Good morning, Chicago.
The city has begun removing some tents this week from a controversial Northwest Side homeless encampment that has divided neighbors, city officials and homeless advocates on the best path forward for the people who have set up camp along Foster Avenue.
The future of the roughly 20 people in the Gompers Park encampment remains uncertain after a planned “accelerated moving event” — a consolidated process where case managers help people find housing, complete documentation and choose furniture — was delayed from Feb. 24 to March 5 because of a possible freeze to federal funds, city officials said.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day.
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Kash Patel appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate
The Senate on Thursday narrowly voted to confirm Kash Patel as director of the FBI, moving to place him atop the nation’s premier federal law enforcement agency despite doubts from Democrats about his qualifications and concerns he will do Donald Trump’s bidding and go after the Republican president’s adversaries.
“I cannot imagine a worse choice,” Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told colleagues before the 51-49 vote by the GOP-controlled Senate. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the lone Republican holdouts.
Jake Schreager, a pipefitter with Miller Pipeline, puts the finishing touches on a section of a Peoples Gas pipeline replacement project at Wrightwood Avenue and Sheffield Avenue on May 29, 2024. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
State regulators order Peoples Gas to finish pipeline replacement by 2035
After a yearlong review, state regulators gave Peoples Gas the green light to resume its long-running, multibillion-dollar pipeline replacement program, but with a narrowed focus, accelerated timeline and greater accountability.
The order, unanimously approved by the Illinois Commerce Commission, directs the utility to retire the remaining 1,000 miles of aging leak-prone cast iron and ductile pipes running under Chicago by 2035.
Vehicles move along the 5900 block of North Broadway and beyond on Feb. 19, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
Plan Commission green-lights land use plan that could bring thousands of new housing units to Edgewater and Uptown
The Chicago Plan Commission yesterday approved a land use plan that could bring thousands of new housing units to a 20-block stretch of Broadway in Edgewater and Uptown.
City planners said the framework will cut red tape for developers and increase housing density, hopefully allowing more residents to move into the transit-rich corridor, where the CTA will soon complete its $2.1 billion Red-Purple Line modernization project.
Robert E. Crimo III, arrives before Judge Victoria A. Rossetti during a pretrial hearing at the Lake County Courthouse in Waukegan, Ill., Feb. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, Pool)
Judge rules Highland Park parade shooting victims who testify can be in the courtroom during trial of alleged shooter
Victim witnesses to the July 4, 2022, mass shooting in Highland Park can be in the courtroom during the trial of alleged shooter Robert Crimo III, which begins Monday, a Lake County judge ruled.
Judge Victoria Rossetti ruled in favor of prosecutors, who asked earlier this month that victim witnesses be granted access to the courtroom during Crimo’s trial.
The Indiana Statehouse appears on May 5, 2017, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Illinois secession bill passes Indiana House
A bill aimed at redrawing the Indiana-Illinois border passed out of the Indiana House Thursday with the Speaker of the House suggesting that other Midwestern states join Indiana.
Indiana House Bill 1008, authored by Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, would establish an Indiana-Illinois boundary adjustment commission to research the possibility of adjusting the boundaries between the two states. The commission would include five members appointed by the Indiana governor and five members appointed under Illinois law.
Indiana House passes Indiana budget through 2027
Mabel Landry Staton, a former DePaul student and former Olympian, is honored at a redeveloped athletic field on West Addison on May 14, 2008.
Mabel Landry Staton, Chicago native who was US team’s only female long jumper at the 1952 Olympics, dies at 92
Mabel Landry Staton, the Black track and field standout who broke through racial barriers and became the only woman to compete for the United States in the long jump at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, died Thursday. The Chicago native was 92.
Fans walk through the concourse before the Cubs play the Dodgers in the Cactus League opener at Camelback Ranch on Feb. 20, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Column: Justin Turner’s arrival at Chicago Cubs camp takes center stage. ‘We intend on being good this year.’
Paul Sullivan asks: Why would anyone want to continue playing baseball at age 40?
For newly signed Chicago Cubs infielder Justin Turner, the answer was simple. Turner said he loves the game and still feels he can compete. As long as a major-league team believed he could still contribute, there was no reason to retire.
Photos: Chicago Cubs 12, LA Dodgers 4 in Cactus League opener
ESPN and Major League Baseball will end their national TV deal after the 2025 season
Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn and Blackhawks defenseman Connor Murphy fight on Dec. 19, 2024, at the United Center. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Bobby Hull’s CTE diagnosis leaves lessons for current Chicago Blackhawks — but they don’t always help themselves
Chicago Blackhawks legend Bobby Hull lived in a different era than today’s players. The Hall of Fame forward helped the Hawks win the 1961 Stanley Cup during his 15 seasons in Chicago (1957-72) and remains the franchise’s all-time goals leader with 604.
But his career came with a cost.
Chicago resident Robin Moore, center, smiles as her son, Andrew Harris, left, reacts after Moore finished her speech about her family history in Canada at the Consulate General of Canada in Chicago on Feb. 12, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
How one Chicago woman’s genealogical search led her to a potter’s field in Canada
Since 2018, Robin Moore — a native of Park Manor on Chicago’s South Side — has spent much of her free time combing through archival records and building a family tree to better understand her roots. The genealogical project has taken her all the way to a cemetery in a small town in Canada, located about two hours west of Toronto.
Since the 1960s, tracing family lineage has grown among Black Americans, according to Jane Rhodes, a Black studies professor at University of Illinois Chicago. While many Black Americans knew their family history through oral histories passed down over the generations, digging into and embracing that history was not as common. Many families, Rhodes explained, were scared to dig into that history since it meant confronting America’s history with slavery.
Singer Yuridia performs at the Sony BMG pre-Latin Grammy Awards party at the MGM Grand Hotel in 2007 in Las Vegas. (Ethan Miller/Getty)
What to do in Chicago: ‘Queer Eye’ live, Yuridia in concert and the Joffrey Ballet
Also around the area this weekend, the annual Frequency Festival of experimental music and a work inspired by Edward Gorey at Steppenwolf Theatre.