SIDON, Lebanon — The Israeli military carried out barrages of airstrikes in southern Lebanon Wednesday on what it said were Hezbollah sites, including weapons storage facilities, after a drone strike earlier in the day killed one person and wounded several others, including students on a bus.

The new wave of strikes came a day after an airstrike killed 13 people in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ein el-Hilweh, the deadliest of Israeli attacks on Lebanon since a ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war a year ago.

Meanwhile, after Israel reported its soldiers were fired on in southern Gaza, health officials in the territory said Israeli strikes killed at least 25 Palestinians in one of the deadliest days in Gaza since the Oct. 10 ceasefire agreement took effect. Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to a buffer zone in Syrian territory that Israel seized last year.

UN approves the Trump administration plan for Gaza’s future

Israel claims Hezbollah is regrouping

Israel’s military warned Wednesday it would strike targets in several villages in southern Lebanon, describing them as Hezbollah infrastructure, and called on people to move away from the locations. More than an hour later, strikes began in the villages of Shehour and Deir Kifa.

Israel’s military said Hezbollah was working to reestablish itself and rebuild its capacity in southern Lebanon, without providing evidence. It said the weapons’ facilities targeted were embedded among civilians and violated understandings between Israel and Lebanon. Israel agreed to a ceasefire and withdraw from southern Lebanon last year and Lebanon agreed to quell Hezbollah activity in the area.

Earlier Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike on a car in the southern Lebanese village of Tiri killed one person and wounded 11, including students aboard a nearby bus, the Lebanese Health Ministry and state media said. State-run National News Agency said the school bus happened to be passing near the car that was hit.

Israel’s military later said it killed a Hezbollah operative in the drone strike.

In Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, just outside the port city of Sidon, life appeared normal Wednesday. Lebanese authorities prevented journalists from entering. At the scene of the strike, paramedics searched for human remains around a wall that was stained with blood. Several cars were burned and broken glass and debris littered the ground.

The Israeli military said it struck a Hamas training compound that was being used to prepare an attack against Israel and its army. It added that the Israeli army would continue to act against Hamas wherever it operates.

Hamas denied in a statement that the sports playground that was hit was its training compound.

Palestinian factions in refugee camps hand over weapons

Palestinian factions in Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps earlier this year began handing over their weapons to the Lebanese state. The government has said that it will also work on disarming Hezbollah, but Hezbollah has rejected it as long as Israel continues to occupy several hills along the border and carries out almost daily strikes.

The U.S. has recently increased pressure on Lebanon to work harder on disarming Hezbollah and canceled a planned trip to Washington this week by Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolph Haikal.

A senior Lebanese army officer told The Associated Press that U.S. officials were angered by an army statement on Sunday that blamed Israel for destabilizing Lebanon and blocking the Lebanese military deployment in south Lebanon. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.

The latest Israel-Hezbollah war began Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Israel launched a widespread bombardment of Lebanon two months ago that severely weakened Hezbollah, followed by a ground invasion.

That war, the most recent of several conflicts involving Hezbollah over the past four decades, killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $11 billion worth of destruction, according to the World Bank. In Israel, 127 people died, including 80 soldiers.

Israeli strikes kill 25 in Gaza

Gaza’s Ministry of Health said that Israeli strikes killed 25 Palestinians and injured 77 since the afternoon in one of the deadliest days since the Oct. 10 ceasefire took effect. Hospital officials who received the bodies said they came from on both sides of the yellow line established in last month’s ceasefire. The boundary splits the enclave in two, leaving the border zone under Israeli military control while the area beyond it is meant to serve as a safe zone.

Officials at al-Ahli, Shifa, Nasser and Kuwaiti hospitals reported they received the bodies of those killed from Gaza City, Khan Younis and the Muwasi area, the southern Gaza displacement camp. An Israeli strike also killed one person in Shijaiyah, a Gaza City neighborhood outside the safe zone where Israeli forces remain deployed.

The Israeli military said its strikes responded to fighters who had opened fire on Israeli forces in Khan Younis earlier in the day. It said no soldiers were killed.

On Wednesday Hamas condemned the Israeli strikes across Gaza City and Khan Younis, calling them a “shocking massacre.” In a statement, the group denied firing toward Israeli troops.

