Good morning, Chicago.
Israel and Hamas are set to begin indirect talks on ending the war in Gaza today after both sides signaled support for U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace plan.
The talks in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh are brokered by the U.S. and aim at hammering out details for the plan’s first phase. That includes a ceasefire to allow for the release of all remaining hostages held by Hamas in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Trump’s plan has received wide international backing and raised hopes for an end to a devastating war that has upended global politics, left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead and the Gaza Strip in ruins.
Many uncertainties remain around the plan, including the demand for Hamas to disarm and the future governance of Gaza. Tomorrow marks two years since the war began.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: when the Texas National Guard is expected to join troops from Illinois as deportations escalate, behind the scenes of the construction at O’Hare’s new global terminal and how the Bears are looking as they’re coming off bye week.
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Oct. 7 attacks anniversary: Locals commemorate hostages, mourn Israel-Hamas war victims and hope for peace
The horror of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel shocked the world.
As the two-year anniversary of the Israel-Hamas war approaches, its terror and devastation continue to plague those from the Chicago area with close ties to the conflict overseas.
Gov. JB Pritzker says Texas National Guard expected to join troops from Illinois as deportations escalate
President Donald Trump’s administration plans to deploy 300 Illinois National Guard troops to the Chicago region for at least 60 days, according to a memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to Illinois National Guard leadership and obtained by the Tribune.
In addition, likely hundreds of National Guard members from Texas were preparing to be sent to Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker said late yesterday.
Woman shot by immigration agents in Brighton Park charged as state leaders take to airwaves to blame Trump for escalation
A woman shot by an immigration agent Saturday was one of two people charged with assault for allegedly ramming a vehicle into a car federal authorities were using during operations on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
In Chicago, immigrants who thought they were following the legal path are also facing deportation under Trump crackdown
On Sept. 21, Darwin Leal turned 24. His family made him a cake, lit it up with candles and sang him “Happy Birthday” over a video call. He was almost 300 miles away, sharing a cell with dozens of people in a correctional facility in western Michigan.
Just a week earlier on a Sunday, the Venezuelan immigrant had been driving in Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood with his wife, 23, and two kids — a 1-year-old boy, Lennyel, and a then-3-year-old girl, Nicolles — on their way to look at a new place they were hoping to move into, when federal immigration agents stopped the car.
After her husband was deported, Skokie woman and 3-year-old are leaving US to keep family intact
Ann Salas laid out toys, clothes, furniture and appliances on her Skokie driveway Friday morning, selling everything in preparation for permanently leaving the United States.
Some shoppers were happy to just give her cash, because her 49-year-old husband, who was brought here from Guatemala as a 5-year-old, was deported to that country last month. She plans to take their young son to Mexico to reunite with her husband, Antony “Tony” Salas, and live there as a family.
In rural southern Illinois, an NPR affiliate tries to fight on amid federal cuts
Larry Hunter arrived at the Carbondale Farmers Market on a recent Saturday with an edict from his wife — “don’t come home without three tomatoes,” she said — and a hope that he could help raise a bit of money, a dollar or five at a time. Maybe it wouldn’t make a dent, he knew, but these days anything is something for public media affiliates fighting to survive.
Behind the scenes of the construction at O’Hare’s new global terminal
While most passengers gaze out of their windows and see the tarmac while on a plane at O’Hare International Airport, some will now be greeted by piles of dirt and machinery — the construction site of the future Concourse D, a long-awaited addition to one of the country’s biggest airports.
‘We lost and you move on’: Chicago Cubs look ahead to Game 2 of NLDS after blowout defeat
Game 1 of the National League Division Series got away from the Cubs early.
The Cubs and Brewers each held off-day workouts yesterday. They reflected on Game 1 and looked ahead to the continuation of the best-of-five series tonight in Milwaukee.
Column: Shoring up Chicago Bears’ porous run defense the latest challenge for Ben Johnson coming off bye week
Coaching corrections after a win — or in this case consecutive Bears victories — are always easier, writes Brad Biggs.
The upbeat mood at Halas Hall with the Bears coming off their bye week at 2-2 doesn’t make it any less of a conundrum for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen and his staff as they search for solutions to improve a struggling run defense while playing without two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson for the foreseeable future.
The 1925 slaying of an FBI agent set off manhunt for gun-toting car thief and ladies’ man
On Oct. 11, 1925, FBI Special Agent Edwin C. Shanahan and two Chicago police officers set a trap for a trigger-happy car thief. Shanahan had received a tip that Martin Durkin was driving a stolen car from New Mexico to a garage at 6231 S. Princeton Ave. in Chicago.
But when Durkin showed up, the police weren’t in position.
Forty Acres Fresh Market, Chicago’s only Black-owned grocery store, is a new option for fresh food in Austin
On a recent Thursday afternoon, Liz Abunaw was doing it all. Adjusting milk prices, running to the PNC Bank next door for $3 worth of pennies, stocking Spindrift sparkling waters, and flashing each customer with a “please come again” smile.
Forty Acres Fresh Market in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood was officially open, and the nuances of running a full-service grocery store were on full display.
