The AI Factor Behind Trump’s Power Play On China’s Oil Suppliers

Tyler Durden
Sun, 01/25/2026 – 07:00

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/ai-factor-behind-trumps-power-play-chinas-oil-suppliers 

Associated Press

LONDRES (AP) — El gobierno británico dijo el domingo que presentará planes esta semana para crear una nueva fuerza policial nacional, apodada el “FBI británico”, que se encargará de investigaciones complejas como el antiterrorismo, el fraude, el abuso infantil en línea y las bandas criminales.

El Servicio Nacional de Policía reunirá bajo el mismo paraguas el trabajo de las agencias existentes que se ocupan del terrorismo y el crimen, los helicópteros policiales y la vigilancia de las carreteras, así como las unidades regionales de crimen organizado en Inglaterra y Gales.

La secretaria del Interior, Shabana Mahmood, afirmó que el nuevo organismo aliviará la carga de las 43 fuerzas policiales locales en Inglaterra y Gales, ayudándolas a centrarse únicamente en los delitos cotidianos dentro de sus jurisdicciones.

“Algunas fuerzas locales carecen de las habilidades o recursos que necesitan para combatir el crimen moderno complejo como el fraude, el abuso infantil en línea o las bandas criminales organizadas”, expresó.

Mahmood señaló que el modelo actual fue “construido para un siglo diferente” y que el nuevo organismo atraerá “talento de primera clase”, además de ayudar a mantener los costos bajo control al trasladar las adquisiciones a una fuerza nacional única.

Indicó que las propuestas completas se presentarán al Parlamento el lunes. Se esperan otros cambios, como la reducción del número de efectivos policiales en Inglaterra y Gales y cambios en la forma en que se reclutan y gestionan los agentes de policía.

La perspectiva de cambio fue ampliamente bienvenida dentro de los círculos policiales, con la Policía Metropolitana de Londres, que lidera la labor antiterrorista, y que recibió con satisfacción la creación de un servicio nacional unificado.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/reino-unido-planea-crear-un-fbi-britnico-para-unificar-investigaciones-en-un-cuerpo-policial/ 

Por RIO YAMAT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Una enorme tormenta invernal preparó el escenario para un día de desplazamientos difíciles el domingo en Estados Unidos. Las aerolíneas advirtieron sobre cancelaciones y retrasos generalizados en algunos de los aeropuertos más transitados del país.

La nieve generalizada, el aguanieve y la lluvia helada amenazaban a casi 180 millones de personas —más de la mitad de la población de Estados Unidos— en un área que se extiende desde las Montañas Rocosas del sur hasta Nueva Inglaterra, informó el Servicio Meteorológico Nacional el sábado por la noche. Después de barrer el sur, los meteorólogos dijeron que se esperaba que la tormenta se moviera hacia el noreste, dejando caer alrededor de 30 a 60 centímetros de nieve desde Washington hasta Nueva York y Boston.

Más de 13.500 vuelos han sido cancelados en Estados Unidos desde el sábado, según el sitio de seguimiento de vuelos FlightAware. Aproximadamente 9.600 de esos vuelos estaban programados para el domingo. La empresa de análisis de aviación Cirium dijo que según sus datos, el domingo supondrá el mayor evento de cancelaciones desde la pandemia, con más del 29% de todos los vuelos de salida de Estados Unidos anulados.

El Aeropuerto Nacional Ronald Reagan de Washington advirtió a los viajeros en su sitio web sobre cancelaciones de vuelos generalizadas. Casi todas sus salidas programadas para el día —414 vuelos, o el 97%— han sido cancelados.

También se esperaban interrupciones significativas en los principales centros aeroportuarios de Dallas-Fort Worth, Charlotte, Filadelfia y Atlanta, hogar del aeropuerto más concurrido del país, así como en el Aeropuerto Internacional John F. Kennedy de Nueva York y el Aeropuerto LaGuardia.

American Airlines había cancelado más de 1.400 vuelos para el domingo, según FlightAware. Delta Air Lines y Southwest Airlines informaron cada una sobre 1.000 cancelaciones para el día, mientras que United Airlines tuvo más de 800. JetBlue tuvo más de 560 vuelos cancelados, que suponen aproximadamente el 70% de su programación para el día.

Mi vuelo fue cancelado, ¿y ahora qué?

Si ya esta en el aeropuerto, haga fila para hablar con un representante de servicio al cliente. Si aún está en casa o en su hotel, llame o conéctese en línea para comunicarse con el personal de reservas de su aerolínea. De todos modos, también ayuda investigar vuelos alternativos mientras uno espera para hablar con un agente.

La mayoría de las aerolíneas le reprogramarán en un vuelo posterior sin cargo adicional, pero depende de la disponibilidad de asientos libres.

¿Puedo obtener un pasaje en otra aerolínea?

Puede, pero las aerolíneas no están obligadas a ponerle en el vuelo de otra compañía. Algunas aerolíneas, incluidas la mayoría de las más grandes, dicen que pueden ponerle en una aerolínea asociada, pero incluso entonces, puede ser un acierto o un error.

¿Tengo derecho a un reembolso?

Si su vuelo fue cancelado y ya no desea hacer el viaje, o ha encontrado otra manera de llegar a su destino, la aerolínea está legalmente obligada a reembolsarle el dinero, incluso si compró un boleto no reembolsable. No importa por qué se canceló el vuelo.

La aerolínea podría ofrecerle un crédito de viaje, pero tiene derecho a un reembolso completo. También tiene derecho a un reembolso de cualquier tarifa de equipaje, mejoras de asiento u otros extras que no pudo utilizar.

