as a few years ago, Americans viewed the prospect of reparations mostly negatively. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2021 found that only about 3 in 10 U.S. adults said descendants of people enslaved in the U.S. should be repaid in some way, such as given land or money. About 7 in 10 said these descendants should not be repaid.

The vote to override Moore’s veto, which required a three-fifths vote in each chamber, happened in a short special session that was called to elect a new House speaker. Former speaker Adrienne Jones, a Democrat who was the state’s first Black and first female speaker, announced earlier this month she was stepping down from the post. On Tuesday, the House voted for Del. Joseline Pena-Melnyk, a Democrat, to be the new speaker.

Maryland lawmakers did not take up congressional redistricting in their one-day special session. Moore has expressed interest in pursuing a new map, which could come up when lawmakers convene in January for their annual 90-day session. However, the state Senate president has said he doesn’t support moving forward with a new map. Democrats hold a 7-1 advantage over Republicans in the state’s eight congressional districts.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/maryland-will-consider-slavery-reparations-after-gov-wes-moores-veto-is-overridden/ 

A posthumous memoir by one of Jeffrey Epstein’s best known accusers, Virginia Roberts Guiffre, has sold 1 million copies worldwide two months after its release.

Publisher Alfred A. Knopf announced Tuesday that more than half the sales for “Nobody’s Girl,” came out of North America; in the U.S., the book is now in its 10th printing after an initial run of 70,000 copies. Guiffre’s book, co-written by author-journalist Amy Wallace, was published in early October.

It helped revive criticism of former Prince Andrew, whom Guiffre alleged had sex with her when she was 17. And it heightened demands that the Justice Department release its files on Epstein, who killed himself in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

Guiffre died by suicide in April at age 41.

“This is a bittersweet moment for us,” Guiffre’s family, including siblings Sky Roberts and Danny Wilson, said in a statement. “We are enormously proud of our sister, and the impact she continues to have on the world. We’re also filled with so much sorrow that she couldn’t be here to witness the impact of her words. In her absence, our family remains committed to ensuring her voice is everlasting.”

Within weeks of Guiffre’s book being published, King Charles III stripped Andrew of his remaining titles and evicted him from his royal residence.

Andrew has long denied Giuffre’s claims but stepped down from royal duties after a disastrous November 2019 BBC interview in which he attempted to rebut her allegations. He paid millions in an out-of-court settlement in 2022 after Giuffre filed a civil suit against him in New York. While he didn’t admit wrongdoing, he acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/virginia-roberts-guiffre/ 

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is expanding its travel ban to include five more countries and impose new limits on others.

This move Tuesday is part of ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for travel and immigration. The decision follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.

In June, President Donald Trump announced that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions. The decision resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term.

At the time the ban included Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

On Tuesday, the Republican administration announced it was expanding the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the U.S. to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. The administration also fully restricted travel on people with Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents.

An additional 15 countries are also being added to the list of countries facing partial restrictions: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Trump administration said in its announcement of the expanded travel ban that many of the countries from which it was restricting travel had “widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records” that made it difficult to vet their citizens for travel to the U.S. It also said some countries had high rates of people overstaying their visas, refused to take back their citizens who the U.S. wished to deport or had a “general lack of stability and government control,” which made vetting difficult.

“The restrictions and limitations imposed by the Proclamation are necessary to prevent the entry of foreign nationals about whom the United States lacks sufficient information to assess the risks they pose, garner cooperation from foreign governments, enforce our immigration laws, and advance other important foreign policy, national security, and counterterrorism objectives,” reads the White House proclamation announcing the changes.

The Afghan man accused of shooting the two National Guard troops near the White House has pleaded not guilty to murder and assault charges.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/travel-ban/ 

Kraft Heinz has named veteran Chicago-based executive Steve Cahillane as CEO beginning Jan. 1, taking the reins of the packaged food giant as it prepares to split into two companies.

Cahillane most recently served as chairman and CEO of Kellanova, the Chicago-based snack foods spinoff from cereal-maker Kellogg, which was acquired by Mars in a $36 billion deal that closed last week.

The announcement Tuesday comes at a pivotal time for Kraft Heinz, and brings in a longtime food industry leader who successfully guided Kellogg through its 2023 spinoff, an experience that will likely come in handy in his new role.