Israeli strikes have decreased since the ceasefire agreement took effect, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, though they have not stopped entirely. After Wednesday evening’s strikes, the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, has reported more than 300 deaths since the truce began, an average of more than seven per day. Each side has accused the other of violating its terms, which include increasing the flow of aid into Gaza and returning hostages — dead or alive — to Israel.

The deaths are among the more than 69,000 Palestinians killed since Israel launched its sweeping offensive more than two years ago in response to Hamas-led fighters abducting 251 people and killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered the war. Gaza’s Health Ministry, part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals, maintains detailed records seen as a reliable estimate by the U.N. and many independent experts.

Netanyahu visits buffer zone within Syria

Top Israeli officials including Netanyahu traveled Wednesday into a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria that Israel seized after the fall of President Bashar Assad last year. “We attach immense importance to our defensive and offensive capability here,” Netanyahu said. “This is a mission that can develop at any moment.”

Its December 2024 operations drew swift condemnation, with critics accusing Israel of using Syria’s turmoil to expand its control of the Golan Heights, which it captured and annexed in 1967 in a move that is not recognized by most of the international community.

Israeli incursions in southern Syria have intensified in recent months, with residents reporting forest destruction, advances onto farmland and Israeli military checkpoints. The zone, which wraps the Golan Heights, has also attracted interest from Israeli settlers.

Syria’s new authorities have condemned Israel’s incursions but said they do not want to enter into a military confrontation. Syrian and Israeli officials have been negotiating on a potential security agreement to defuse tensions but the talks appear to have stalled.

The provocative visit by the prime minister drew fresh criticism from Syria and neighboring countries.

In a statement, Syria’s Foreign Ministry said the visit was an attempt to entrench Israeli control and called it “a grave violation of Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Mroue reported from Beirut. Shurafa reported from Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip. Melanie Lidman and Abby Sewell in Tel Aviv, Israel and Beirut, Lebanon contributed to this report.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/israel-strikes-lebanon-gaza/ 

Ackman Floats “Immediately Actionable” Blueprint To Free Fannie And Freddie

Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/19/2025 – 17:20

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ackman-floats-immediately-actionable-blueprint-free-fannie-and-freddie 

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department received approval for a feasibility study of its indoor shooting range to review ventilation, electrical and structural needs.

The Lake County Board of Commissioners approved in a 3-0 vote Wednesday to retain services from FGM Architects Inc. for the feasibility study. But, commissioners raised a concern about the process of securing the company to complete the study.

Sheriff’s department officials have spent the last six months talking to “various vendors” about a feasibility study, and FGM Architects Inc. was the best company to hire for the task, said Lake County Sheriff’s Department Chief of Police Vincent Balbo.

Commissioner Jerry Tippy, R-2nd, said he would’ve liked more information about the feasibility study before hiring a company to complete it.

“I know we have a problem with that shooting range, and I know that it’s something that we need to get fixed. I just think technically we should have some type of proposal from them that we are approving,” Tippy said.

The information was sent to the commissioners about two weeks ago, Lake County Sheriff Oscar Martinez said.

Commissioner Michael Repay read through a summary of the company’s proposal included, like a conceptual floor plan, conceptual budgets, findings, recommendations and other elements.

“I think in the future we would want to be consulted when we are soliciting professionals to do stuff with the building that we own,” Repay said.

“Understood,” Balbo replied.

Martinez said the shooting range, which was built in 1975, is located in the basement of the sheriff’s department.

It is used for firearms training and qualification for police officers and other personnel with guns, including Lake County judges’ bailiffs, court security officers and correctional officers, he said.

The feasibility study will look into ways to make the shooting range fully functional and safe, Martinez said, as well as address structural, ventilation and electrical problems.

“Overall, the equipment is dated and some is inoperable. We want to make sure any and all ventilation issues with the shooting range are addressed,” Martinez said.

The feasibility study will cost $32,400 and will come from the sheriff’s department budget, Martinez said.

akukulka@post-trib.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/lake-county-sheriff-receives-approval-for-shooting-range-feasibility-study/ 

The flashing lights and gates weren’t activated until a Union Pacific train was near the edge of an Illinois 31 railroad crossing moments before it struck a Ford F-250 pickup, killing a 56-year-old man, a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report found.

National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators looked at the train’s recorder, which “showed highway traffic traversing the crossing in the seconds before the collision,” according to the report.