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Esta historia fue traducida del inglés por un editor de AP con la ayuda de una herramienta de inteligencia artificial generativa.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/aerolneas-y-aeropuertos-de-eeuu-se-preparan-para-un-da-difcil-por-una-gran-tormenta-invernal/ 

A snatch of song, a flash of movement, the twitch of a tail: Birds bring life and charm to the garden all year long, if you make it a welcoming place.

“Some gardens are more bird-friendly than others,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle. Birds look not just for food and water, but for shelter, nesting sites and singing posts — places where they can perch to keep watch over their territories.

A garden that is good for birds is not only more enjoyable for people, but helps many bird species thrive and play their part in larger ecosystems. Research has shown that yards, especially those that include mature trees, are critical rest stops for the millions of birds that migrate through the Chicago region every spring and fall. 

Here are some tips for creating a bird-friendly garden. Learn more at mortonarb.org/plant-birds.

Spread a feast. Birds eat not just seeds and berries, but insects, buds, flowers, berries and nectar. Make sure your yard has a variety of plants that bloom in different seasons, including trees, shrubs, perennials and grasses. “What you plant makes a bigger difference to birds than having a bird feeder,” Yiesla said. The main function of a feeder is to bring birds close, where you can see them. 

Favor native plants. Plant species that have evolved alongside local birds are more likely to provide the right kind of food for them, whether it is berries, seeds or insects. Birds time their migration and nesting when native plants are likely to provide the resources they need. 

Avoid invasive shrubs. Some non-native plants may provide birds with berries, but they also cause serious problems when the birds carry their seeds into natural areas where they disrupt the ecosystems and outcompete native plants. Common garden shrubs that are invasive include barberry, burning bush, Callery pear, buckthorn and Japanese honeysuckle. Learn more about invasive shrubs at mortonarb.org/problem-plants and find out what you can plant instead through mortonarb.org/woody-invasive-plants.

Make sure bugs are on the menu. It’s normal for trees and shrubs to be occupied and eaten by a wide range of insects and insect larvae that provide protein-rich food for birds. Oak trees, for example, support hundreds of kinds of insect larvae that make them a food court for birds. To avoid depriving birds of their food supply or poisoning them through the bugs they eat, don’t use insecticides, if at all possible. “Only relatively few insects cause genuine problems for trees and other plants,” Yiesla said. “Before you consider using any insecticide, make sure you identify the problem and get professional advice for how to deal with it. Often pesticides are not the first choice or the right choice.”

Care for mature trees. Large, mature trees provide shelter, places to rest and nest, and feasts of insects. Many, such as hackberry (Celtis occidentalis), also provide fruit, buds and seeds for birds to eat. Older trees also often have holes or cracks that offer refuge. Trees become more valuable to birds as they grow older and larger, which is one of many reasons to value and preserve our large trees. Water them in dry seasons. Make sure their root zones are always covered with a layer of mulch, which will protect their roots and keep lawnmowers or string trimmers from damaging their bark.

Layer your plants. If your yard has shrubs, trees and other plants of different heights and shapes, they will create a variety of habitats to appeal to different species of birds. A yard with tall trees, medium-sized shrubs, waving ornamental grasses and low shrubs will have more birds than one with formal hedges clipped to the same size. 

Include perennials that bloom all season. Flowering perennials attract insects that birds can eat. A garden that includes late-summer-blooming goldenrod, aster and false sunflower supports fall-migrating birds as well as native bees. Many native perennials and grasses also supply seeds. 

Provide clean water. Refill the birdbath often, even in winter. Scrub it regularly so it doesn’t become a breeding ground for disease. Birds are attracted to moving water, so consider adding a dripper.

Include conifers. Evergreen trees or shrubs shelter birds from winter winds. Some, such as the native eastern red-cedar (Juniperus virginiana), offer fruits and seeds to eat. “Some evergreens are prone to disease and other problems in our area, so choose them carefully and don’t overplant them,” Yiesla said. Expore evergreens and other plants that benefit birds at mortonarb.org/search-trees-and-plants. 

For tree and plant advice, see the online resources of the Morton Arboretum at mortonarb.org/plant-care, or submit your questions online at mortonarb.org/plant-clinic or by email to plantclinic@mortonarb.org. Beth Botts is a staff writer at the Arboretum.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/morton-arboretum-welcome-birds-garden/ 

On a brisk January day with wind chills plunging to minus 25 degrees, Paul “Blade” Bloedorn stood out on nearly 2 feet of ice on Lake Michigan’s Little Bay de Noc.

Last weekend, more than 400 shacks speckled the frozen bay, Bloedorn recalled, as ice anglers flocked to the Upper Peninsula to take advantage of perfect ice conditions.

“It’s truly the best time to fish the Noc,” Bloedorn wrote in a blog post to his 10,000 Facebook followers. “Enjoy this ideal ice season to its fullest. It’s the best we’ve had in years.”

As owner of Blade’s Bait and Tackle, a popular fishing outfitter in Gladstone, Michigan, Bloedorn has become a trusted source on Lake Michigan’s daily ice conditions for the Upper Peninsula’s ice anglers — many of whom travel hours to fish the bay.

“Ice changes every day, and as we go south, it changes every minute,” Bloedorn said. “If I weren’t out there every day, I wouldn’t know what I’m talking about.”

This winter, Bloedorn and Great Lakes experts say lake conditions are shaping up well for ice fishing, a welcome shift for coastal communities that have endured recent winters with little ice.

Paul “Blade” Bloedorn uses a Jiffy Scout ice auger to measure ice thickness on Lake Michigan at Little Bay de Noc in Gladstone, Michigan, on Jan. 15, 2026. Bloedorn runs Blade’s Bait and Tackle shop and reports on ice conditions for 10,000 followers on Facebook. (Zbigniew Bzdak/for the Chicago Tribune)

Thicker ice is bringing some relief to Bloedorn and others whose livelihoods depend on a frigid winter, but more and more, they and the fish and microorganisms in the lakes are experiencing havoc wrought by deep fluctuations in conditions fueled by climate change.

