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Telling the story of Chicago and the Midwest, one moment at a time.
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Chicago can look tantalizing from the window of an airplane on its descent into O’Hare International Airport.
But much to the chagrin of air travelers who might glimpse the city’s skyline rising over Lake Michigan on their way in, touching down at O’Hare isn’t exactly the same as arriving. That’s because taxi times at the airport are longer, on average, than those at almost every other major airport in the country.
“It’s kind of like driving up into your garage, or driving up into your driveway at home, and then they don’t let you out of the car,” said Dennis Tajer, an O’Hare-based American Airlines pilot and spokesperson for its pilots union.
From January through the end of August this year — the most recent month for which Federal Aviation Administration data is available — planes landing at O’Hare averaged 20 minutes to taxi to their gates once their wheels hit the ground. No other major U.S. airport reported in-coming taxi times that long. The next-longest taxi-in times were at Charlotte Douglas International in North Carolina, where planes averaged just under 14 minutes to reach their gates.
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Photo: A United Airlines jet taxis on a runway at O’Hare International Airport in 2025. O’Hare averaged 20 minutes for jets to taxi to their gates.
📝 Talia Soglin / Chicago Tribune
📷️ E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune
10 Nov 2026
Judging only by the maps of congressional election results, it would appear last week’s Democratic wave bypassed Illinois as it swept across the country, turning new and unfamiliar places blue from South Carolina to northern Nevada.
After Tuesday’s transformative midterm elections, the partisan makeup of Illinois’ delegation is unchanged: Both U.S. senators and 14 of 17 House members will be Democrats.
When the new Congress convenes in January, however, six of those seats — one in the Senate and five in the House — will have new occupants. The turnover marks a generational, if not ideological, shift in the state’s Democratic representation in Washington as the party assumes its largest congressional majorities since before the tea party “shellacking” of 2010.
With two years remaining in President Donald Trump’s term, there’s a broad consensus among Illinois’ congressional Democrats, from the political center to the left flank, that their newly empowered and emboldened party must balance two responsibilities: It has to serve as a check on the administration while also addressing the economic anxieties and corruption concerns that fueled a stunning midterm rebuke of Republicans.
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Photo: U.S. Sen.-elect and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton greets Sen. Tammy Duckworth alongside Gov. JB Pritzker as they celebrate election victories and unveil an agenda for the years ahead, Nov. 4, 2026, at the Columbus Park Refectory in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.
📝 Olivia Olander and Dan Petrella / Chicago Tribune
📷️ Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
09 Nov 2026
A federal judge Friday ordered the release of a Round Lake mother and green card holder who has been in ICE custody for more than a year, ruling that her time spent in detention “had become unreasonably prolonged and violated her due process rights.”
U.S. District Judge Angelica Powers of the Memphis Immigration Court in Memphis, Tennessee, released Beata Siemionkowicz on bond, allowing the 57-year-old Polish citizen to return to the Chicago area and reunite with her daughters, Gabi, 22, and Claudia, 26.
If the Department of Homeland Security does not appeal Powers’ decision, Siemionkowicz is allowed to leave Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Campbell County Detention Center in Kentucky, where she has been housed since August 2025.
“I’m a bit surprised, just given how immigration court can feel rigged against the immigrant in this administration,” said Hirsh Joshi, an attorney with ACLU of Illinois, which is representing her. “But I’m not surprised that Beata found a sympathetic ear, and that the circumstances surrounding her arrests were taken into account in her favor.”
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Photo: Family photos show Beata Siemionkowicz with her daughters, Gabi and Claudia, on July 16, 2026. Siemionkowicz, a U.S. green card holder from Poland, has been in ICE custody since being detained in Claudia’s Des Plaines backyard while gardening.
📝 Allison Kiehl / Chicago Tribune
📷️ Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune
09 Nov 2026
Chicago Bears wide receiver Kalif Raymond knew that if he heard the Soldier Field crowd roar, things went according to plan.