The crash happened on Oct. 23 around 6:30 a.m. on the Union Pacific railroad on Illinois 31, south of W. Chicago Street, when a train heading northbound struck the pickup truck that was hauling a trailer. Inside the truck were three employees of Cornerstone Partners Horticultural Services Company in Elgin.

One man, identified as Martin Martinez, died from injuries he received in the crash. The two others were taken to a local hospital.

The Union Pacific train’s crew consisted of an engineer and a conductor. Both had been working since 8 p.m. the night before, the report stated. The train was returning from Union Pacific’s Belvidere yard.

Illinois 31 is a two-lane road, and the crossing features a single main track at a 35-degree angle, according to the report. As it approached the crossing, the train was traveling 27 mph, the NTSB stated. The speed limit is 30 mph.

The investigation showed the train’s whistle sounded for the first time seconds before it came to the crossing. “The truck entered the crossing from the train’s right immediately before the collision and was struck while in motion,” the report stated.

Railroad warning systems must provide 20 seconds of warning under federal law, according to the report.

NTSB investigators didn’t indicate who was at fault for the crash. However, the investigation will be focusing on “UP’s operating rules, policies, and training along with the performance of the train detection technology used by the highway-railroad grade crossing’s warning system,” it stated.

Following the accident, temporary stop signs were placed at the crossing, and UP started implementing other safety measures, including a “stop and protect” protocol while the investigation is being completed.

Martinez was a foreman with Cornerstone Partners. He is survived by his wife, three children, and a granddaughter.

Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for the Elgin Courier-News.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/ntsb-preliminary-report-elgin-train-crash/ 

A Gary man is accused of fatally shooting his girlfriend with a sawed-off shotgun on Monday.

Charles Franklin, 26, of Gary, is facing charges of murder; unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony; domestic battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony; and domestic battery committed in the presence of a child younger than 16. He’s also facing a charge of intimidation, a Level 6 felony, from a May 2 incident, and misdemeanor domestic battery from an April 12 incident.

Franklin is currently being held in custody without bail.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office said Arrianna Miles, 26, was pronounced dead at 3:04 p.m. Monday at the Methodist Hospital Northlake emergency room. The news release listed Miles’ preliminary cause of death as bleeding to death after a close-range gunshot wound, which entered her body in a downward trajectory, according to the autopsy.

On Monday afternoon, police were sent to the 2400 block of Pennsylvania Street in response to a gunshot victim, according to the probable cause affidavit. When police arrived, they saw a woman, later identified as Miles, on the ground, staring face up with a red stain in her abdomen area. Police saw a man, later identified as Charles Franklin, standing over her, saying that the gun used was under a loveseat, court records stated, and police found a sawed-off shotgun.

Franklin told police the pair were arguing and Miles had the gun when they started fighting and wrestling, which is when the gun went off.

Doctors at Methodist Hospital Northlake said Miles died after she arrived, records state. In a later search of Miles’ house, police found five 12-gauge shotgun shells that matched the one spent shell casing previously found on scene.

In the 911 call, Franklin tells the dispatcher that Miles was shot in the stomach and he is applying pressure to the wound, the affidavit states. When asked if the shooting was intentional, Franklin hesitates before saying “no” and claims the bleeding is under control. Miles is heard in the background saying repeatedly, “Why would you do that?” records state. As she is laboring in pain, Miles sounds like she is in and out of consciousness, stating “I’m dying” and “take me outside” before ultimately going silent and struggling to breathe. Miles tells police to “Please get him away from me” — referring to Franklin — when they arrive on scene, court records state.

Franklin was convicted of armed robbery with a firearm in Cook County Circuit Court in March 2021.

Franklin was interviewed by police, where he said he was involved in a verbal argument with Miles, his girlfriend and the mother of his 11-month-old son, the affidavit states. He said the argument started as he wasn’t leaving in a timely manner to get cigars from a gas station; he said Miles was in the process of kicking him out and bringing up old arguments, including that he cheated on her.

He claimed he was trying to stay calm and not getting physical, court records state. He said Miles was holding their son and throwing his clothes onto the living room floor. He said that she grabbed the gun from a closet and held it with the barrel facing her, records state. He claimed the stock was angled up and the barrel angled down, which police noted is contradictory to the size and weight of the gun.

