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Good morning, Chicago.

Sunday was one of the most violent winter days in Chicago’s recent history.

Seven people were shot and killed across the city in less than 18 hours. City violence data shows it was just the fourth January day to see at least seven homicides since 1991.

At least three of the victims were teenagers. Another was a woman, reportedly a mother of five, killed outside her home as she was on her way to church. A pair of home invasions on the West Side left two other men dead.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Sam Charles.

Here are the top stories you need to know to start your day, including Mayor Brandon Johnson addressing speculation of the city trying to buy back Chicago parking meters, who the Chicago White Sox traded to the New York Mets and our guide to the Chicago Sake Crawl.

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Attorney General Kwame Raoul leaves after a news conference addressing his office's efforts to combat unlawful actions by the Trump administration, at the State of Illinois building on Jan. 20, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Attorney General Kwame Raoul leaves after a news conference addressing his office’s efforts to combat unlawful actions by the Trump administration, at the State of Illinois building on Jan. 20, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Gov. JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul look back on first year of Trump 2.0

Gov. JB Pritzker and other Illinois leaders yesterday marked the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term by vowing to keep pushing back on the administration’s actions, while acknowledging that months of uncertainty, funding cuts and legal fights had taken a toll.

The former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights is covered in snow on Jan. 16, 2026. The 326-acre site is owned by the Chicago Bears and is being considered as a location for the team's new domed stadium and entertainment district. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)
The former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights is covered in snow on Jan. 16, 2026. The 326-acre site is owned by the Chicago Bears and is being considered as a location for the team’s new domed stadium and entertainment district. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office inks new deal with outside lawyer to advise in Chicago Bears stadium talks

Gov. JB Pritzker’s office signed a new $25,000 contract late last month with an outside attorney to continue advising the administration in negotiations with the Chicago Bears through the end of June as the NFL franchise seeks to pressure Springfield to act this spring on a proposal that would aid plans for a new stadium in Arlington Heights.

The Pritzker administration’s top lawyer signed the agreement with Steve Argeris, a partner with New York-based law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges, on Dec. 22, five days after the Tribune first reported Bears executives were widening the scope of their stadium-site search to include northwest Indiana.

Mayor Brandon Johnson arrives to talk about the city's parking meters, at the Chicago Cultural Center on Jan. 20, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Mayor Brandon Johnson arrives to talk about the city’s parking meters, at the Chicago Cultural Center on Jan. 20, 2026. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Mayor Brandon Johnson says he will not try to buy back Chicago parking meters

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city will not try to buy back Chicago’s parking meters after all, following days of speculation over whether he would attempt to find a way out of an infamous sale almost two decades ago.

Dino Zavoli reads the Daily Herald at Encore Village on April 8, 2025, in Schaumburg. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)
Dino Zavoli reads the Daily Herald at Encore Village on April 8, 2025, in Schaumburg. (Audrey Richardson/Chicago Tribune)

Daily Herald, longtime suburban Chicago newspaper, notifies state of potential sale

The publisher of the Daily Herald filed notice with the state this month that it is considering a sale of the northwest suburban newspaper.

U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks with agents after detaining a person while conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Little Village on Dec. 16, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino walks with agents after detaining a person while conducting an immigration enforcement operation in Little Village on Dec. 16, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Jury selected in trial of Chicago man accused of promoting gang bounty on Greg Bovino

After a daylong process that took place partially out of public earshot, a jury was selected yesterday in the trial of a Chicago man accused of passing along a gang bounty allegedly placed on the head of controversial Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.

Jawad Fakroune is charged with beating and extorting a Chicago restaurateur in 2024 over a $1.5 million loan. This surveillance image allegedly shows Fakroune entering an Italian restaurant in New York City on Dec. 18, 2024, after federal agents went to arrest him at an apartment and he fled nearly naked out the back door. The circle annotation is contained in the court filing. (U.S. attorney's office)
Jawad Fakroune is charged with beating and extorting a Chicago restaurateur in 2024 over a $1.5 million loan. This surveillance image allegedly shows Fakroune entering an Italian restaurant in New York City on Dec. 18, 2024, after federal agents went to arrest him at an apartment and he fled nearly naked out the back door. The circle annotation is contained in the court filing. (U.S. attorney's office)

Trial opens for alleged con man accused of extorting local restaurateur

Chicago’s restaurant industry harbors a few colorful characters, and their dealings aren’t always pretty.

Prosecutors yesterday argued that Jawad Fakroune’s alleged attack on Adolfo Garcia in the back room of Garcia’s now-shuttered martini and oyster joint Yours Truly went way beyond the occasionally cutthroat interactions that can characterize the seedier side of the city’s restaurant scene and the people who make their living by it.

Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) runs to the dugout during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Opening Day at Rate Field Thursday March 27, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Chicago White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. (88) runs to the dugout during the sixth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Opening Day at Rate Field on March 27, 2025, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago White Sox trade CF Luis Robert Jr. to New York Mets for INF Luisangel Acuña and RHP Truman Pauley

Luis Robert Jr.’s name had been mentioned in trade speculation several times over the past couple of years. He remained with the team after last July’s trade deadline passed. In November, the White Sox exercised his $20 million club option, but the buzz about a possible trade remained.

And yesterday, it became a reality.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti lifts the trophy after defeating Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti lifts the trophy after defeating Miami in the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, Jan. 19, 2026, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)

Column: Indiana’s epic run from losers to 16-0 national champs rivals the 2016 Chicago Cubs’ journey

There’s really no debating that Indiana’s journey from losingest team ever to national champion is the greatest story in college football history, writes Paul Sullivan.

Thaddeus Tukes, Jazz Institute Jazz Links alumnus, performs before a press conference at the Chicago Cultural Center, Jan. 20, 2026, announcing the performer lineup and programming for the UNESCO International Jazz Day 2026 that will be held in Chicago. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
Thaddeus Tukes, Jazz Institute Jazz Links alumnus, performs before a press conference at the Chicago Cultural Center, Jan. 20, 2026, announcing the performer lineup and programming for the UNESCO International Jazz Day 2026 that will be held in Chicago. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago will host International Jazz Day. Here’s what’s coming this spring.

Alongside city and state officials, representatives for the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz announced details for the 15th annual International Jazz Day, a month of jazz programming culminating in a globally broadcast concert at the Lyric Opera House on April 30.

Joe Sayekh drinks sake during a food and sake event at Akahoshi Ramen in the Logan Square neighborhood, Dec. 11, 2025. Ticketed guests were given three dishes paired with three temperatures of Kanbara Bride of the Fox Japanese sake. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)
Joe Sayekh drinks sake during a food and sake event at Akahoshi Ramen in the Logan Square neighborhood, Dec. 11, 2025. Ticketed guests were given three dishes paired with three temperatures of Kanbara Bride of the Fox Japanese sake. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Sake Crawl: A neighborhood guide to the city’s most compelling pours

For all its culinary breadth, Chicago is rarely framed as a sake destination. Yet over the past decade, it’s developed a close-knit but serious sake scene — shaped by Chicago’s walkable neighborhoods and an openness that has allowed sake to be explored across cuisines and cultures.