“Mother Nature is stronger than all of us,” he said. “That’s what dictates our activity out on the bay: the elements and how ice grows.”

An icy winter ahead

A La Niña pattern is expected to persist through the remainder of winter, bringing colder conditions to the Midwest and relatively stable ice coverage across the Great Lakes, said National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist Joseph Phillips.

Ice coverage has been healthy so far this season, Phillips said. As of Friday, ice covered about 20% of Lake Michigan,15% of Lake Superior, 17% of Lake Ontario, 40% of Lake Huron and more than 79% of Lake Erie, according to data from NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

In Chicago, a layer of ice covered several harbors on Lake Michigan, and thin sheets of ice began appearing near the shoreline as an Arctic blast settled in, bringing bitter subzero temperatures to the city.

During a La Niña year, colder air tends to spill over the Great Lakes, Phillips explained. La Niña is a climate pattern marked by cooler-than-average temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that can influence weather worldwide, according to NOAA.

But winter conditions this season may be less predictable because the current La Niña pattern is relatively weak.

On the whole, weather experts forecast above-average ice coverage on the Great Lakes for the rest of the winter, a relief for business owners like Bloedorn.

Ice fisherman access Lake Michigan at Little Bay de Noc in Gladstone, Michigan, on Jan. 15, 2026. (Zbigniew Bzdak/for the Chicago Tribune)

Current lake conditions have been ideal, Bloedorn said, measuring upward of 22 inches of ice last weekend. His bait shop began its ice-fishing season in early December, 20 days earlier than usual, and Bloedorn expects the season will last through April.

“It doesn’t freeze like it used to,” he said. “But I’d say this ice is really good for how low (the lake) is, but that’s just because we’ve been cold earlier on than we’ve had previously.”

In the Upper Peninsula, the economy of many coastal towns depends on tourism from winter recreation, including ice fishing, ice climbing, snowmobiling and dogsledding.

As an ice angler in Little Bay for over 30 years, Bloedorn said he has witnessed a noticeable change in coverage.

“Whoever you want to point the finger at, climate change, we are changing,” Bloedorn said. “There is not a doubt in my mind that these are milder winter patterns in the last five years than we had 25 years ago.”

Climate Change: Great Lakes, High Stakes

Human-caused climate change has been driven largely by greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, affecting Great Lakes temperatures and long-standing winter patterns.

In 2024, the Great Lakes hit a record low ice cover that devastated the winter outdoor industry in the Upper Peninsula, Bloedorn said.

The winter of 2023-24 was the warmest on record for the contiguous United States, according to NOAA. In the Midwest and much of the country, winter is the fastest-warming season, and this contributes to less lake ice.

Bloedorn estimated his shop lost a half-million dollars in revenue that he’s still trying to make up. The losses constituted over half of the profits the bait shop averages in a normal year, and Bloedorn said he still feels the financial strains caused by that nearly iceless season.

“It’s such a big portion of our livelihood that that one season took us backwards and will probably take five years to bail out,” he said. “Last year didn’t even bail us out from the year before. And even starting early, this year doesn’t bail you out. It’s hard to really get ahead after you get behind.”

Paul “Blade” Bloedorn prepares an ice shack trailer for his clients on Lake Michigan at Little Bay de Noc in Gladstone, Michigan, on Jan. 15, 2026. (Zbigniew Bzdak/for the Chicago Tribune)

When the Upper Bay of Lake Michigan ices over, it’s usually solid, Bloedorn said. But south of Little Bay is a different story.

“That ice has a potential to break off and float out, which is every ice angler’s nightmare,” Bloedorn said.

Increased uncertainty

Despite signs of average ice coverage this year, there has been a steady decrease in maximum ice coverage on the Great Lakes over the past 50 years, a trend caused by climate change, experts say. Maximum ice coverage is the point during the winter season when the Great Lakes have their greatest extent of surface area covered by ice. It typically occurs in late winter, around March, just before spring ice melt begins.

Since 1973, the Great Lakes have experienced a 5% decrease in annual maximum ice coverage every decade, said James Kessler, a physical research scientist with NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

As the Great Lakes experience more ice fluctuation from year to year, researchers are beginning to question how these changes occurring in shorter windows are affecting the lakes over time.

“Not only is the ice cover very highly variable, but that variability is increasing through time,” said Kessler.

The Great Lakes ecosystem depends on consistent winter ice. When ice is scarce, fish spawning can decline and microorganisms that live within ice lose critical habitat, Kessler said.

A fisherman casts a line into a hole in the ice in Diversey Harbor on Jan. 22, 2026, as frigid weather descends on Chicago. The Great Lakes ecosystem depends on consistent winter ice. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

This can harm fish species, such as whitefish, that rely on stable ice to shield eggs from wave turbulence, according to the Great Lakes Commission’s State of the Great Lakes 2025 report.

Whitefish populations have declined dramatically over the past 15 years, in part due to warming lake temperatures. As waters warm and there is less protection from layers of ice, fragile whitefish eggs are exposed to direct sunlight, which may be increasing mortality rates. Experts warn the species may be at risk of disappearing altogether in the coming years.

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A lack of ice also affects the food supply for young whitefish and lake trout, which feed on plankton after hatching. According to an Associated Press report, scientists caution that low-ice seasons can reduce oxygen levels in deeper, denser layers of lakes, causing plankton and other microorganisms to die — ultimately leading to further declines in whitefish and trout populations.

Shifts in water temperature, ice cover and lake levels can also create conditions that favor invasive species and fuel harmful algal blooms.

Bracing for the unpredictable

Researchers say variations in ice coverage may also affect water levels in the Great Lakes, though the dynamic between the two remains in question.