Franklin said he approached, hit the butt of the gun and tried to grab it from her when the gun went off and struck Miles, the affidavit states.

Police asked why the gun’s ammo was lying around and Franklin said he didn’t know.

A law enforcement database showed that Franklin choked, punched and hit Miles with a belt on April 12, 2025, and the pair filed protective orders against each other that month, records state. On May 2, 2025, the database had a record of a domestic incident when Miles asked Franklin to leave and he replied that he loved her but would kill her. On June 9, Cook County Police responded to a parking garage where Miles alleged Franklin struck and choked her before slamming her into the ground and causing her to go unconscious for a time, court records state.

A witness said in another incident that Franklin was the aggressor toward Miles.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/gary-man-accused-of-fatally-shooting-girlfriend/ 

Venezuela’s Maduro Seeks ‘Face-to-Face Talks’ With Trump Officials 

Tyler Durden
Wed, 11/19/2025 – 17:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/venezuelas-maduro-seeks-face-face-talks-trump-officials 

Por STEPHEN WHYNO

EAST RUTHERFORD, Nueva Jersey, EE.UU. (AP) — Jaxson Dart continúa avanzando en el protocolo de conmociones cerebrales, y el entrenador interino de los Giants de Nueva York, Mike Kafka, dijo que el quarterback novato está encaminado a jugar el domingo en Detroit, siempre y cuando no haya contratiempos en el proceso.

Kafka afirmó que Dart participaría en una práctica sin contacto el miércoles, pero no reveló si él o el veterano Jameis Winston recibirían la mayoría de las jugadas con la ofensiva del primer equipo. Dart se perdió el partido del fin de semana pasado contra los Packers, una derrota de 27-20 que Winston inició, después de sufrir una conmoción el nueve de noviembre en una derrota ante Chicago.

Kafka confirmó que el plan es que Winston sirva como suplente contra los Lions si Dart es autorizado para comenzar, lo cual es el plan de los Giants en lugar de adoptar un enfoque conservador y dejar al joven de 22 años fuera hasta el 1 de diciembre en Nueva Inglaterra.

“Si está sano y autorizado para jugar, entonces me gustaría que Jaxson Dart juegue”, expresó Kafka. “Solo si está sano y listo para jugar, y eso se basa en lo que digan los médicos”.

Practicar sin contacto es una fase del protocolo de conmociones cerebrales de la NFL, aunque los quarterbacks nunca están sujetos a ser golpeados en estas circunstancias.

Regresar de una conmoción después de perderse un juego es otro nuevo desafío para Dart, quien asumió el puesto de Russell Wilson después de un inicio de 0-3 y se espera que retome su desarrollo tal como lo dejó con Nueva York en 2-9 y jugando el resto de la temporada.

“No quiero hablar por Jaxson, pero es un jugador bastante inteligente y estuvo muy concentrado en nuestros planes de juego la semana pasada”, comentó Kafka. “Ha estado preparándose de esta manera, incluso al principio de la temporada cuando no era el titular, así que no esperaría nada diferente”.

___

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

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/jaxson-dart-progresa-para-jugar-con-giants-ante-detroit-seala-coach-interino-mike-kafka/ 

A federal judge said Wednesday he plans to move ahead quickly on a contempt investigation of the Trump administration for failing to turn around planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March.

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington said a ruling Friday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit gave him the authority to proceed with the inquiry, which will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to refer the matter for prosecution. He asked attorneys to identify witnesses and offer plans for how to conduct the probe and said he’d like to start any hearings on December 1.

The judge has previously warned he could seek to have officials in the administration prosecuted.

On March 15, Boasberg ordered the aircraft carrying accused gang members to return to the U.S., but they landed instead in El Salvador, where the migrants were held at a notorious prison.

What to know about El Salvador’s mega-prison after Donald Trump sent hundreds of immigrants there

“I am authorized to proceed just as I intended to do in April seven months ago,” the judge said during a hearing Wednesday. He added later, “I certainly intend to find out what happened on that day.”

Boasberg said having witnesses testify under oath appeared to be the best way to conduct the contempt probe, but he also suggested the government could provide written declarations to explain who gave orders to “defy” his ruling.

The Trump administration has denied any violation, saying the judge’s directive to return the planes was made verbally in court but not included in his written order. U.S. Justice Department attorney Tiberius Davis told Boasberg the government objected to further contempt proceedings.