“I’m running as if the ball’s coming to me, but in the back of my mind I hope at some point I hear the crowd because that means the ball’s out and Colston’s wide open,” Raymond said after Sunday’s 27-24 win.
Raymond watched as the cornerback and the safety both followed him as he sprinted up the hash marks late in the game. He had expected one defender to stick with him — instead, both defenders followed him.
That meant somebody screwed up.
Tight end Colston Loveland was unguarded and quarterback Caleb Williams easily connected with him for a 38-yard gain to bring the Bears into field-goal range with 47 seconds remaining in a tie game. From there, the Bears ran out the clock and lined up a 38-yard field goal that kicker Cairo Santos knocked through as time expired.
Despite five turnovers — including four interceptions from Williams — the Bears found a way to win the game and advance to 7-2 season with a bye awaiting them.
The Bears hadn’t won a game in which they turned the ball over five times since 2006, when they did it twice.
“It’s very challenging to do and we’re very grateful that we were able to keep in (the game) and find a way at the end of that thing,” coach Ben Johnson said.
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Photo 1: Bears coach Ben Johnson yells to an official after an out of bounds call in the end zone in the first quarter against the Buccaneers on Nov. 8, 2026, at Soldier Field.
Photo 2: Bears tight end Colston Loveland makes a reception, which lead to the game-winning field goal, in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.
Photo 3: Bears quarterback Caleb Williams takes a seat on the bench after throwing his fourth interception.
Photo 4: Williams throws the second of three interceptions of the first half as Buccaneers cornerback Keionte Scott moves in.
📝 Sean Hammond / Chicago Tribune / @bears_reporter
📷 John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
09 Nov 2026
From the Editorial Board:
What’s smaller than a superminority? A super-duper-minority?
Whatever you want to call it, that’s what Illinois Republicans face in the wake of an absolute shellacking in Tuesday’s midterm elections.
Democrats so far have gained seven seats in the Illinois General Assembly, five in the Illinois Senate and two in the Illinois House of Representatives, with seven races too close to call as we write. But Democrats will likely pick up the majority of them.
This is a deep, deep hole.
To be blunt: There’s barely a Republican Party left north of I-80.
If you’re concerned about Illinois’ ever-increasing spending and taxation, economic stagnation or inadequate school funding, this annihilation matters to you.
Behold zero political balance in Springfield. The Democratic Party will be all-powerful. As we have written, the Republican wipeout reflected voter fury at the deeds and action of President Donald Trump. But it also had plenty to do with Illinois’ highly gerrymandered political maps.
Red waves nationally barely move the needle for Illinois Republicans. And blue waves, like the one we witnessed Tuesday, wash them out to sea.
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Photo: Republican state representatives bow their heads for an invocation at the start of a House chamber session during the spring legislative session at the State Capitol in Springfield on May 29, 2026.
📝 Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
📷️ John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
09 Nov 2026
That sound you just heard was the other shoe dropping.
For all the decades of talk about solutions to the debate over Illinois High School Association competition between public and private schools, the opportunity to launch it into oblivion has finally arrived.
This week, the IHSA unveiled its annual list of submitted bylaw amendment proposals, and the West Suburban Conference stole the show with two options designed to blow up the current postseason coexistence of boundary and non-boundary schools (aka public and private schools).
Because the plans compete against each other, one eventually will be pulled off the table. The proposal that survives this month’s town halls is bound to show up on the statewide ballot.
Then it’s in the schools’ hands. A simple majority in a December vote determines the fate of all proposals on the ballot. This time next year we could be living in a whole new IHSA world.
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Photo: Benet's Lynney Tarnow tries to hit the ball over the net against Marist's Taylor Berg and Cassidy Cage in the Class 4A state championship match on Nov. 15, 2025.