“Ice coverage and water levels have an interesting, sort of complex relationship,” Kessler said.

Water levels, like ice cover, have also experienced an increase in fluctuations in recent years, according to Megan Royal, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers watershed hydrology chief.

In December, Great Lakes levels dropped below average for the first time in a decade. It may feel like a drastic change partially because the lakes are coming off a six-year period of extreme high water levels, Royal said.

From 2014 to 2020, Great Lakes water levels rose, hitting near-record-breaking levels in 2020.

Royal’s team is looking into the increasing speed of these water level changes over a period of years instead of decades.

“We went from about a decade of below-average conditions across the majority of the Great Lakes to a pretty quick swing up to record-breaking high water levels,” Royal said. “We don’t have a definitive answer, but it is something that we’re looking into, is the rate of change significant.”

On average, the Great Lakes typically experience lower lake levels in the winter and higher levels in the summer, Royal said, because of increased precipitation and melting snow.

Agencies like NOAA and the Army Corps track these conditions.

Paul “Blade” Bloedorn, left, signals to a family riding their ATV close to a spot with thin ice on Lake Michigan at Little Bay de Noc in Gladstone, Michigan, on Jan. 15, 2026. Bloedorn runs Blade’s Bait and Tackle shop and reports on ice conditions for 10,000 followers on Facebook. (Zbigniew Bzdak/for the Chicago Tribune)

Kessler said some researchers have suggested that more ice could lead to higher water levels since the water would be trapped by ice and unable to evaporate.

Another conclusion is that Great Lakes ice cover can change the timing of evaporation instead of the amount, which could mean water levels wouldn’t rise, Kessler said.

Overall, water and ice conditions are becoming more unpredictable, causing the Army Corps to focus on resiliency when it comes to protecting shorelines from erosion.

During the record-high lake levels of 2020, severe winter storms escalated shoreline erosion, causing temporary closures on Chicago’s Lakefront Trail and DuSable Lake Shore Drive and some permanent beach closures. In response, the Army Corps has had to plan for shoreline protections for the next time lake levels significantly rise.

“In terms of concerns, I think that if we’re within the range of recorded water levels, and we’re transitioning more quickly between highs and lows, it becomes something that requires adaptation and flexibility,” Royal said.

Those same qualities will be important for Bloedorn and other winter outdoor business owners.

He’s excited for this winter but worried about another shift, like the one in 2024, that could change his luck.

“Our business suffered, like everybody else throughout the Midwest that year, not having much ice, all the way from Minnesota through Wisconsin over to Michigan,” Bloedorn said. “That was really devastating for a lot of businesses up here over that period of time. So it comes down to survival of the fittest.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/great-lakes-ice-coverage-climate-change/ 

The Forty Acres Fresh Market on Chicago Avenue in the Austin neighborhood, the only Black-owned grocery store in the city, succeeds at every level.

Its metal-clad exterior is bold — with corrugated panels set at a 45-degree angle and punctuated by distinctive trapezoidal windows. But its inviting interior is more muted in its expression. And its adaptive reuse of two old and architecturally undistinguished structures demonstrates a better way to build a city than Chicago’s oft-prevailing demolition ways. 

The renovation, completed in September, was designed by Latent Design under the direction of founding principal Katherine Darnstadt and principal Nicolas Anderson. “When people walk in here, the design immediately says something to them,” owner Liz Abunaw said of her 12,000-square-foot store. “And even from the outside, it looks completely different.”

The smart use of simple but varied metal panels on the exterior facades recalls Latent’s earlier Rusu-McCartin Boys & Girls Club that’s about a mile and a half east on Chicago Avenue. The diagonal of the corrugated metal panels reflects the 40 acres of the business’s name, a reference to the broken promise of the post-Civil War era that was supposed to provide 40 acres and a mule to formerly enslaved people.  

The small parking lot at the corner of Chicago and Waller avenues can accommodate just a handful of cars, which encourages walking or the use of public transportation. Latent accomplished some slick sleight of hand by maintaining the existing parking lot footprint while accommodating delivery truck access without impinging on adjacent streets. The “business model doesn’t work unless you get a big delivery,” Anderson said. “It’s a tight margin business, and that changes the design.” 

The Chicago Department of Transportation was involved with the project on several fronts. Upgraded streetscaping along Chicago Avenue for Austin’s Soul City Corridor was completed simultaneously, which allowed for coordination of the revised curb cut for the parking lot with the new bike lane and bus stop. “It was fortunate we were able to connect with them and they were willing to accommodate the store design,” Darnstadt said. 

The large sign on the corner sports a trapezoidal metal frame sitting on a concrete base that reflects the geometric inclination of the new facades. Even the custom fencing around the parking lot sports the angled theme. 

There’s a certain order that’s essential to a supermarket. The refrigerated and prepared foods sections and the staffed stations such as the butcher counter are arranged along the perimeter to facilitate efficient stocking. Customers enter from the front door into the produce department and circulate in a counterclockwise direction. Forty Acres Fresh Market follows this standardized pattern within the confines of the roughly L-shaped interior space that was available after carving out the northwest corner of the building for a PNC Bank. 

Pieces of the older buildings that most recently housed a Salvation Army thrift shop are on view throughout the store. On entering, you’re within a 1970s-era structure with a flat metal roof deck sitting atop open web steel joists. Toward the rear of the store, wood bow trusses come into view above the butcher and prepared foods sections. Latent has given the old parts a good scrub, and these elements provide a quiet backdrop to the new interventions. The architects removed a concrete block demising wall between the two original structures and added bright orange-painted columns and beams to celebrate the joining of the two parts.

Customer Briana Beacham talks with employee Martell Cammon as she shops at the new Forty Acres Fresh Market on Sept. 29, 2025, in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Inside, Abunaw wanted something that could project a turn of the century general store vibe. “What would it look like if we actually got our 40 acres?” Abunaw said. Wood was essential to achieving this vision.