Boasberg previously found probable cause to hold the Trump administration in criminal contempt of court. The ruling marked a dramatic battle between the judicial and executive branches of government, but a divided three-judge appeals court panel later sided with the administration and threw out the finding. The two judges in the majority were appointed by President Donald Trump.

On Friday, a larger panel of judges on the D.C. Circuit said the earlier ruling by their colleagues did not bar Boasberg from moving ahead with his contempt probe. Boasberg’s contempt finding was a “measured and essential response,” Judges Cornelia Pillard, Robert Wilkins and Bradley Garcia wrote.

“Obedience to court orders is vital to the ability of the judiciary to fulfill its constitutionally appointed role,” they wrote. “Judicial orders are not suggestions; they are binding commands that the Executive Branch, no less than any other party, must obey.”

The Trump administration invoked an 18th century wartime law to send the migrants, whom it accused of membership in a Venezuelan gang, to a mega-prison in El Salvador known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. It argued that American courts could not order them freed.

In June, Boasberg ruled the Trump administration must give some of the migrants a chance to challenge their deportations, saying they hadn’t been able to formally contest the removals or allegations that they were members of Tren de Aragua.

The judge wrote that “significant evidence” had surfaced indicating that many of the migrants were not connected to the gang “and thus were languishing in a foreign prison on flimsy, even frivolous, accusations.”

More than 200 migrants were later released back to Venezuela in a prisoner swap with the U.S.

Their attorneys want Boasberg to issue another order requiring the administration to explain how it will give at least 137 of the men a chance to challenge their gang designation under the Alien Enemies Act.

The men are in danger in Venezuela and fear talking to attorneys, who have been able to contact about 30 of them, but they “overwhelmingly” want to pursue their cases, Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said Wednesday.

Davis said it may be hard to take the men into custody again given tensions between the U.S. and the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Boasberg did not immediately rule on the matter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/el-salvador-prison-contempt-probe/ 

It’s going to be awhile before Justin Ishbia takes over the Chicago White Sox from Jerry Reinsdorf, but he’s already looking to a future with a new ballpark blessed by Pope Leo XIV and a team winning “many championships for decades to come.”

That was the message Ishbia relayed to the world’s most prominent Sox fan Wednesday in Rome when Ishbia met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. A photo of Ishbia gifting an autographed 2005 Sox jersey to the pontiff was posted on the Pope’s Instagram page.

“It was an amazing experience,” Ishbia told the Tribune in a phone interview. “It was spiritual and moving and awesome, and we spoke about Chicago. (He’s) an international beacon of the community of Chicago, the city of hope, opportunity and community for all, and I shared a vision of a new White Sox ballpark, a house of joy for families and kids of Chicago and visitors alike.

“And in the conversation I extended an invitation for him to visit Chicago and throw out the first pitch on opening day should this ballpark come to fruition. As part of that, I also presented to him a 2005 World Series championship team jersey, signed by the team, as a symbol of teamwork and perseverance. I said ‘I’m hopeful you’d bless our stadium, and our stadium will be a place that creates joy and happiness and many championships for decades to come.’ ”

So what was Pope Leo’s response?

“He looked at me and smiled and said, ‘Thank you, and I’d love to, schedule permitting,’” Ishbia said.

Ishbia, a limited partner, won’t be taking over as majority owner of the White Sox until at least 2029, according to an agreement he made with Reinsdorf, who has run the Sox since heading a group of investors who bought the team from Bill Veeck in 1981. There has been no recent movement on a proposed South Loop ballpark the Sox hope to be able to build in The 78.

Does this offer to the pope mean the Sox definitely plan to stay in the city? Some rumors had them leaving for Nashville, Tenn., if they couldn’t get a new stadium built.

Ishbia replied that he was focused on his meeting with the pope and that “all decisions related to the team today are Jerry’s decision, and he has 100% decision-making power” on everything.

“When I’m the steward, I will have an opportunity to determine where the team plays and a lot about what they do, but that is not my decision today, so you’ll have to ask him about that,” Ishbia said. “But I will say this: The lease (at Rate Field) is up in four years after 2029, and I’m 48.

“So I can tell you one thing for sure — we will build a new stadium. I’m not sure when it will be. But in the next 50 years, when I’m the steward, there will be a new stadium built. I’m not sure if it will be four years or 40 years, but there will be a new stadium at some point.”