📝 Kevin Schmit / Daily Herald
📷 John Starks / Daily Herald
08 Nov 2026
A lengthy procession of demonstrators swept through the streets of downtown Chicago Saturday afternoon, with homemade signs and American flags held high. As the crowd marched East on Adams Street, drums and the group’s rallying cry echoed off the surrounding buildings: “This is what a blue wave looks like.”
Saturday’s demonstration in the Loop, “The People Have Spoken” rally and march, came just days after Democrats’ major wins in the midterm elections.
Some newly elected Democratic leaders took their wins in historically Republican districts across the country. In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker was re-elected for a third term, and Senator-elect Juliana Stratton’s win made the state the first to be represented in the U.S. Senate by two women of color at the same time.
Before the march began, U.S. Rep.-elect Daniel Biss, of Illinois’s 9th Congressional District, took to the microphone at Federal Plaza to encourage Chicago demonstrators not to let up the pressure.
“The election was an incredible repudiation,” Biss said to the crowd. “You all did your job; now it’s time for people like me to do our jobs.”
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Photo 1: Demonstrators march on East Adams Street after a rally titled, "The People Have Spoken," in response to the Nov. 3 midterm elections, on Nov. 7, 2026, in Chicago.
Photo 2: Ann Snow holds a sign that reads, "We the People Refuse Fascism," during the rally.
Photo 3: Congressman-elect Daniel Biss addresses attendees.
Photo 4: A group of demonstrators wearing furry costumes attend the rally.
Photo 5: An attendee wears a button that reads, "No Kings," during the rally.
Photo 6: A demonstrator who arrived late for the rally deflates his balloon that depicts Donald Trump as a crying baby.
📝 Allison Kiehl / Chicago Tribune
📷️ John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune
08 Nov 2026
Thankfully, Chicago Bears fans, you didn’t have to wait for the other shoe to drop.
On Monday night, Caleb Williams averted a potential Cleat Crisis — escalating a battle of wills between himself and the NFL — by covering the unauthorized logo of the Caddix cleats he has been wearing since at least the preseason.
“Yeah, just to calm things down, man,” Williams said after the Bears beat the Seattle Seahawks 34-17. “It was a big week and not here to create any BS toward the team. I want to keep that to a minimum from my side. Obviously I get a lot of media and so just trying to minimize that as much as possible.”
Media buzz had increased — and would’ve kept building — with each fine issued for displaying a logo that violated the league’s branding policy.
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Photo 1: Bears quarterback Caleb Williams makes a pass in the second quarter against the Seahawks on Nov. 2, 2026, at Lumen Field.
Photo 2: Williams’ Caddix cleats, with the logo blacked out.
Photo 3: Williams celebrates the win over the Seahawks on Nov. 2, 2026.
📝 Phil Thompson / Chicago Tribune
📷 Brian Cassella and Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
08 Nov 2026
Chicagoans went to the polls on Tuesday to make their voices heard in a historic school board election.
For the first time ever, city voters had the chance to elect the president of the Chicago Board of Education and its 20 board members, each representing one of the city’s 20 school board subdistricts.
In the race for school board president, Jessica Biggs, a former Chicago Public Schools principal and current elected board member representing District 6B, declared victory over Hilario Dominguez, a former Chicago Teachers Union organizer, and trial attorney Victor Henderson.
Outside of board president, only five races have been called — in districts where candidates were running unopposed. The remaining 15 are still contested.
Here’s a look at how Chicago voted, according to unofficial results as of Thursday night.
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📝 and 🗺️ Claire Malon / Chicago Tribune
07 Nov 2026
Q: My village has banners up that say “leave the leaves,” and I’m wondering if this refers to leaving leaves in the garden for the winter. Will it be okay if I leave leaves in my garden beds at home? I would love to save time raking up leaves from my garden.
— Cara Coyne, Glencoe
A: I always look for shortcuts to maintaining my home garden, and using a mulching mower to grind up leaves on my lawn and leaving leaves in garden beds is a significant time-saver. It’s also good for the environment. I like a more natural look to my garden, which luckily is easier to maintain.