“I’ll take over the entirety of the business and focus on delivering a 2026 operating plan, while at the same time executing the split of the companies, very similar to what I just did at Kellogg,” Cahillane said Tuesday.

Cahillane left Kellanova when the Mars deal closed Thursday. He told the Tribune he is “taking the rest of the year off” before joining Kraft Heinz in January. Current CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera will then step down and transition to an advisory role.

Formed by the 2015 megamerger of Chicago-based Kraft Foods and Pittsburgh-based Heinz, the company, which is co-headquartered in both cities, has struggled to manage its massive portfolio, downsizing amid declining revenues and writing off billions of dollars in valuation.

In September, Kraft Heinz announced a separation plan that will create two publicly traded companies: Global Taste Elevation and North American Grocery, both of which are expected to get new names before the spinoff is completed.

Global Taste Elevation will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese,  with the majority of sales coming from sauces, spreads and seasonings. North American Grocery’s portfolio will include Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables.

When Kraft Heinz splits into two companies, which is expected in the second half of 2026, Cahillane will stay with Global Taste Elevation and a new CEO will be named for North American Grocery.

Cahillane said he will spend the first two weeks as CEO studying the Kraft Heinz portfolios to determine if any tweaking is needed in the proposed split, with mostly Heinz products allocated to Global Taste Elevation and legacy Kraft brands under the North American Grocery banner.

While both portfolios represent billions in annual sales, Global Taste Elevation — the company Cahillane will helm after the split — has the faster-growing products in recent years.

As Kraft Heinz CEO, Cahillane said he will look to position the entire company for growth ahead of the split.

“The plan and the objective will be to get the entirety of the business growing,” Cahillane said. “That doesn’t mean that every brand can grow. I mean, no consumer goods company has every brand growing all the time, but you have to feed the winners and get the entirety of the company growing profitably.”

The Kraft Heinz split may follow some of the Kellogg blueprint.

Cahillane, 60, a Northwestern graduate and Harvard MBA whose resume includes top executive roles with The Nature’s Bounty and Coca-Cola, joined Michigan-based cereal giant Kellogg as chairman and CEO in 2017.

He engineered the spinoff of the Kellogg’s snacks business in 2023, taking the reins of the new company, Kellanova, and growing its portfolio of brands including Pringles, Cheez-It and Pop-Tarts before selling to Mars.

Meanwhile, the WK Kellogg cereal company was sold to Italian candy giant Ferrero for $3.1 billion in September.

Packaging the packaged-food giant Kraft Heinz for sale is not necessarily the goal, Cahillane said.

“That’s not the plan, but as I remind people, and based on my past history, when you’re a public company, you’re for sale every day,” Cahillane said. “My goal is to return the business to organic growth and get the markets to appreciate that these iconic brands indeed have a bright future.”

Of particular interest in Chicago, is where the successor companies to Kraft Heinz call home.

Started as a horse-drawn cheese purveyor in 1903, Kraft has been a Chicago institution for more than a century, rolling out everything from Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Miracle Whip to Kraft Mac & Cheese.

Chicago has remained home through several corporate machinations, including the 2012 split that cleaved off the Mondelez snack foods business from the rest of Kraft.

The 2015 Kraft-Heinz merger made Chicago and Pittsburgh co-headquarters. Kraft Heinz said in September it “has no plans to change its current headquarter locations” after the split, with much of the corporate locus based at the Aon Center in Chicago.

While it has gone through several rounds of downsizing over the years, Kraft Heinz has 2,000  Chicago-area employees between its Aon Center headquarters and a Glenview research and development center, the company said.

Cahillane said Chicago will remain the de facto home base for Kraft Heinz and its successor companies.

“The intention would be the single home being Chicago,” Cahillane said. “When you look at the footprint of the people, it is most predominantly here in Chicago. There’s a much smaller footprint in Pittsburgh. So you can imagine that both those companies would be located in Chicago.”

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/kraft-heinz-new-chicago-based-ceo/ 

In his niece’s drawings, Chicago police Officer Andrés Vásquez Lasso now rests inside a cloud.