Justin Ishbia, right, and his wife, Kristen, sit courtside during a Bulls-Suns game Feb. 22, 2025, at the United Center. (Erin Hooley/AP)

Ishibia said he obviously couldn’t tell Pope Leo XIV when that opening pitch and stadium blessing would occur but called the meeting a “positive interaction.” They spoke for only a couple of minutes.

“To me it felt a little bit like two guys who are baseball fans, talking baseball for a couple minutes,” he said. “It wasn’t a long interaction, but it was a special moment to be with an individual who brings and inspires such hope and togetherness around the world.”

Pope Leo XIV famously attended Game 1 of the 2005 World Series when he was known as Father Robert Prevost, and was caught by the Fox Sports TV cameras during the telecast. Ishbia said they didn’t get a chance to talk about the Sox’s dominance during their 11-1 postseason run or the pope’s memories of being at Game 1.

“I didn’t ask him whose jersey he was wearing at the game that night either, or who was the 10-year-old in his arms,” Ishbia said. “It was more about aspiration and Chicago.”

Pope Leo was aware that Ishbia was representing the Sox as the future owner, though Ishbia doesn’t like that word.

“You won’t hear me say I’m the future owner of the White Sox,” he said. “The word I use is ‘steward.’ This team belongs to the city of Chicago, and I’m a temporary steward. Jerry today is the steward. Hopefully, one day I will hopefully have the good fortune of being the next steward of this franchise.

“I think one of the steward’s jobs is to hopefully bring a vision and raise the profile of an organization. We have a unique opportunity as White Sox fans to have an individual who is (associated with) the brand to billions of people across the earth. Obviously the White Sox are meaningful to Pope Leo, and he demonstrated that.

“So I wanted to show my respect and come here in person. He welcomed me and it was a wonderful opportunity to hopefully engage and further the relationship between the White Sox and the pope.”

Andrea Burns, left, and Martina Maggiore find the recently installed mural of Pope Leo XIV in Section 140 before a White Sox-Rangers game May 23, 2025, at Rate Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

The White Sox already have made some inroads with their most important fan, who in May became the first American pope. They held a special celebration Mass at The Rate in June and installed a mural on the concourse that includes his trip to the park during the 2005 World Series.

Ishbia wants to further develop the relationship, starting with Wednesday’s meeting.

“This is how I hope to be a leader and the steward of this franchise,” he said. “Build a relationship today that hopefully will have benefits for the entire White Sox organization for decades, raising the profile of the White Sox brand across the world. … If I have fans in Peru and Brazil and the Philippines that want to be White Sox fans because the pope is, let’s get them on our team.”

Unfortunately, Ishbia can’t move up the date for the handoff from Reinsdorf, who will decide when he wants to give up control. Reinsdorf has the option to sell controlling interest to Ishbia from 2029 to 2033, and Ishbia then has the option to become majority owner after 2034.

“That’s Jerry’s decision,” Ishbia said. “I wish it was yesterday. I’d love to be the steward of a wonderful franchise. But Jerry and I have the agreement, and he’s the steward until he’s not. Then I’ll have a chance. I’m very grateful he’s giving me the opportunity to be the steward of a franchise in the sport that I love. I’m the biggest baseball fan you’ll find.”

Ishbia said he and his father have been to every major-league park together and to 40 opening days as well. He called it a “nerdy father-son” baseball relationship, which includes texting baseball trivia questions back and forth.

White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf attends a ceremony to unveil a bronze statue of team great Mark Buehrle on July 11, 2025, at Rate Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Sox fans are hoping Ishbia will be the type of owner who invests heavily in the free-agent market instead of rebuilding twice a decade, as they’ve done twice since 2016. That means lower payrolls and less winning. The team has lost 100 games or more the last three seasons.

The agreement between Reinsdorf said Ishbia can make capital infusions starting next summer. He said he is not involved in any payroll decisions.

“How that’s done, honestly, I have zero to do with that,” he said. “Baseball has rules. There is only one decision-maker, and Jerry is that decision-maker until it’s my turn, so I have nothing to do with how baseball operations are run in the short and medium term. I will have my turn, but it’s not my turn today.”