“This farmhouse aesthetic uses a lot of local reclaimed wood, staining them in different ways to bring a brand that felt like it had depth,” Darnstadt said. The wood is juxtaposed against the existing steel roof structure and new mechanical systems.

“Wood and metal together are just like peanut butter and jelly,” Abunaw said.

The juxtaposition of modern on the outside and more homey on the inside was intentional and speaks to the richness possible when combining old and new construction. The thoughtful finishes recede in the produce section, where the colors of the produce become an essential part of the decor.

“Good grocery stores are not just transactional,” Abunaw said. “(You’re) creating an environment that makes people feel supported in what can sometimes be an annoying chore.”

And there is something aesthetically appealing about a carefully stocked grocery store. It’s a mini-city of foodstuffs with constantly evolving characters. 

Chicago development has long been dominated by a demolition mentality that is destructive toward communal memory. It represents erasure.

In 1973, architect Harry Weese noted that older buildings give cities character, continuity and a sense of stability. Today, there’s a lot of new development underway along Chicago Avenue on the West Side. But there are many vacant and underused properties as well. Forty Acres Fresh Market demonstrates how transformational projects can be achieved through the thoughtful reuse of the more modest structures that can be found here and in every Chicago neighborhood.

Everything about Forty Acres Fresh Market is appealing. It demonstrates how even the most pedestrian of existing buildings can be successfully repurposed with the right amount of thought and investment. It brings a genuinely thoughtful architectural contemporary expression to this stretch of Chicago Avenue. It provides a well-scaled grocery store that serves the Austin neighborhood while providing an alternative model to the much larger big-box supermarkets.

And it’s instantly memorable: The eccentrically angled panels catch the sunlight differently, which highlights the varied colors across the building’s new facades. 

This is a scale that encourages community and facilitates personal interaction while shopping. Every neighborhood can benefit from such places. 

Forty Acres Fresh Market is not extraordinary architecture; it’s just good, thoughtful design that hits all the right notes. It doesn’t pander; it has aspirations for itself and its users.

We should expect nothing less.

Edward Keegan writes, broadcasts and teaches on architectural subjects. Keegan’s biweekly architecture column is supported by a grant from former Tribune critic Blair Kamin, as administered by the not-for-profit Journalism Funding Partners. The Tribune maintains editorial control over assignments and content.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/column-forty-acres-fresh-market-chicago-keegan/ 

After living in California for several years, Kevin Sherry decided he was ready for a change. In the summer of 2010, the Morton Grove native decided to move back to Chicago.

“I love the city. I love that every block is a different neighborhood,” Sherry said. “You drive down the street and there’s an apartment, a dry cleaners, a pub and then there’s another apartment. It’s just this amazing mix.”

Sherry bought a condo in Andersonville’s historic Map Factory Lofts, a building with a homeowners association. The 1895 structure was used by the Swedish-American Telephone Co. from 1905 to 1923, and then by Denoyer-Geppert, which manufactured maps and globes at the site.

His unit used to house administrative offices. “My bedroom and the living room were both vaults,” Sherry said. “I literally have (vault) doors to my bedroom and to my living room. They are quarter-inch steel. That was one of the things that sold me on the place.”

Sherry, who had never previously owned a home, said he likes having a property manager who is responsible for building maintenance. “I don’t have to worry about it,” he said.

He added that his living situation is also easier because he has an HOA that is “very transparent about everything, so we can see where the money is going.”

The experience of owning a home and being part of an HOA, however, wasn’t the same for Laurie Mark and Jessie Shepherd, who lived in a 10-story West Loop condo building for nearly eight years.

Like Sherry, both Mark and Shepherd loved their neighborhood.

“We’re city people. We don’t want to be in the suburbs,” Mark said. “We don’t want a yard and don’t have kids. It’s close to work and is a hot neighborhood. Our friends live here.”

After relocating to Los Angeles, the West Loop couple initially wanted to keep their property as an investment or a place to move back to someday. But unanswered questions over increases in their homeowner association fees solidified their decision to sell late last year.

“We live in a pretty high efficiency building, so it’s frustrating when we don’t have amenities and wonder where (assessment funds) are going,” Mark said. “If we had more transparency and disclosures in the day-to-day, then we might not be so salty.”

Community associations, which include condominiums, planned developments and co-ops, are rapidly increasing in size and number.

Assessments — the fees paid each month by a homeowner for community expenses — also continue to grow. And consumers such as Mark and Shepherd are seeking greater transparency and understanding of their community’s budget and expenses.

“Nearly 60% of homes built today are in some sort of community association,” said Jake Gold, executive director of the Foundation for Community Association Research, based in Falls Church, Virginia. “There were (about) 10,000 community associations nationwide in 1970. We estimate now there’s about 370,000.”

FCAR’s 2024 U.S. National and State Statistical Review lists nearly 20,000 community associations in Illinois, which encompass more than 1.5 million housing units.

“In the downtown Chicago market, there are roughly 140,000 condo and rental units,” said Gail Lissner, a real estate appraiser and consultant who specializes in the multifamily market and is managing director at Integra Realty Resources.

As condo buildings in Chicago age, “they have more capital needs for repairs and ongoing maintenance,” Lissner said. Those capital needs often translate into costs for homeowners.

The variable cost

Monthly assessments, also called maintenance fees, “support the budget of the community when (owners) sign the dotted line and buy their home,” Gold said.

Special assessments, however, “are one-time fees (that are) unexpected, where something might happen or they need to replace something, and the owners have to contribute to fund that (too),” he said.

Although the monthly fees are sometimes called dues, Gold doesn’t use that term. “An HOA is not a voluntary club that someone joins,” he said.