My garden has several large oak trees, so there are lots of leaves to contend with. Leaves are now falling and starting to pile up. The normal fall routine for many gardeners is to remove all the leaves from the garden and either bag them up or pile them at the curb for transportation to a landscape waste facility to turn them into compost. Personally, I’ve left leaves in my garden beds at home for over 35 years with good results; it saves lots of time for cleanup, saves fuel for blowers, and supports pollinators and wildlife. This also saves money and time, since I don’t purchase much for my garden beds. The only exception is for fall plantings, which I mulch to help the plants get through the first winter.
Fall leaves create a natural mulch, which helps suppress weeds and improves the soil with organic matter as the leaves decompose. I also don’t cut back perennials in fall; I wait until spring. The perennial foliage and fallen leaves in the beds create a natural look with lots of winter interest, and they provide a habitat for insects and wildlife. We all need to do more to support pollinators, and one way is to leave perennial foliage up for the winter and leaves in beds year-round. Just cut your perennials back late in spring to 6 to 8 inches above the ground for maximum benefit for insects. I have a large hosta planting under an oak tree that I don’t even cut back in spring — I just let the hostas grow up from the old foliage from the previous year.
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07 Nov 2026
Can you have a Cubs Convention without the Cubs?
Apparently we’re about to find out.
The Cubs announced Monday that their annual convention will still take place on Jan. 15-17, 2027, at the Sheraton Grand Chicago, referring to it as “three action packed days celebrating all things Cubs baseball.”
That could mean anything from making beer cup snakes to waxing poetic over the Wrigley Field troughs, assuming the expected owners’ lockout is still in place in mid-January.
In a hot stove season without a stove, a Cubs Convention without the players seems about right.
Obviously, current stars like Pete Crow-Armstrong or Nico Hoerner would not be available to appear during a lockout, so former Cubs and your favorite Marquee Network celebrities might have to carry the load if the show goes on.
The Cubs didn’t announce what would occur at the convention if the lockout is in place, but we can only speculate it won’t include a Crane Kenney panel discussion on rat abatement at Wrigley Field, a “Late Night” talk show session with host Ryan Dempster interviewing co-owner Todd Ricketts, or a Ronnie “Woo-Woo” Wickers autograph session for the kids.
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Photo 1: Players Miguel Amaya, Alex Bregman, Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson participate in a discussion at the Cubs Convention at the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk on Jan. 17, 2026.
Photo 2: A child holds a cutout of the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong while sitting on a grown up's shoulders.
Photo 3: Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts walks on stage during Day 1 of the Cubs Convention on Jan. 16, 2026.
📝 Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune
📷 John J. Kim and Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
06 Nov 2026
As light mist obscured the far-off Chicago skyline, only the faint sounds of metal cranes clanging and construction vehicles beeping in the distance broke up the quiet morning at Park 566 in South Shore.
Peeking around tall patches of grass and peering through binoculars at Lake Michigan, Tarik Shahzad, a birder from the Norwood Park neighborhood, called Thursday’s cold, wet conditions ideal for spotting birds late in the year.
“If you want to find one of the largest prairies in the city of Chicago with threatened and endangered bird species, five-lined skink (lizards) and a lot of peace and solitude with an incredible view of the city skyline and Lake Michigan, Park 566 is the place,” he said.
Shahzad, 29, is on a mission to identify 300 birds in Cook County this year and only has two to go. He has already broken his own record of 296 spotted last year.
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Photo 1: Carrying a camera and binoculars, birder Tarik Shahzad looks for unique species of birds during his walk in Park 566 in Chicago on Nov. 5, 2026.
Photo 2: A Savannah sparrow rests in Park 566.
Photo 3: Common loons swim along the surface of Lake Michigan at Park 566.
Photo 4: Birder Tarik Shahzad looks for unique species of birds during his walk along Lake Michigan.
📝 Finnegan Belleau / Chicago Tribune
📷️ Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / @apereztribune
06 Nov 2026
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