Good morning, Chicago.
William McNiff has been a vocal critic of the recent immigration crackdown in Chicago on his TikTok profile. So when he heard about the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree program, which provides gifts for children and families in need, he wondered if he could do something similar for children of immigrant families affected by Operation Midway Blitz in the city.
In less than a week, McNiff and his friend Taylor Krahl raised over $10,000 on their GoFundMe page to buy gifts and groceries for families in the Chicago area. McNiff helped spread the word about the project on his TikTok account, which has over 41,000 followers.
The gift haul was coined Operation Midway Bliss as a way to reclaim the name from the federal government’s Operation Midway Blitz, which wreaked havoc on the city’s immigrant community.
“When I saw those Angel Trees blowing up (on social media),” said McNiff, who lives in the Gold Coast, “an idea sparked of something I can do for my neighbors here in Chicago, aside from just yapping on TikTok or going to a protest, something that can actually have an impact directly.”
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Laura Turbay.
Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including a sweeping ban on hemp products in Chicago advances in City Council, Bulls first-round draft pick Noa Essengue is out for the season with a shoulder injury and what to do in Chicago this weekend.
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Illinois to celebrate United States’ 250th birthday with public art, history initiatives
Illinoisans next year will celebrate the United States’ 250th birthday with new public murals, a student art contest and initiatives to get residents and tourists alike to historic sites, the state announced.
Sweeping ban on hemp products in Chicago advances in City Council
A broad ban on hemp products in Chicago advanced in the City Council yesterday, teeing up a vote that could suddenly shutter the burgeoning industry.
Proponents argue the proposed ban would make Chicago safer by speeding up a pending congressional prohibition on the products that get users high. But Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration has urged aldermen to rework the ordinance with narrower regulations.
Judge orders OpenAI to hand over ChatGPT conversations in win for newspapers in copyright case
A Manhattan judge has ordered OpenAI to provide the Chicago Tribune and other news outlets with millions of anonymous chats between ChatGPT and its users in a major ongoing copyright infringement case.
Advocate warned city that feds might target rideshare drivers at O’Hare weeks before airport raids, emails show
The city of Chicago ignored concerns raised by an advocate about immigration raids at O’Hare’s rideshare parking lots for weeks before federal agents swept up more than 70 people there, emails obtained by the Tribune show.
‘It’s gonna be their version against ours’: Undercover tape played at bribery trial of ex-Summit police chief
The gravel of a funeral home parking lot could be heard crunching under the feet of two public officials from suburban Summit as they left a wake to privately compare notes on a worrisome federal bribery investigation. During the March 2022 conversation, John Kosmowski, the Summit police chief, tried to tell his colleague and frequent drinking buddy, then-Public Works Director Bill Mundy, that a cash payment they’d received from a bar owner five years earlier was just a loan — and that neither he nor Mundy pulled any strings to get the owner’s liquor license transferred.
“Kris gave me the money as a loan. I gave you $3,000 because just, in general principle, you need the money,” Kosmowski said to Mundy, who was secretly wearing a wire for the FBI.
“You think anybody’s gonna buy that?” Mundy replied. “I love you like a brother, but this is (expletive) up.”
Rarely have Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers been this good in long rivalry. Here’s what the numbers say.
At long last, the Bears snapped their 11-game losing streak against the Green Bay Packers in the Week 18 finale last season. It came on Jan. 5, team owner Virginia McCaskey’s 102nd birthday.
The upset victory at Lambeau Field marked the first Bears win against the Packers since 2018. Now the Bears will take their 9-3 record to Lambeau to face the 8-3-1 Packers on Sunday.
Chicago Bulls first-round draft pick Noa Essengue out for the season with a shoulder injury
The Bulls must wait another year to begin the development of their latest draft pick.
Rookie Noa Essengue will be out for the rest of the season as the team prepares its No. 12 draft pick for left shoulder surgery, which will take place in the coming weeks. Coach Billy Donovan announced the news ahead of last night’s game against the Brooklyn Nets.
- Matas Buzelis is waiting — and working — for his 2nd-year leap to arrive with Bulls: ‘It will happen’
- 3 takeaways from a 5th consecutive loss for the Bulls, who are now 3 games below .500
Brayden Parks, who has Notre Dame among offers, powers Brother Rice to state title. ‘We came, we saw, we won.’
Brayden Parks came through with six tackles, including 3 1/2 for loss, and also had three pass breakups to do his part in a dominant defensive effort last night as Brother Rice topped Catholic League rival St. Rita 16-0 in the Class 7A state championship game at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.
Holiday gifts from museum shops let you wrap a bow on Chicago culture
For Chicagoans who dread the frenzy of holiday shopping, there’s a calmer alternative. Instead of heading to mall, you can head to a museum.
What to do in Chicago: Big Jam, Jingle Ball, ‘Duke It Out! Nutcracker’ and holiday markets
Here are our picks for events in and around Chicago this weekend.