In addition to the cost of ongoing maintenance, “these fees are impacted by the number of units, how owners want the building to operate, (the building’s) age and level of services,” Lissner said.

Tony Mattar, a Chicago real estate agent who also serves on the board of the 200-unit condominium association in the Loop where he lives, noted the differences between core expenses paid by every association, regardless of size or services offered, and optional amenities.

Core expenses include a master insurance policy as well as the maintenance of exterior and interior common spaces. In contrast, optional amenities vary wildly, from parking spaces and party rooms to pools, gyms and door staff.

The assessments paid by an owner for this type of combination can run the gamut, Mattar said.

Many HOAs offer few, if any, optional amenities. In fact, “Some buyers are attracted to ‘nonamenity’ buildings,” Lissner said.

“We’re budgeting for whatever the costs we need in order to run and operate the building (now) and to the reserve fund, which is essentially the HOA’s savings account for unforeseen things or eventual projects,” Mattar said.

Each homeowner’s assessment is based on this total budget “divided by the percentage of ownership that you have as a unit or a parking space owner,” he said.

This means that HOAs must forecast future expenses and analyze reserve funds, which could involve bringing in an outside expert.

“The most forward-thinking HOAs will use an engineer report to increase assessments over time,” said Eric Carlson, a real estate broker with Baird & Warner in Chicago.

Where the money goes

Homeowners who are part of HOAs say communication is key.

Sherry, who lives in a 40-unit building, wants to know how his assessments stack up against others: “Are we overpaying for whatever service is on the list — landscaping, snow clearing. Are we getting a good deal?”

Kevin Sherry is a homeowner in this 40-unit Andersonville building from the late 1800s that once housed a Swedish telephone company and a map factory. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Mark wants to see competitive bids. “Any time fees go up, they should tell us why. If there’s a special assessment, they should give full transparency,” she said. “When it comes to special assessments, we want a fair deal.”

Sherry said his HOA board is forthcoming with information. “I can see exactly where the money is going based on the detailed budget we get,” he said.

Even as his monthly assessments increased this year by 10%, Sherry said he remains pleased.

The entry to homeowner Kevin Sherry’s condo building is seen here. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Mark and Shepherd, on the other hand, say they had to “chase someone to get answers” because their HOA board meetings are not open, and minutes are disclosed only upon request.

Kevin Mitrick, an attorney specializing in real estate with the law firm Howard & Howard, said questions around disclosures are common. The most common is the timing required during the purchase or sale of a property, he said.

“I’ll have clients that are either members of condominium boards or owners who contact me asking for guidance on what (documents) they’re entitled to review and what they’re allowed to disseminate,” he said.

Current owners are entitled to copies of documents, including minutes and financials, under Section 19 of the Illinois Condominium Property Act, said Mitrick, who noted that owners must request documents in writing.

A lack of disclosure doesn’t imply wrongdoing. “It’s just that some of these documents don’t exist. Some of these smaller associations may do things very informally, and may not have every document that you’re looking for,”  Mitrick said. “There’s (also) a category of items that the association doesn’t have to provide unless there’s a court order.”

Although Mark and Shepherd are not alone in their dissatisfaction with their HOA, an FCAR survey says 67% of Illinois respondents rate their experience with their community association as positive.

Increases and inflation

According to FCAR, which conducts research for the community association industry, the average assessment in Illinois rose from $343 per month in 2018 to about $445 per month in 2024, an increase of roughly 4.5% per year.

Over this same time period, the consumer inflation rate has averaged 3.5% per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Inflation may be a good benchmark, but it is not a tool,” Mattar said. He noted that increases for the purpose of boosting an HOA’s reserves might outpace inflation when trying to anticipate future expenses.

“A smaller building will not be hit by as many inflationary issues,” Carlson said.

And Lissner said insurance is the “primary expense (for HOAs) that has consistently outpaced inflation.”

Carlson added that tariffs imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump might affect maintenance work in older buildings that require parts for things such as elevators and AC systems, which could increase expenses and, consequently, each owner’s monthly assessment.

Although some industrywide data is available to homeowners and associations, industry averages do not shed light on building-specific circumstances.

This is partly due to the variety of amenities offered by individual HOAs. “Each condo is vastly different, so using industrywide averages is like trying to compare all animals,” Carlson said.

“(FCAR has) a series of best practices reports, a fact book, we do surveys, trying to help provide information to help this growing industry,” Gold said.

“Averages and medians only mean so much when you could segment out buildings in Chicago into 100 different segments of what their HOA dues cover,” Mattar said.

Gold said this can be challenging, particularly in the absence of uniform disclosure requirements other than what a potential buyer needs in order to obtain financing for a home.

“Averages alone don’t tell the whole story,” he said. “They provide a helpful macro-level indicator of trends over time (inflation, maintenance or insurance impacts), (but) they’re not meant to be used for direct community-to-community comparison.”

Still, he said, “the data helps policymakers, insurers and researchers understand the economic scale and financial health of the community association housing model overall.”

Even similar-sized buildings handle expenses differently. Mattar gave the example of an HOA where the six owners reduced their assessments by doing their own landscaping.

“Once or twice a year, as a group, they weed the beds in their front yard and plant some flowers,” Mattar said. “So they keep their dues pretty low because they’re not hiring a landscape company. They pitch in and make it a fun day and drink beer while they’re sort of doing their landscaping.”

How agents help

One tool used by real estate brokers such as Carlson and Mattar in advising buyers is Illinois’ mandatory Section 22.1 Disclosures, which are required during the sale of property in an HOA.

These include the HOA’s governing legal documents as well as specific financial disclosures.

“Before closing, buyers get these, which share if any assessments are in arrears, if there is any pending litigation, 24 months of financials, what reserves are in the HOA and minutes from board meetings,” Carlson said.

