Good morning, Chicago.
Cook County is predicting a $211.4 million budget shortfall for 2026, a relatively modest gap that officials said was more of an estimate than usual thanks to extraordinary uncertainty coming out of Washington.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who has been able to boast budgets free of taxes, fees or layoffs for the last several years, told reporters at a Tuesday briefing that the 2026 projection is the most “problematic,” and cautioned that “this is our best guess.”
The county is expecting a general fund shortfall of $102.6 million, thanks mostly to higher wages and fringe benefits when its current contracts with union employees expire. Its health fund, meanwhile, is projecting a $108.8 million deficit thanks to a significant drop in patient revenues.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s A.D. Quig.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including: the next step in a fierce preservation battle over Pilsen’s St. Adalbert Catholic Church, how a Vernon Hills-based toy company is challenging Trump’s tariffs and hot Chicago condiments to buy over and over again.
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Protesters hang a banner and blockade a vehicle entrance to immigration court at 55 E. Monroe St. in the Loop on June 17, 2025. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
ICE field director defends agents after ramped-up enforcement, arrests of US citizens at Chicago immigration court protest
The head of Chicago’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office defended the conduct and decorum of federal agents who have ramped up arrests of undocumented immigrants, which has incited clashes with elected officials, immigration advocates and protesters. On Monday, three U.S. citizens were detained by ICE after allegedly assaulting an officer in Chicago, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson.
In an interview yesterday with the Tribune, Samuel Olson, ICE’s Chicago field office director, explained that “the last thing (the agents) want to do is to have to arrest somebody who’s assaulting them or impeding them from doing their jobs.”
After reports that Chicago is ‘next’ in Trump’s militarized crackdown, mayor warns Trump to respect Constitution
NYC mayoral candidate Brad Lander released after ICE arrest for allegedly ‘assaulting’ officer
Illinois U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, 13th, speaks during a hearing of the House Agriculture Committee about the impact of economic policies on farm country, Feb. 11, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Two female Illinois politicians say their names were listed in the alleged Minnesota shooter’s notes
A downstate congresswoman and a north suburban state senator are the first Illinois elected officials to publicly acknowledge being named in notes kept by the 57-year-old alleged shooter charged with assassinating the Democratic leader of the Minnesota House and her husband.
Police officers wear T-shirts with a picture of Officer Krystal Rivera during a prayer vigil in her memory at the 6th District station, June 11, 2025, in Chicago. Rivera was fatally shot June 5 by another officer as they responded to an investigation. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago police still seeking suspect in foot chase that led to shooting death of Officer Krystal Rivera
The calls over police dispatch came fast and furious, like they always do. “Shots fired at the police!” one officer shouted.
But there was just a single shot fired, and it was a cop who pulled the trigger, resulting in the first time in nearly four decades that a Chicago police officer was mistakenly fatally shot by a fellow cop while on duty.
Now, the better part of two weeks after tactical Officer Krystal Rivera died in the friendly fire incident, investigators are still searching for the suspect who sparked a brief foot pursuit that ultimately led to the fatal gunfire in a Chatham apartment building.
St. Adalbert Church on May 10, 2024, in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. (Vincent Alban/Chicago Tribune)
Landmarking advances for Pilsen’s St. Adalbert Catholic Church, Polish advocates left frustrated
The City Council’s Zoning Committee unanimously approved a plan to give the shuttered St. Adalbert Catholic Church a landmark designation, teeing up a final vote today. But the Polish parishioners who long sought the preservation status left City Hall infuriated by what they described as a last-second “backroom deal” that sets up the sale of the Archdiocese of Chicago land to a nondenominational church.
Medical assistant Cierra Shackelford prepares an exam room for a patient visit at the Birth Center of Chicago on June 17, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Birth Center of Chicago announces sudden, temporary closure, forcing patients to make new plans
The Birth Center of Chicago, in the North Center neighborhood, told patients in recent days that it planned to temporarily suspend services, said Ariel Swift, director of outreach and education for the birth center’s parent company Birth Partners Inc. The birth center will stop delivering babies after June and likely halt prenatal care in early July, Swift said.
Rick Woldenberg, CEO of Learning Resources, an educational toy company whose products are manufactured in China, stands at a warehouse in Vernon Hills, Ill., April 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Vernon Hills-based toy company challenges Trump’s tariffs before the Supreme Court
A north suburban toy company challenged President Donald Trump’s tariffs in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a long shot bid to press the justices to quickly decide whether they are legal.
The pool at River Park was closed on June 16, 2022, in Chicago. The city has struggled with lifeguard shortages for years post-pandemic, prompting the closure of dozens of pools and several beaches. Others operated on limited hours or shortened seasons — last year, Chicago’s outdoor pools were only open six days a week.(John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago’s public pools to open daily this summer for first time since COVID-19 pandemic
Chicago’s outdoor public pools will be open daily this summer, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic led to a lingering lifeguard shortage.
Cubs manager Craig Counsell walks back to the dugout after checking on a call with the plate umpire in the fifth inning against the Brewers on June 17, 2025, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
Column: An NL Central feast — with Cubs, Brewers and Cardinals all in Chicago — is something to gnaw on
In a rare scheduling quirk in the middle of June, the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers were both in town for the first time this season, playing on opposite sides of town, writes Paul Sullivan.
The Cubs played host to the Brewers last night at Wrigley Field, while the White Sox took on the Cardinals at Rate Field. It was a National League Central smorgasbord, though the hors d’oeuvres were perhaps a little more enticing on the North Side, where a rat was spotted wandering the concourse a few hours before the game, looking for dining options.
‘P-C-A!’ to ‘M-V-P!’: Pete Crow-Armstrong wows fans with diving catch, 452-foot homer in Cubs’ 5-3 win
Done in by 5-run 2nd inning, White Sox lose 12-2 to St. Louis Cardinals for their 50th defeat
Kitchen manager Lena Cunningham pours pasteurized Chi-Racha hot sauce from Co-op Sauce into a jug before bottling at Sauce and Bread Kitchen at 6338 N. Clark St. on May 14, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Hot Chicago condiments to buy over and over again: Sauces that are regulars in our food reporter’s fridge
In Chicago, small-batch makers are producing some of Ahmed Ali Akbar‘s favorite sauces right now — he brings them out when he hosts and frequently ends up sending guests home with a spare bottle and the sauce’s story.
Anne Burrell makes a culinary presentation during the Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival on Oct. 15, 2022, in New York City. (Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
Food Network star Anne Burrell dead at 55
Anne Burrell, the Food Network star best known for hosting the channel’s hit show “Worst Cooks in America,” died yesterday. She was 55.