Jonathan Bullington

Jonathan Bullington is a Chicago Tribune senior reporter. A Chicago-area native, he previously worked at the Tribune as well as The Times-Picayune in New Orleans and The Courier Journal in Louisville, where he was part of the team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.

Border Patrol agents detain painter Krzysztof Klim while verifying his identification on Oct. 31, 2025, next to Halloween decorations outside a house in Chicago’s Edison Park neighborhood. Klim, originally from Poland and now a U.S. citizen, was briefly detained and then released. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

On Halloween, ‘state-sponsored terror’ in Chicago and the north suburbs

November 4, 2025 at 6:10 p.m.

Despite pleas from Gov. JB Pritzker to pause federal immigration enforcement operations while children celebrate Halloween, Border Patrol agents tore through Chicago and the suburbs.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul speaks with reporters after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to the city, Oct. 9, 2025, at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Federal judge blocks Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops to Chicago, rest of state

October 9, 2025 at 8:35 p.m.

Arguments in federal court over an emergency restraining order that would bar a National Guard deployment began Thursday with lawyers sparring over what constitutes a “rebellion” that such troops might...

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted a photo on social media showing the Texas National Guard deploying on Oct. 6, 2025. (Gov. Greg Abbott's office)

National Guard deployment moves ahead in Illinois after judge declines state’s suit to block Trump call-up

October 7, 2025 at 6:03 a.m.

Attorneys for the Trump administration said in court that Texas National Guard units could begin operations by Tuesday, the same day Illinois Guard members have been ordered to report.

A memorial honors Charlie Kirk outside Wheeling High School on Sept. 16, 2025, in Prospect Heights. (Audrey Richardson/for the Chicago Tribune)

‘Witch hunt’ or ‘accountability’? Teachers face backlash over Charlie Kirk posts

September 29, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's assassination, several teachers across the country criticized the political firebrand on social media. Some people now want them fired for it.

The sun sets on Brooklyn, Illinois, as two people bike through town on Nov. 24, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Setbacks and hope as America’s oldest Black town fights for its survival

September 22, 2025 at 5:09 p.m.

The federal government has twice promised Brooklyn, Illinois — Americas oldest Black town — money for preservation. And twice it has failed to deliver.

Lina Alvarez, a retired U.S. Army sergeant first class, reacts to the support of a passing motorist as she protests in front of the main gate at the Naval Station Great Lakes on Sept. 10, 2025, in North Chicago. During her 21-years of active duty, she was deployed four times to the Middle East. With the expanded rights of immigration agents, Alvarez is asking, “Why should I have to prove I’m American?” (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Outside hotels and a naval base, suburban Chicago protests immigration ‘blitz’

September 13, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

More anti-blitz rallies have been scheduled in the Chicago suburbs in the coming days, as towns that were once Republican strongholds now lean more Democratic.

Two boys who once attended The Language and Music School in west suburban Oak Park play in Chicago’s Columbus Park this summer. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Learning in a loophole: Gap in Illinois law leaves Oak Park mansion school largely unregulated by state

August 17, 2025 at 8:20 a.m.

Parents said they assumed a private school in an Oak Park mansion was recognized by the state. But that's not the case. Illinois law won’t allow it.

The eastbound end of Route 66 at East Jackson Boulevard and South Michigan Avenue in Chicago, June 21, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66: The last (or first) 300 miles in Illinois

June 29, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Route 66 often conjures images of quaint small towns, but its foundation has always been rooted in Chicago.

Lea Davis and her partner lost their home in the Fountain Park neighborhood of St. Louis when it was condemned due to storm damage from a May 16 tornado. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66: In St. Louis, a deadly twister crosses a long-standing divide

June 29, 2025 at 6:51 a.m.

A month after a deadly tornado ripped through St. Louis, the extensive damage and slow pace of recovery expose the city's long-standing racial and socioeconomic divide.

Machelle Smith, operations manager and "jack-of-all trades" of the Galena Sentinel-Times newspaper stands after sending the paper off before deadline at their office on Route 66 near the Missouri border in Galena, Kansas, June 17, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66: Print day at a 145-year-old Kansas newspaper

June 27, 2025 at 11:15 a.m.

Kansas has by far the shortest segment of Route 66 of all eight states. Along the 13.2-mile stretch, we found one town that hasn’t stopped the presses.

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