The decision often comes down to the total amount the buyer is willing to spend each month, but “people are willing to spend more on the mortgage than HOA assessments,” Carlson said.

For Mattar, built-in variables also affect how HOAs operate. “Boards change. Buildings can get behind even when not for nefarious reasons,” he said. “This elasticity is a risk you take when buying in.”

Overall, Sherry is satisfied with his HOA assessments. “There’s never been a time that (assessments) went up such a ridiculous amount that I even noticed,” he said. “I glanced at the number, thought that seemed about right and moved on with my life.”

Meanwhile, Mark and Shepherd have learned from their experience in Chicago and are asking more questions as they look for a new home in Los Angeles.

“What are assessments being used for?” Mark asked. “How often are reserves being used? Are there multiple plumbing problems? Are any special assessments coming up?”

Mark wants more information, particularly with special assessments: “We want a fair deal, so a composite of what’s out there so we can see if we’re being cheated or not would be helpful.”

John W. Bateman is a freelance writer.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/real-estate-hoa-assessments-fees/ 

As Donald Trump ends the first year of his second term, the president who promised peace and prosperity has delivered neither. Instead, he’s threatened punitive tariffs and flirted with the idea of using force — rhetoric that put NATO on edge.

Trump’s America is not great again. It has become un-American. The country is neither safer at home nor more respected around the world. This nation that was once such a beacon for democracy and helped build the post-World War II global order is now viewed by foes and even friends as a corrupt, unreliable and immoral rogue state.

Trump’s appearance in Davos last week was just the latest shameful chapter; he threatened military action like a mob boss if he didn’t get his way, demanding ownership of a neighboring country and then saying he wouldn’t use force after all.

“Sometimes you need a dictator,” he declared, insulting his hosts and European allies in a rambling speech at the World Economic Forum and incorrectly saying NATO would never come to America’s aid, when in fact it already has, including Denmark.

Maybe this is a moment like the violence at the Edmund Pettis Bridge or Kent State or like Watergate, in which the abuse of power becomes a catalyst so sickening that citizens rise up to demonstrate American values and demand their country and their democracy be restored. That remains to be seen.

What is clearer than ever as we move deeper into a pivotal election year is that it is time for the forces of justice to start marshaling their power and demanding accountability. The country seems to be showing signs that this is already happening, but it has to be sustained.

The only thing that will stop this would-be despot is accountability. Even Trump is wise enough to know he is out of control — or at least, has gone too far in his insatiable quest for more power — and could face another impeachment if Democrats take back the House.

Trump is a bully, but he respects raw power. That means Americans must continue pouring into the streets by the millions in peaceful protests to demonstrate their opposition and call for redress of grievances. That means the news media must keep shining a light on un-American behavior and speaking out, printing the truth and refusing to be intimidated by administration threats and attacks.

Most important, that means Democrats, independents and Republicans must turn out to demonstrate their outrage and vote for candidates who will restore balance to Congress and a check on presidential power that the Founders intended.

In some areas, the tide seems to be turning against Trump. Canada and Europe stood up to him on Greenland, warding off his threat of more tariffs if they didn’t hand over Greenland — and staring down his threats of force. The collective spine of European nations stiffened in their focus on protecting Ukraine from Russia. That’s their priority, not some erratic, quixotic American play to change world maps for what appears to be Trump’s personal aggrandizement.

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In a highly unusual move, three Catholic cardinals, including Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, recently issued a widely reported public statement condemning the threats of force and echoing an address given Jan. 9 by Pope Leo XIV to the Vatican diplomatic corps.

Cupich and the cardinals from Washington and Newark, New Jersey, urged the creation of a “genuinely moral foreign policy for our nation,” as the U.S. faces “the most profound and searing debate about the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world since the end of the Cold War.”

At home, there is also a change. Trump’s approval ratings are at a new low after lawless, masked and militarized federal agents rampaged in the streets of Minneapolis, arresting immigrants and U.S. citizens alike, using warrantless searches and terrifying people in the Twin Cities — like a not-so-secret police force. Republicans and Democrats agree on the need to tighten control at the border, which Trump, to his credit, has done, but they did not vote for these dangerous methods.

This an election year, and it may portend accountability for Trump. The administration begins its second year determined to conduct its business in lawless, unconstitutional ways repeatedly condemned by the courts and a growing majority of the American people.

Trump used the U.S. military to remove the leader of Venezuela, apparently for the oil. His reckless, ill-trained ICE agents have touched off outrage from ordinary citizens, including in Minneapolis, where one agent shot to death an unarmed mother of three. He is laying the groundwork to invoke the Insurrection Act so he can send U.S. troops into city streets to confront Americans.

My father and uncles served in World War II, and I can only imagine their revulsion if they learned that a nonsensical American leader was taking a torch to NATO — the strongest alliance in modern times that for nearly 80 years kept the peace and warded off a hostile Soviet Union.

How would they feel if they knew Trump has become a bigger threat to NATO and Europe in some ways than Russia? Russian leader Vladimir Putin is happier than ever, it seems. Trump is rupturing NATO for him.

Trump promised his voters that his focus would be America first — it hasn’t. He has spent much of his first year in office pursuing adventures abroad, from bombing Iran and Nigeria to seizing Venezuela’s leader and coveting Greenland.

Americans will eventually take back their country. The question is when.

Storer H. Rowley is a former national editor and foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/opinion-donald-trump-first-year-despot-greenland/ 

Nearly two years ago, this page endorsed bipartisan legislation, co-sponsored by Illinois congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, to force the Chinese owners of TikTok to divest the wildly popular app’s platform in the U.S. or see it shut down.

The bill became law with President Joe Biden’s signature and survived a Supreme Court challenge. But then President Donald Trump took back the White House and extended the law’s deadline for action more than once in hopes of forging a deal with the Chinese to relinquish majority ownership.