It’s been hard for the 7-year-old to fully comprehend that her uncle is gone, no longer available to get ice cream with her or play with her, the 32-year-old officer’s mother said.

In a tearful statement, Rocio Lasso described her family’s sudden loss on March 1, 2023, when Vásquez Lasso was gunned down while responding to a 911 call.

After several hours of arguments and testimony, Cook County Judge John Lyke ordered a sentence of life in prison for Steven Montano, 21, after a jury in July convicted him of first-degree murder following a weeklong trial that showcased body camera footage of the slaying and emotional testimony from his wife and other responding police officers.

“Part of me died with him,” his mother said, wiping away tears.

Despite the natural life sentence, though, new legislation cracks the door open for a possible future outside of prison one day for Montano. A law that took effect in January of 2024 allows people who were under 21 at the time of the offense to seek parole after serving at least 40 years.

In handing down the mandatory life sentence, Lyke noted the chance at parole one day and declined to give the additional life sentence requested by prosecutors. But he also noted the cost of the loss and said the officer’s mother “painted a great picture of a great man.”

“He was a human being first and foremost,” Lyke said. “The most difficult job of any judge in this country is to impose sentences in murder cases because we are required to balance both the victim’s rights as well as the defendant’s rights.”

After the proceedings, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said the prosecutors were “tireless” in presenting the evidence to the jury.

“Officer Vásquez Lasso was doing his job that he took an oath to do to protect and serve. So while we are gratified with the sentence today, nothing will heal the loss that Officer Vásquez Lasso’s family, his loved ones or his fellow officers have suffered.”

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke speaks at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Dec. 16, 2025, after Steven Montano was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Chicago police Officer Andrés Mauricio Vásquez. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Vásquez Lasso, 32, and other officers were dispatched to the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue on the city’s Southwest Side after Montano’s girlfriend called 911 to report that he threatened her with a gun, prosecutors said.

As police arrived, Montano jumped out of a window, prosecutors said, and was pursued by Vásquez Lasso, who had arrived at the scene.

As the chase neared a playground, Montano turned toward the officer, prosecutors said, and both fired weapons. Vásquez Lasso hit Montano in the mouth area, and Montano shot the officer in the head, arm and leg.

“Officer down!” a fellow officer yelled into his radio as he arrived at the scene. “Officer down!”

Born and raised in Colombia, Vásquez Lasso immigrated to the U.S. and embraced his new home, family members and prosecutors have said. He got married and bought a home in the same district in which he patrolled each day.

The courtroom was packed with police officers and family members, including Vásquez Lasso’s wife.

In a brief statement, Montano said he never meant to hurt the officer and asked the family to forgive him.

In presenting mitigating circumstances, Montano’s public defender, Brett Balmer, noted that Montano was 18 when he killed Vásquez Lasso, arguing that science and the law are evolving in its understanding of how young adults’ brains work. She said that research indicates people’s brains often don’t fully develop until the mid-20s.

The new law, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, was meant to take the new research into account and offer a chance for life sentences to be reviewed later in life.

“The teenage brain, the emerging adult brain, is not the same as an adult’s,” Balmer said.

But Kevin Nolan, the lead prosecutor on the case, called Montano “utterly remorseless.” He did not dispute the defense’s arguments that Montano didn’t shoot him in malice or with predatory intent.

“He didn’t want to get caught, that’s it,” Nolan said. “I would suggest to the court that that is more chilling than if he were motivated by some sort of blood lust.”

With few facts in dispute during trial, Montano’s defense attorneys went for a long-shot chance at a second-degree murder conviction, arguing that Montano, only 18 at the time, shot the officer in a moment of stress and panic when he saw a gun, not realizing Vásquez Lasso was a police officer.

His public defender had argued that Montano was in a controlling and dysfunctional relationship with a 37-year-old woman who lied when she called 911 that day, bringing officers to the scene. She said he grew up in the Little Village neighborhood in an environment where he had multiple negative encounters with police officers.

Montano took the stand in his own defense and told the jury he did not know who was chasing him and fired at Vásquez Lasso in self defense.

In the end, though, the jury found him guilty of the more serious offense of first degree murder, essentially guaranteeing a life sentence.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/12/16/steven-montano-sentencing-life/