Related Articles

Can Ishbia, a billionaire who founded and is managing partner of the Chicago-based private equity firm Shore Capital Partners, promise to make the Sox competitive in free agency when he does take over?

“My goal is to win,” he said before repeating he’s just a “passive” owner under Reinsdorf.

So he couldn’t say whether the Sox would be in the mix to sign Pete Crow-Armstrong when the Cubs star becomes a free agent after 2030, or how much he’d spend to try to make the Sox a winner.

“I’ll do my very best to create more wonderful memories for Chicago White Sox fans,” he said.

Those were encouraging words for fans patiently waiting for change.

The new era at least has a timestamp. And it officially began Wednesday in Rome, which sources say was not built in a day.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/chicago-white-sox-justin-ishbia-pope-leo-xiv/ 

When Chad Meeuse heard about the pending closure of his alma mater, Trinity Christian College, earlier this month, he said he experienced “kind of a devastating feeling.”

“Rumors started spreading before the official word came out, about a day before,” Meeuse said Wednesday. “My phone was blowing up and we’re just trying to figure out what’s going on — and then, all of a sudden, we hear it’s closing.”

Meeuse said his shock turned to anger and eventually, “wanting to do something about it.” He and a small group of other Trinity alumni are searching for answers about what caused the school’s financial decline and closure announcement, leading a few of them to a Palos Heights City Council meeting Tuesday night.

While Meeuse, who lives in California, was unable to attend, 2022 graduate and Orland Park resident Jeffrey Linnert appealed to the council, sharing his love for the Palos Heights school and hopes for its future.

“Trinity is not just a college, it’s a home for many of us,” Linnert said during the meeting’s public comment period. “While I understand there’s a lot of financial burdens going on with the college, and it’s none of you, Trinity can’t just be sold to a developer. The college needs to be, at a minimum, preserved and hopefully saved.”

Trinity announced it will permanently close at the end of the 2025-26 school year, with the liberal arts college’s president and board citing financial struggles caused by declining enrollment and other factors.

“Despite strategic efforts to adjust its growth model and eliminate its deficit, Trinity has faced fast-evolving economic and cultural realities: post-Covid financial losses, persistent operating deficits, a decline in college enrollment, increased competition for students and shifting donor giving and financial circumstances,” the college said.

“These challenges impacted Trinity’s ability to continue providing a transformative, affordable education rooted in its Christian mission.”

Palos Heights Mayor Robert Straz said the city is waiting to hear from the college about its plans for the campus before taking a stance on the property’s future.

“They have to decide what they’re going to come with,” Straz said. “Until they come up with a plan, we really have nothing to respond to.”

Straz said he has received several inquiries from people interested in the 6601 W. College Drive property and connected them with the school.

Jeffrey Linnert, who graduated from Trinity Christian College in 2022, appeals to the Palos Heights City Council Tuesday night as he seeks to preserve the history of the school. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)

“It’s going to be, ultimately, the school’s decision,” Straz said.

Straz himself taught economics at Trinity for about 15 years, and the school has worked well with the city in the past, the mayor said.

He expects Trinity’s closure to affect the local economy, as the school’s estimated 1,000 students count toward the per capita income that helps determine how much funding the state provides to the city of about 12,000 people.

Trinity Christian College announced Nov. 4 it would close at the end of the 2025-2026 school year. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)
Palos Heights city attorney Thomas Brown, from left, Mayor Robert Straz and Clerk Shannon Harvey listen to public comments during a City Council meeting Nov. 18, 2025. (Olivia Stevens/Daily Southtown)

“It’s been a good relationship we’ve had with them forever. Shame that it ends,” Straz said.

Meanwhile, Meeuse said he and other alumni are reaching out to other stakeholders in Trinity’s future, including former donors, faculty and board members, as part of a larger effort to keep the college running in some form.

“Right now, our strategy is to kind of get the lay of the land,” said Meeuse, who previously served on the school’s alumni board. “Because it seems to us, by all appearances, that there was a lack of transparency with the constituency, namely the alumni, to kind of put out the word out that Trinity’s in trouble.

“We’re trying to get a sense of numbers and what that big financial picture looks like,” he said, “and then trying to understand what needs to be done in the coming months to make something, anything happen.”

ostevens@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/19/2-weeks-after-trinity-christian-closure-announcement-palos-heights-knows-little-about-college-sale-plans/