At long last, we now have such a deal. China-owned ByteDance, which owns TikTok, now will have 19.9% ownership of the U.S. business, the most allowed under the statute. The remaining ownership stakes are held at levels not exceeding 15% by one American corporation (Oracle, which long has done business with TikTok) and a handful of U.S. investment firms.

Problem solved, right?

Maybe. We’re going to need to know more in order to feel confident this transaction addresses the issues that were the reason for the law in the first place.

As the TikTok drama lingered — with Trump clearly unwilling to shut down a social media platform he thought helped him win the 2024 election and the Chinese battling the Trump administration on trade and unrelated technology issues — it was fair to wonder if TikTok just would soldier on in the U.S. for the foreseeable future under this odd legal cloud.

So it’s a positive that there finally is an ownership structure that in broad terms complies with federal law.

But let’s reiterate the details of the original concerns.

Chinese ownership of a platform that now claims more than 200 million U.S. users meant that a substantial chunk of those users — many of them tweens, teens or 20-somethings — would never see content critical of Chinese government policies, since they rely on TikTok as a primary source of news. There were legitimate fears that Chinese control of the algorithm determining what is put before those impressionable eyeballs would open the door to political manipulation as Chinese interests saw fit.

Add to those concerns TikTok’s exacerbating of U.S. political divisions and nurturing extremism by heavily emphasizing content that reaffirms a user’s existing views on the hot-button issues of the day.

And we’ve written recently of the simple brain rot that occurs with too much viewing of the intoxicating short-form videos that make up TikTok’s feed, no small factor in our support of barring social media access for those under the age of 16, a stance embraced by likely presidential aspirant Rahm Emanuel, among several others.

So the American people, we believe, ought to be told far more about how this change in ownership will affect TikTok’s actual operations in the U.S. than what we’ve seen so far in the disclosures about the deal.

It certainly appears like not much is different other than who sits in the boardroom. The CEO will be Adam Presser, deputy to TikTok CEO Shou Chew. The existing Chinese owners will continue to hold the largest stake in the U.S. firm, albeit not the controlling one they have now. What say will the Chinese continue to have over future operations?

More importantly, handling of TikTok’s all-important algorithm will continue to be the purview of ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, which is licensing the technology to the U.S. business under the deal. As The New York Times reported, that provision could fall short of a key part of the 2024 law, which mandated the end to any “operational relationship” between the Chinese company and the U.S. version.

At the very least, the new owners of TikTok should explain to the public what oversight — indeed, even line of sight — they will have over the algorithm under this licensing arrangement.

More broadly, what are the safeguards that now will ensure Americans’ privacy will be protected and that they won’t be subject to manipulation favoring Chinese interests. Also, some of the American board members of the new operation have very cozy ties to Trumpworld. Oracle, co-founded by Trump pal Larry Ellison, will have a board seat. So will Egon Durban, co-CEO of private equity firm Silver Lake, a 15% owner of the new TikTok business in America. Durban has close business ties to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Vice President JD Vance served as a managing partner at venture capital firm Revolution LLC for about a year and a half, beginning in 2017. Revolution is listed as one of the investors in the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC.

We don’t make a habit of poking our collective nose into private-sector business decisions such as who sits on boards and which executives are tabbed to run things. But this is no ordinary spinoff. There are vital public interests at stake.

Ideally, Congress would hold hearings to ask these very questions and reassure Americans we’re not reliving Pete Townshend’s classic line, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

And if Republicans running both chambers of Congress decline to exercise that oversight task, which would cause little surprise, we hope the company will take it upon itself to put meat on these meager bones. What is fed to us on our phones has become such a central and worrisome part of our lives that we shouldn’t treat TikTok as just another business deal.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/editorial-tiktok-china-donald-trump-deal-social-media/ 

A remarkable 500 restaurants are participating in Chicago’s annual Restaurant Week, a marketing effort designed to drum up business during the quietest part of the year. So the odds are that wherever you choose to eat out between now and Feb. 8, you’ll be handed a menu offering you brunch or lunch for $30 and dinner for either $45 or $60, depending on the fanciness of your choice of establishment. (Some offer a choice of both price points.)

You don’t even have to come downtown; more than 60 of these restaurants are in the burbs. Chicago Restaurant Week has a catholic interpretation of Chicago, as well it should.

Like the Michelin Guide, the James Beard Awards and the creators of “The Bear,” we’re big fans of our restaurant industry, which has struggled mightily of late thanks to the attacks on the tipped minimum wage, increased food costs and Chicago’s overall sluggish rate of growth. But the sector is filled with genuine culinary artists, such as Kevin Boehm of Boka fame whose compelling new memoir, “The Bottomless Cup,” offers a glimpse into just how hard it can be to keep a Chicago fine-dining establishment open for the long term.

When Chicago Restaurant Week started in 2008 (long after New York City), diners basically had to show up and see what was on offer. Some of the deals were great and offered a real price savings in return for dining during a quiet period, living with a shorter menu and being willing to order three courses. Others saw it as a way to reel in customers and charge them either the same amount or, in a few egregious cases, more.

But now, diners can find all kinds of recommendations, including spreadsheets that have shifted through some restaurant week menus on offer and ferreted out the actual savings (or, alas, losses). Most of the time, you won’t save a fortune (maybe the price of a glass of wine) but we noted big savings at Daisies, Drew’s on Halsted and Beatnik on the River, among others. At least assuming the portions are the same. Tribune dining staffers also have some curated suggestions for you to try.

We have our favorite menus but we suggest looking at the individual restaurant websites and then going somewhere you have never been, ideally supporting Chicagoland chefs and owners. Without them, life around these parts would be a lot less tasty.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/25/editorial-chicago-restaurant-week-chefs-menus-deals/